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Newham

Newham

House 15 Newham University Hospital, Glen Road, Plaistow, London E13 8SL

020 7363 8801

9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday

Perinatal Newham Team

About Us

The Perinatal Mental Health Team provides specialist care for people with mental health problems who are pregnant or in the first post-partum year, or who are considering pregnancy.

The team hold outpatient clinics in a number of locations around the borough and provides a liaison service to the maternity wards at Newham General Hospital.

Inpatient beds are available at the Homerton Mother and Baby Unit. Home visits can be arranged in late pregnancy and the early postpartum period.

What we offer

We provide specialist outpatient and community care to people who are pregnant or in their first year after having a baby. We also provide one off pre-conception counselling to people who have a history of severe mental illness and who are considering having a baby.

Your first appointment with us will either be with our consultant psychiatrist, or a member of our team. This could be a Specialist Nurse, Social Worker, Occupational Therapist, or Nursery Nurse.

In certain cases before you give birth we will hold a pre-birth planning meeting with yourself and the other professionals involved in your care to discuss how you will be supported during and after your labour.

After pregnancy then depending on the level of need you may also have home visits with one of our nurses in addition to outpatient clinic appointments.

Update for Newham Residents

As a service we are pleased to announce that we are now offering assessments to partners and co-parents that may be struggling with their mental health. The assessment will be a one off appointment where we discuss any challenges and difficulties that you may be experiencing. We will then signpost and refer to any relevant services for any further treatment or resources that may be of interest.

If you feel this would be beneficial for your partner/co-parent, please discuss this with your current professional in the team or call the office on 0207 363 8801 and ask to speak to the duty worker.

Maternal Mental Health

How to Refer

You can make a self referral by filling in the online form or we do accept referrals from the following professionals:

  • Health and social care professionals
  • GPs
  • Community psychiatrists
  • Obstetricians
  • Midwives
  • Health visitors and social workers.

Confidentiality and consent

When you talk with a health professional in private you will expect that what is said remains confidential. This principle is central to trust between patients and their doctor or other health professionals. Details of your care and treatment, including anything you tell us, remains confidential and will only be shared within our multidisciplinary clinical team (which includes health and social care staff) if necessary.

All health professionals are bound by law and professional codes of conduct to this duty of confidentiality to their patients.

Newham self referral

Making a Referral

If you live in the boroughs of Bedfordshire, City & Hackney, Newham or Tower Hamlets, and you are pregnant or have recently given birth and find you are suffering mentally or emotionally, please do not suffer alone. 

You can fill in the Referral form by clicking on the link below and it will be sent to the team in your local area who will be in touch within 7 days.

If you are experiencing a mental health crisis or emergency  and you or someone you know is in danger,  you can contact our free phone Mental Health Crisis Support teams who are available 24/7, 365 days a year. Find the team where you live here>>

Friends having coffee

Peer Support Workers

Here at ELFT we are very lucky to have perinatal peer support workers as part of our team.

Our peer support workers are individuals with lived experience and have the accredited Royal College of Pyscharitity quailification, whilst also using their experience and empathy to help support a women’s wellbeing.

If you are supported by a Peer support worker, you will feel heard and understood as your sessions will be led by an individual with lived experience the approach is more holistic than medical.

Dad, 42, Newham

My wife and I attended pre-birth baby classes, I read several helpful books written by other dads and I spoke with friends about what to expect. And, yet, there were some things I still felt totally unprepared for and didn’t know how to handle.

In the months after the birth I could see my wife was struggling to bond with the baby, I could see she felt lost and helpless and I think we both felt out of our depth. We needed some help, if only in the form of kind words and reassurance. It can be hard to know what to do, where to turn and who to speak to. I didn’t feel like I could open up to friends and family, and I didn’t feel comfortable speaking to medical professionals as I worried that something may happen, that we would be considered a risk, that social services may put us on a list.

To have a resource where you can come for help, guidance or just to talk, is invaluable. It feels like Dads sometimes get left behind in the care process and it is comforting and reassuring to know others are feeling and experiencing the same issues. We need to talk about it and to know where to find help.

