Maternal Mental Health service

We offer evidence-based psychological assessment and interventions to people who are experiencing moderate to severe mental health difficulties due to difficult or complicated maternity, reproductive or pregnancy or birth experiences.

Some examples of our main areas of work are as follows:

• loss of a pregnancy or baby (including fertility loss, miscarriage at any stage, termination of pregnancy, stillbirth or neonatal loss)
• pregnancy or birth related trauma
• severe fear or anxiety relating to pregnancy or birth (including Tokophobia)
• parent infant separation

Assessment and formulation sessions

We provide a safe space to share and explore your experiences. Together we will try and make sense of what has happened and we will think about how this is impacting on your feelings and your life in general. We will decide on some goals or actions that might help you to move forward.

We will decide together whether the service is the most appropriate to meet your needs. If we are not the right service for you, we will make sure we help you access the support that best meets your needs.

Psychological interventions and therapy

We offer psychological therapies focussing on reproductive trauma and loss, such as:

• cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
• eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing
• compassion focused therapy

Peer support and specialist midwifery

It may also be possible to involve a peer support worker and/or midwife in your treatment plan if relevant and appropriate.

We will decide together whether our service is the most appropriate to meet your needs. If we are not the right service for you, we can help you to access alternative support.

If you are unsure whether it is the right time for you to consider psychological therapy, take a look at our making space for therapy handout (coming soon).

We work alongside the Specialist Perinatal Mental Health team who also provide care for women and birthing people during the perinatal period. Do not worry if you are unsure which team you need, referrals to both services come to the same shared access point so we can figure out where your needs will be best met.

When to refer

Experiencing unpleasant and distressing feelings in the immediate days and weeks after trauma or loss is a natural reaction to extreme stress. Some people however find that difficulties can persist and severely impact their mental health. If you have been struggling for a month or longer, our service may be able to help.

You might also wish to explore the resources section of this page for more information and support before submitting a referral to us.

How to refer

You are welcome to self-refer or speak to your GP and/or other health professionals who can submit a referral for you.

We will do our best to respond to your referral within 4 weeks.

Our aim is to ensure we offer an inclusive service. Feel free to talk to us about any specific needs you might have that might help us to understand you better.

Referral forms

Specialist Perinatal Mental Health and Maternal Mental Health Psychology services referral form (DOC, 68 KB). Email completed forms to the Perinatal Mental Health Team.

For emotional help or someone to talk to

• Support Matters mental health helpline, call 0800 001 4330.
• The Samaritans, call 116 123.

In crisis and/or at risk of harming yourself or others

• Call our Cornwall mental health crisis helpline on 0800 038 5300.

If life is at risk and you cannot keep yourself or others safe, call 999.

Abortion

• Abortion Talk: Talkline is open every Monday and Wednesday from 7pm to 10pm, call 0333 090 9266. Whether you've had an abortion, are thinking about having an abortion, know someone who has had an abortion or work in abortion care you can use this helpline.

Ectopic pregnancy

• Ectopic Pregnancy Trust: Provides support and information for people who have had or been affected by an ectopic pregnancy.

General support for loss at any stage

• Aching arms: Offer a supporting arms telephone helpline, call 07464 508 994, and email support service. Run by bereaved parents and gives you the opportunity to talk to someone who has an understanding of what you’re going through.
• Child bereavement UK: Offering a range of support to parents and the wider family when a baby or child of any age dies or is dying. Call 0800 028 8840, open 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. They also have live chat on their website.
• Ellie’s Gift: Baby loss relaxation and mindfulness resources as well as mobile phone app and other support options.
• Loss Collective: This website has lots of resources for perinatal loss or grief.
• Lullaby Trust: Offer a range of bereavement support including a helpline (listening bereavement support service), email support, social media, website information, booklets, website, in memory page, befrienders, family days, and care of next infant support. Call 0808 802 6868, Monday to Friday, 10am to 2pm, and weekends 6pm to 10pm.
• Mariposa Trust: Befrienders (who have been through baby loss), social media support, saying goodbye services (online) other support divisions. Growing you is for people pregnant after loss. Holding hope for people on more complicated fertility journeys. Waiting for you for people waiting to adopt. So cherished for those who discover their complex difficulties for baby during pregnancy.
• Pregnancy Crisis Care: Offer free loss counselling, pregnancy support, online counselling and online groups. They are based in Plymouth but can offer online support to those in Cornwall, or can see you face to face if you can travel to Plymouth.
• Sands: Offer a range of support anyone affected by pregnancy loss and the death of a baby to offer understanding and comfort. Call 0808 164 3332 or email Sands.
• Tommys: Provide support following baby loss, and linked website to support pregnancy after loss. The website has lots of helpful resources and they offer a range of different support options.

