Date published: 30 April 2026
Mersey Care is launching a new set of materials, including an animation and real life stories sharing their own difficult maternity journey, to help others across Cheshire and Merseyside and mark this year’s Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week (4-10 May).
The Trust works in partnership with Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CWP) to support people across the region and has developed the new content for sharing on social media to help reduce stigma around maternal mental health and ensure families feel heard, supported, and able to access the help they need during pregnancy and after birth.
Natalie Patterson, Lead Maternal Mental Health Midwife and Joint Service Lead from Silver Birch Hubs, said: “Mental health problems around maternity are not always openly discussed or even recognised within our society and can be minimised or dismissed.
“It’s so important to make people aware that support, compassion and shared understanding is available for families navigating challenging reproductive journeys. Having a safe space to be heard in, by someone who understands their experience, and can offer support and intervention can be transformative for women, birthing people and their families.”
This year’s Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week is dedicated to talking about mental health problems before, during and after pregnancy. This year’s campaign, which includes World Maternal Mental Health Day on Wednesday 6 May, marks 10 years of progress of raising awareness, breaking the stigma and helping people access the information, care and support they need to recover.
Spotlighting lived experiences, the week also highlights the vital collaboration between families and professionals and the Trust have collated real life stories from service users and peer support workers sharing their own experiences of difficult maternity journeys.
Perinatal refers to the 12 months after giving birth, however the Perinatal Specialist Service can work with mums and birthing people from pregnancy until 24 months after birth.
Perinatal Mental Health illness is when someone is mentally unwell whilst they are pregnant and/or anytime in the first year after giving birth.
Maternal Mental Health Services, Silver Birch Hubs, work with mums at any point in their journey, they focus on the experience of birth trauma and baby loss.
Referrals can be made by any healthcare professional, including midwives, health visitors, GPs, social workers, therapists or counsellors.
Visit our service page for contact details.
We offer pregnancy planning support appointments if you are thinking about, or planning to have, a baby, and:
- have a complex life history or mental health problems and are taking medication for mental health problems
- are worried about the impact having a baby will have on your mental health
- have anxiety around pregnancy, childbirth or becoming a parent.
You can call your local team to refer yourself for pregnancy planning, for all other services please speak to your GP or health visitor.
Please let us know if you need adjustments to suit mobility, language or other specific needs.
Phone consultation and advice for health professionals
We provide advice for any health or social care professionals working with women who are receiving support from primary or secondary mental health services and are either pregnant, planning a pregnancy or have a baby who is under 24 months.