Baby's feet in parent's hands

Get Involved

Find a collection of all the events that are being held within the Perinatal Team across East London and Luton & Bedfordshire.

Little Village

Little Village has hubs in north & south London. They collect clothes, toys and equipment for babies and children up to the age of 5. They accept donations of excellent-condition, pre-loved items, which are passed on to families who need support. The items are a gift, given with love, from one family to another.

Find out more

Lloyd Park Children's charity

Our baby bank supports families in Waltham Forest and beyond who are in urgent need of help. We rely solely on donations from the community, a gift from one local family to another.

Find out more

Made for Mums

It’s very common for new mums to feel overwhelmed, low and even a bit weepy in the first couple of weeks after birth. So common, in fact, that there’s actually a name for it, the baby blues. And it’s not surprising: You’re knackered, you’re sore, you’re bleeding (whether you had a caesarean or not) and, instead of being able to sleep it all off, you’re faced with the 24-hour responsibility of caring for a whole new – and right now very needy – person. While the weepiness and blues should be quite short-lived, it may take a while longer before you can ditch the overwhelmed bit.

Find out more


Parents in Mind

Local volunteers to support women experiencing emotional health difficulties in pregnancy.

Find out more

Postnatal mental health - Talking about mental health

Sara, Holly and Kate talk about their experience of mental health problems after pregnancy and becoming mothers.

Find out more

ACAS

Checking your pregnancy and maternity rights

Find out more

Pregnancy Sickness Support

Our national support network is for sufferers of NVP and HG and their carers, which is growing and developing constantly and making a huge difference to women all around the country. Our leaflets and website also provide a valuable resource for those suffering. We are also working hard to raise awareness about Nausea and Vomiting in pregnancy and Hyperemesis Gravidarum with the public, the media and Health Care Professionals (HCP's) and are involved in ongoing research into the cause and treatment of NVP and HG and the psychological impact for sufferers and their families.

Find out more

Guardian Society

Useful articles about perinatal health from the Guardian newspaper 2020-21 

Find out more
 

Online Information for Expectant Families

An A-Z of parental concerns. 

Find out more

Maternity Mates

Maternity Mates is currently open to pregnant women living in Newham, Tower Hamlets or Waltham Forest who do not have a suitable support network, or have specific needs or healthcare issues. Please click here to read more about the women we support, and to make a referral to the service.

Find out more

Talkchanges

We help people with a wide range of worries, common mental health problems and emotional difficulties.

Even though many of these problems are not unusual, they can become overwhelming, distressing and make day-to-day life a struggle.

Difficulties we can help with include:

  • Low mood – depression, stressful life events, loss of motivation, low self-esteem, problems at work, relationship distress
  • Anxiety – worry that is difficult to control, anxiety about social situations, panic attacks, traumatic events, obsessive thoughts and behaviours

Find out more

Parents in MIND, 1st 1000 Days New Parent Support

Our mission is to support parents through the first 1,000 days, to have the best possible experience of pregnancy, birth and early parenthood.

We do this through three interconnected aims:

  • Sharing knowledge - informing parents' decisions
  • Creating networks - forging vital friendships
  • Harnessing voices - changing public policy and attitudes for good.

Find out more

Mind

Website with helpful and friendly information that explains postnatal depression and other perinatal mental health problems, including possible causes, treatments and support options. Also has information for friends and family, including support and advice for partners.

Find out more

Best Start in Life

Our Family Support Workers help families to tackle issues having an impact on the family. This includes issues such as domestic violence, mental health, housing, and financial struggles. Many mums find it difficult to open up about how they are feeling and continue to suffer in silence. Parents in Mind aims to improve women’s emotional wellbeing and to reduce isolation within the community, by providing a safe space to talk and good quality support from a trained volunteer.

Find out more

PANDAS

PANDAS is a community offering peer-to-peer support for you, your family and your network.

Find out more

Lara Roberts

 

 

 

 

 

Lara Roberts