Mental health: Mum who had postpartum psychosis says new unit vital

A mother who asked her husband if they should suffocate their baby when suffering from postpartum psychosis says there is a "tremendous need" to open a dedicated mother and baby mental health unit (MBU) in Northern Ireland

Tara Maguire said she heard voices saying her baby "should be in heaven" days after giving birth.

Tara was admitted to a general mental health ward in hospital.

She is speaking after an announcement about Northern Ireland's first MBU.

The Department of Health (DoH) said the MBU would be based at Belfast City Hospital.

The unit was first proposed 15 years ago.

This move only confirms the location, other details including how the project will be funded and staffed are unclear.

It will provide a dedicated in-patient service for women with serious post-partum mental health issues and admit mothers with their babies so that they can be with them while receiving treatment.

Northern Ireland is currently the only part of the UK without a dedicated MBU.

• 'I was in a psychiatric unit after I had my baby'

• Mother shares postpartum psychosis ordeal

• 'I tried to kill my newborn baby and husband'

Tara, who has two children, said she always planned for a family but had no idea the impact psychosis would have on her physical and mental health.

"From feelings of elation, voices in my head told me my baby was too beautiful for this world and should be in heaven," she said.

"At the darkest point, I suggested to my husband Chris: 'Is it now that we should think about suffocating the baby?'"

Her daughter Maisie, who is now two-and-a-half, was separated from her mum for three weeks when Tara was admitted to hospital.

During that time Tara was expressing milk, but it had to be dumped as it was full of anti-psychotic medication.

She was allowed one visit a day, but at times she was physically unable to see her family.

What is postpartum psychosis?

• A rare but serious mental health illness that can affect any new mother

• Symptoms can include hallucinations, delusions, manic and low moods, loss of inhibitions, restlessness, out-of-character behaviour and confusion

• If left untreated the condition can get rapidly worse and lead to mothers harming the baby, themselves or others

• Treatment options include being looked after at a mother and baby unit, medication, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and electroconvulsive therapy

• The most severe symptoms usually last between two and 12 weeks but recovery can take several months

Source: NHS website

Her husband Chris described the system as disjointed and broken.

"The right hand didn't know what the left hand was doing," he said.

"The community support team didn't know what the hospital team was doing and vice versa."

Chris said the care provided was "full of holes" and "remarkably poorly set up to deal with that type of situation".

He said witnessing his wife's illness was "disturbing and traumatising" because he "saw the fear in her eyes" but could not do anything to help her.

The family were given a card with helpline numbers when leaving the hospital after Maisie's birth, but Chris said he did not believe he would ever have to use them.

"The first time I heard the words 'postpartum psychosis' was at 04:15 in the morning when I rang that number.

"I learned more in that 15 minute phone call than I did in the entire week before.

"Nobody had ever thought to make me aware of this, Tara was completely unaware, I was the one who needed to know.

"The service still isn't ready. My wife is a statistic now and that's just not good enough.

"If we lived in England she would have had a totally different experience, the baby would have had a better experience, the connection would have been stronger.

"We worked hard to develop that connection, but the onus shouldn't be on the family that's why we have a health service."

'A good step forward'

The Royal College of Psychiatrists in Northern Ireland has welcomed the announcement. But, the college said, stable government is also needed to ensure proper funding for the unit.

"We traditionally lagged behind the rest of the UK when it came to perinatal mental health services and new and expectant mothers deserved much better," Dr Judith O'Neill, chair of the college's perinatal faculty, said.

She added: "While the roll out of community perinatal mental health services and a new mother and baby unit is a good step forward, we must not be complacent.

"We now need a government to be put back into place at Stormont, so the new unit and wider mental health workforce can be properly funded."

Northern Ireland's first MBU unit will be based at Belfast City Hospital

All five health and social care trusts have community perinatal mental health teams in place that offer support and interventions to women through their pregnancy and up until one year after birth.

DoH permanent secretary Peter May said: "The Belfast Trust will now begin to prepare a business case for the proposed regional unit on the Belfast City Hospital site.

"While this is a very positive step, the reality is that we are operating in a very challenging financial situation.

"For this reason, timescales for delivery of the unit are dependent on being able to identify the funding required to build and run the new facility."

Details of help and support with pregnany-related issues are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.