An expectant Nottinghamshire mum has credited a charity's support programme with preventing her mental health "spiralling out" whilst pregnant. Sammy Hand reached out to an NSPCC programme when she began suffering from anxiety and depression.
The 36-year-old from Rainworth said her mental health had begun to suffer whilst working from home, with her pregnancy causing her hormones to go "all over the place". "I spend a lot of time on my own so I developed anxiety and I suffered a bit with general depression due to spending so much time on my own," she said.
Ms Hand, who works as a planned care manager for the NHS, continued: "It was a huge change from me because I went to the hospital every day for the last ten years. Then I got pregnant and my hormones were all over the place.
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"It was a big change in my life and there was a lot of things going on." After mentioning her problems to a midwife at 13 weeks pregnant, she was referred to the NSPCC Pregnancy in Mind programme.
The service supports expectant parents who may be experiencing, or are at risk of developing, anxiety or depression during or following pregnancy. It teaches techniques such as mindfulness meditation, active relaxation and coping skills to deal with anxiety
"It almost nipped it in the bud. You don't have the same mindset when you're pregnant because there's so much going on," said Ms Hand. "I was very conscious, because I'm pregnant, that I didn't want it to spiral out of control.
"The weekly sessions really helped ground me." Now, she says she feels as though she is in a much better place ahead of the birth of her baby girl, expected in July.
"We stopped after six and if I feel like I need anymore, which I don't think I need at the minute, I can just get referred back in," she said. "It's nice to have that safety net, knowing that it's worked so well already.
"Generally in the NHS you don't get that, it's such huge waiting lists. This has just been so quick and it's really flexible.
"It was an eye-opener because you hear NSPCC and think they just look after children. I don't think enough people know about it."
Sandra Garthwaite, the NSPCC direct services team manager for the Midlands, said: “Our new PiM service for Nottingham City and County will be the first face-to-face programme we’ve run since the pandemic, and while our virtual service helped parents across the region, this method of delivery will provide a different set of benefits for parents-to-be. By being able to meet face-to-face, parents from the same area can interact together and extend their social connections.
“To mark this Mental Health Awareness Week, we would love to hear from expectant parents who are worried about or struggling with their mental health – you can come speak to us at the hub or phone us for more details. By taking part in this new version of the programme, you can help our practitioner shape the new service for Nottinghamshire in the future.”
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