What can be done?
There is a lot of knowledge and help now available to assist women through this difficult time.
Midwives are the first professionals to look after women following childbirth, they will be alerted to any difficulties during the early days. The midwife will have become a familiar face to the woman and her family through the pregnancy and will be quick to note and anxieties the woman may have in adapting to motherhood.
The midwife and health visitor provide home visits after the birth ad are likely to see difficulties in the home environment.
Health Visitors may perform a simple test called the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Score (Cox 1985), which is an indicator of how the mother may be feeling at that time. This will give the health visitor a guide of what help to offer the mother. This could be in the form of extra home visits called ‘listening visits’, where the woman has permission to talk about feelings and how she feels she is coping with her life at that time.
Community Psychiatric Nurses work with women who have been referred when more in depth counseling and therapy is thought to be appropriate, she can visit at home and offer support.
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