Worried about your partner?

Pregnancy and having a new baby is usually seen as a time of great happiness and excitement. In reality, it’s common for women to feel low or anxious and experience problems with their emotional health during this time.

If you’re worried about your partner, try to talk to them about your concerns. Your partner’s midwife, health visitor or GP can work with you both to decide which service is best placed to provide support.

Many mothers feel guilty or embarrassed about sharing how they’re really feeling and end up not seeking the support they need. They can also be worried that their baby might be taken away from them.

If a new mum needs support for postnatal depression or any other mental health issue, it does not mean their baby will be taken into care. In fact, health professionals will do everything they can to support them to get better. They can help new mums to bond with their baby, if that’s something they are struggling with.

Postpartum psychosis is a very serious and rare mental health condition which affects around 1 in every 1000 women who give birth. Women experiencing this condition have hallucinations (hearing voices or seeing things that aren’t real) and/or delusional thoughts (thoughts that are unlikely to be true). Often women experiencing this condition do not realise themselves that they are unwell. So it’s important for a partner, friend or family member to get help urgently if they think something is wrong.

If your partner has had previous contact with mental health services in Leeds – do they have a crisis plan with contact details? If you are unable to find the plan, call Leeds and York Partnership Foundation Trust’s (LYPFT) Single Point of Access (SPA) on 0800 183 1485. If you’re deaf or hard of hearing, you can text 07983 323867. The SPA Team is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

If they’ve not had any previous contact with mental health services in Leeds and cannot wait for an urgent GP appointment: call NHS 111 (free, open 24 hours a day) – a highly trained adviser, supported by healthcare professionals, will ask you a series of questions and immediately direct you to the best service to support your needs.

For places you can call and face-to-face support in an emotional crisis go to Need urgent help?

Have they injured themselves or taken an overdose? Are they at immediate risk of hurting themself or taking their life? Call 999 and ask for an ambulance, or, go to A&E.