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Tower Hamlets Perinatal Service

Tower Hamlets

Address: Perinatal Psychiatry, Burdett House, Ground Floor, Mile End Hospital, 275 Bancroft Road, London E1 4DG

Telephone:  0207 771 5826

Opening times: 9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday

About Us

This is an outpatient service for people during pregnancy and up to a year postnatally who live in Tower Hamlets. For parents who have a pre-existing or new-onset mental illness.

The Perinatal Service works with people who have moderate to severe mental health difficulties in pregnancy or within the first year after childbirth. These may be pre-existing illnesses or have their onset in the perinatal period.

If there is a previous, current or a family history of mental health difficulties, you can consent to a referral to this service. Members of the team have many different professional backgrounds: nursing, psychology, and medicine.

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 individuals 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.

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.

Self referral Tower Hamlets

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.

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.

Visit the Little Village website

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.

Visit Lloyd Park Children's Charity website
 

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.

Visit the Made for Mums website

Parents in Mind

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

Visit the Parents in Mind website

Postnatal mental health - Talking about mental health

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

Visit the Postnatal Mental health website

ACAS

Checking your pregnancy and maternity rights

Visit the ACAS website
 

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 

Visit the Guardian Society website
 

Grow baby

A welcoming and relaxing space for Hackney-based children and their carers, where everyone can make friends and find support. We welcome parents, childminders, nannies, grandparents and anyone else looking after under-fives. There is always plenty for toddlers to play with and lots of chat amongst the parents and carers.

Find out more
 

Online Information for Expectant Families

An A-Z of parental concerns. 

Find out more
 

ELFT

Contact details for an outpatient service for women during pregnancy and up to a year postnatally who live in Tower Hamlets. For women who have a pre-existing or new-onset mental illness.

Visit the Trust website
 

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.

Visit Maternity Mates
 

Toyhouse

With 35 years experience of working with families through the medium of play, Toyhouse fosters attachment between parents and children, enabling them to interact together and share experiences. Toyhouse empowers individuals, families, volunteers and employees to develop skills and resilience.

Visit Toyhouse
 

E5 Baby Bank

The E5 BABY & CHILDREN BANK offers families in need essential items such as clothes, shoes, toys, books, food and baby equipment. All items are generously donated by the local community.

Visit E5 Baby Bank
 

Sure Steps

Support Through Early Parenting Scheme - is a Tower Hamlets project that offers one-to-one peer support for pregnant women or new mothers.

Visit Sure Steps
 

Community Parents

Trained volunteers provide emotional and practical support during pregnancy and up to a baby's first year of family life.

Visit Community Parents

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.

Visit Parents in Mind
 

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.

Visit Mind
 

The Small Project

We started giving out clothes bundles in 2015. We're a small team of volunteers who want to make sure that good quality baby clothes and equipment, which are no longer needed by one family can easily be passed on to another.

Visit Small Project

PANDAS

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

Find out more

Lara Roberts

 

 

 

 

Lara Roberts