Life limiting conditions

• Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity: Offers support to families in England with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions.

Miscarriage support (before 24 weeks of pregnancy)

• Cradle: Miscarriage support before 24-weeks of pregnancy. They provide comfort bags and leaflets to hospital departments and provide peer support and online support groups (accessed via their website).
• Miscarriage Association: Offer a range of support including a helpline, online support and lots of helpful resources/information leaflets.

Multiple pregnancy

• Twins Trust Bereavement Support: Offer a range of support for families who have lost 1 or more children from a multiple birth during pregnancy, birth or at any time.

• Birth Trauma Association: Call 0203 621 6338. Lots of resources on their website including email and telephone with volunteer peer support workers with lived experience (including partner support).
• Bliss: For babies born premature or unwell. They offer emotional support and practical information to parents who have a baby on a neonatal unit, or who have recently been discharged. Includes bereavement support where necessary.
• Make Birth Better: Offer support to guide all people affected by traumatic experiences around birth and pregnancy. Information, resources, partner information, birth after trauma resources.
• MASIC Foundation: Offer a range of support to those injured during childbirth, including 24-hour free birth injury support helpline, useful information on injuries, other useful resources on physical difficulties that can follow childbirth.
• Peeps: Provide support to parents, families and friends of those affected by and raising awareness of hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy. Website includes information, buddy and peer support, counselling and therapy, and funding for equipment.

• Antenatal Results and Choices: Offer a helpline and information regarding antenatal screening and it’s consequences, including when a baby has a significant anomaly.
• Bliss LGBT: Neonatal support for LGBT families.
• Donor Conception Network: Offer information, support and community to anyone considering or using an egg, sperm or embryo donor to create or expand their family.
• Fertility Network UK: Offer a wide range of support for those trying to conceive, going through treatment, or living without children. Support includes a helpline run by fertility nurses and some areas have online groups and social media support, along with online resources.
• For Baby’s Sake: Resources and support in breaking the cycle of domestic abuse and giving babies the best start.
• LGBT Mummies: Aim to support LGBT+ women and people globally on the path to motherhood or parenthood. Lots of different groups, such as those on assisted fertility journeys, pregnancy, single parents, non-bio mama and parent, trans parents, non-binary parents, feeding support, stepparents, adoption, fostering, miscarriage and baby loss.
• Maternal OCD: Lots of information and resources about maternal OCD.
• Motherhood Group: Support, advocacy, training, counselling for black mothers mental health.

Although many of the other resources already listed on this page may also be useful for partners, we have included some partner specific resources below.

Perinatal loss

• Compassionate Friends: Call 0345 123 2304 (open every day of the year, 10am to 4pm and 7pm to 10pm) They offer a range of support including a volunteer run helpline, online web chat, Facebook groups, online support groups, a community forum and peer support for bereaved partners.
• Loss Collective support for partners: A dedicated website space for partners.

Perinatal trauma

• Bliss neonatal care for dads: Support and video.

Other partner resources

• Dad Matters: YouTube channel, podcast and closed Facebook group offering support.
• Dad Pad App: available via the Apple Store or Android Play Store.
• Man Down: Support men’s mental health in Cornwall.

• Clear: Call 01872 261 147. Cornwall based charity dedicated to the highest levels of care and support for people of all ages impacted by abuse and trauma. Their mission is to prevent, reduce and help children, young people and adults to heal from emotional trauma, in particular trauma that is linked to domestic abuse and sexual violence.
• First Light: For anyone who is experiencing or has experienced domestic abuse or sexual violence.
• Relate: Offers a range of relationship support to help people strengthen their relationships, including counselling, mediation and single sessions to work on a specific issue. This can be done as a couple or individually. Website also contains other support and resources.
• Survivor’s Trust: Lots of information and resources to support those affected by sexual violence or abuse.
• Women’s Aid: Support and resources for those experiencing domestic abuse
• Women’s Centre Cornwall: Specialist provider of services for women and girls (11 years and older) who have experienced any form of sexual violence, rape, sexual assault, childhood sexual abuse and/or domestic abuse at any point in their lives.