Not waving but drowning: mothers in distress

Abstract

Research indicates that when mothers become depressed or disturbed the majority do not seek help from any source and only 25% of them consult a professional (McIntosh, 1993). When psychological problems are identified, there is widespread confusion about appropriate referral to the variety of psychological therapies available. Current demand for psychological services outstrips supply, with a shortage of trained practitioners and long waiting lists for both clinical psychology and psychotherapy. Added to this, there are fears that staff offer therapies for which they do not have adequate training or supervision (Department of Health, 1996). There is also a general lack of information available nationally and locally about the psychological needs and treatment of women during the reproductive years, with a resulting lack of benchmarks against which services could be audited. This paper draws attention to the unidentified and unmet psychoanalytical psychotherapy treatment needs of women during the reproductive years, and further NHS developments that would support midwives professionally to appropriately keep the mother in midwifery care while also continuing to improve perinatal mental health care.