A woman who experienced postnatal depression after her daughter\u2019s birth is campaigning for better mental health supports for pregnant women and new mothers.<\/p>\n
Aolish Gormley said \u201cpostnatal care in Ireland ends far too soon\u201d, and called for a year of postnatal access instead of the typical six weeks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She also called for action on long-delayed plans to open a mental health unit for mothers in crisis and their babies.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a six-week check-up, and I was fine, as fine as anybody is with a newborn baby. I had no pre-existing mental health issues and no red flags for anyone to worry about,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\n It wasn\u2019t until my child was six months old that I began to struggle. There\u2019s research there to show that depression or stress can peak at six months and again at 12 months.\n <\/p>\n
The Maternity and Infant Care Scheme offers care during pregnancy and for up to six weeks afterwards. Some areas, including Listowel in Kerry, now also have postnatal hubs.<\/p>\n
However, Ms Gormley said: \u201cBy and large, that six-week appointment is more focused on the baby rather than the mother\u201d.<\/p>\n
Feedback to the campaign ‘A Year of Care’, including on social media, shows, she said, “you\u2019re at the mercy of who is dealing with you”.<\/p>\n
“Everybody is doing their best in the health service, but they\u2019re so stretched. I would speak to mothers referred for specialist mental health help, and didn\u2019t hear anything for six or seven months. That\u2019s not good enough.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
An inpatient unit for mothers in crisis was recommended in 2017, but planning is still in the very early stages.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s particularly sad,\u201d the Sligo woman said.<\/p>\n
\n Mothers have contacted the campaign saying they needed to be admitted to a mental health unit, and the only way was without their babies. That in itself could send a woman into another spiral.\n <\/p>\n
She has contacted health ministers Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and Mary Butler.<\/p>\n
A Department of Health response, seen by the Irish Examiner, congratulated Ms Gormley’s campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe minister is aware of the concerns expressed by mothers and families regarding the availability and consistency of postnatal supports, and a range of developments are being progressed within maternity and postnatal services,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n