Need for Perinatal Mental Health – Part C

Read each paragraph and answer the questions on your notebook. The answers will be discussed during the 06.00 pm FREE Session.

Paragraph 1

Almost one in five women experience a mental health condition during pregnancy or the first year of their child’s life, according to experts. In 2016, the UK government pledged a revolution in mental health services, including almost £300m to provide specialist care for expectant or new mothers in England. However, there still remains large gaps in care and promises. While there is some form of specialist provision across most of the UK and there has been increased investment everywhere, there is a significant disparity between nations.

1. According to this paragraph:

1. Pregnant and postnatal women in the UK do not get funds;
2. Pregnant and postnatal women in the UK do not get required mental health services;
3. Except in the UK, in many countries, pregnant and postnatal women are not provided mental health services;
4. Only pregnant women get mental health services;

2. According to the paragraph, the problem lies in:

1. Shortage of care providers;
2. Unfulfilled promises;
3. Shortage of investment;
4. Corruption;

Paragraph 2

According to a report, two of Northern Ireland’s five health and social care boards have no specialist multi-disciplinary team to help mums dealing with perinatal mental health difficulties. There is also no mother and baby unit for mums who need inpatient mental health care after birth. In Wales, none of the health boards met UK-wide quality standards devised by the Royal College of Psychiatrists for what services should deliver for pregnant women and those who have just given birth. In Scotland, only 14% of health boards met these standards.

3. In Northern Ireland:

1. There are no adequate social care boards;
2. Multi-disciplinary teams are available only for pregnant women;
3. There is a shortage of required multi-disciplinary teams;
4. The multi-disciplinary teams are inefficient;

4. When it comes to providing mental health care for perinatal women:

1. Scotland claims a better credibility;
2. Northern Ireland fares the worst;
3. Wales has a poorer condition than others;
4. Scotland meets most of the UK-wide quality standards;

Paragraph 3

In England – the nation with the most comprehensive care – the NHS does not appear to be on track to meet the goals it set for this year. Only around half of trusts are so far providing care from pre-conception to two years after birth, or offering partners support.

5. Mention Practice (Say which statement is mentioned in the paragraph)

1. England has been able to provide mental health-care to perinatal women;
2. No other nation has as comprehensive a care as the UK has;
3. However, the UK too has failed in providing care for its perinatal women.
4. The NHS has not fulfilled any of its goals;
5. People do not place trust on the NHS.

Paragraph 4

When Eleanor was pregnant with her first child, she made sure she discussed her previous experience of depression with her doctor. But around a fortnight after her daughter was born, Eleanor began to have intrusive thoughts – these could be “violent thoughts of purposefully harming” her baby. “My mood started to change and I started to feel quite low,” Eleanor told. “I was sleeping a lot and in hindsight, it wasn’t just to catch up on sleep, it was to avoid the feelings I was feeling – and I didn’t want to be in the same room as my daughter.” Standing at the top of a hill with her daughter in a pushchair, she thought about letting go. “I wasn’t convinced I wasn’t going to do it,” she says now. Eleanor started asking others to push her daughter instead and sought help from a mental health midwife.

6. Which of the statements agree with the paragraph? (Mention Practice)

1. Eleanor did not like to have a baby;
2. Eleanor developed episodes of depression first time after becoming pregnant;
3. She had experienced episodes of depression before becoming pregnant;
4. Her depressive state of mind was triggered after conceiving;
5. She was extremely sleep deprived;
6. She had consulted her depressive drives with her doctor;
7. She wanted to harm herself and the baby;
8. She Was half-minded about getting rid of her baby;

7. In the case of Eleonor:

1. Aggression to the father of the baby led to suicidal thoughts;
2. Deprivation of dear and near ones led to her thoughts of getting rid of the baby;
3. Availing mental health support could have solved her dilemma;
4. She had never found fault with her behaviour;

8. All except one of the following statements indicate that the baby’s life was in real danger. Which is the odd one?

1. “My mood started to change and I started to feel quite low.”
2. “I was sleeping a lot and in hindsight, it wasn’t just to catch up on sleep, it was to avoid the feelings I was feeling.”
3. “I didn’t want to be in the same room as my daughter.”
4. Standing at the top of a hill with her daughter in a pushchair, she thought about letting go.
5. “I wasn’t convinced I wasn’t going to do it.”
6. Eleanor started asking others to push her daughter instead.

Paragraph 5

The consequences of not getting support can be fatal. While the numbers of women who take their own lives when they are pregnant or in the first year after giving birth are small – the risk of the worst outcome appears to be rising. In 2020, ten women took their own lives while pregnant or shortly after giving birth – the same number of women as the previous three years combined. Experts say the trend is statistically significant. Indeed, researchers were so worried that they brought forward the most recent audit of maternal deaths to report it. Based on reports, we’re at this time seeing an increase in the number of women taking their lives during the pregnancy periods and shortly after birth. This really is a matter of life or death.

9. According to reports:

1. Mental health support has a rising demand;
2. Mental health support alone cannot tackle the crisis;
3. Despite mental health support, perinatal mothers see no respite in the crisis;
4. Despite mental health support, suicide rates are rising;

Paragraph 6

The issue does not appear to be a lack of funding, with all nations setting aside more money for this area of health care. Rather, that money is not always being spent. Figures from the MMHA show that almost three quarters of mental health trusts in England forecast an underspend for 2022. Across the UK, more than £15m allocated to improve maternal mental health in 2022 was not spent.

10. According to paragraph 6:

1. Money is not a real factor to improve the situation;
2. More money is to be allocated for mental health care;
3. Mental health trusts are not spending the allocated funds;
4. Few nations are concerned about improving the crisis;