About one in five women experience a perinatal mental health problem during pregnancy or within the early postnatal years, the leading cause of maternal death within the first postnatal year. 1 It’s a widespread issue, but one for which support is patchy. A report published in February 2022 by researchers at the London School of Economics and Political Science finds that current practice leaves many women without access to evidence-based treatment when and where they need it. 2
Problems can include antenatal and postnatal depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, postpartum psychosis and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Illnesses can develop for the first time or have existed prior to pregnancy and become greatly exacerbated in the perinatal period.
Challenges in the veterinary sector
Mothers working in veterinary practice face a challenging time perinatally. Factors that vets commonly attribute their psychological distress at work to: work intensity, duration of working hours and its associated effects on personal lives and performance anxiety and feeling undervalued by senior staff and/or management3, combined with experiences common in the perinatal period, such as increased fatigue, sleep deprivation, altered emotional states, a reduction/loss of professional identity and loneliness, can exacerbate difficulties.
Emma*, working at the time in veterinary management, developed anxiety during pregnancy, then suffered PTSD and severe postnatal depression, resulting in hospitalisation in a specialist Mother and Baby Unit (MBU). “I had successfully overcome episodes of anxiety and depression in the past, but I simply wasn’t prepared for the overwhelming scale, and my normal coping strategies were either unavailable due to caring for an infant, or ineffective,” she reflects. “I had planned to return to work after 16 weeks of maternity leave, but I ended up having to extend this to the full year. It took a long time to find support, with no specialist perinatal mental health team in my area, there was an eight week wait for an MBU bed in another region, and a two year waiting list for psychological therapy. Even with extensive treatment at the MBU, it took a long time before I could cope again with my previous role and responsibilities. It’s been the greatest struggle of my life.”
Increasing awareness
Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week is a week-long campaign dedicated to talking about mental health problems during and after pregnancy. Organised by the Perinatal Mental Health Partnership UK (PMHP UK), it aims to raise public and professional awareness of perinatal mental health problems, advocating for women affected by it, changing attitudes and helping families access the information, care and support they need to recover.
Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week encourages charities, local peer support groups and services to share their details on social media so families know what support is available across the UK, and for people to join the conversation to reduce stigma, spread good practice and help women and families impacted by perinatal mental health problems to feel seen, heard and supported, using the hashtag #MaternalMHmatters
“Talking to other mothers and hearing their stories was an important means of support,” says Emma. “Whether it was in person or online, it helped me to feel less alone, and showed me that others had made it through to better times with themselves and their families intact.”
Support for the profession
The profession is becoming increasingly cognisant of the specific demands veterinary practice can place on mental health and professional organisations have developed resources to help. VMG President Georgina Hills says: “Ours is a tough and increasingly female profession. As the professional association for those in leadership and management roles in the veterinary sector, we take our responsibility to support our members’ mental health throughout their career seriously. For many, when they are pregnant or caring for young children is a time when they need particular support. Later in life, as they experience menopause, is another key time.
“Through working with our members with direct experience of maternal wellbeing issues, we have created a range of free resources to help our members to support affected colleagues, including editable Wellbeing at Work and Fertility Treatment policy templates. We also provide templates for New Mother Return to Work Risk Assessments, covering not only the physical health of returnees, but also their psychological and emotional health.
“In addition, we offer resources on creating flexible working policies and options for reasonable adjustments to support maternal mental health. Our discussion group offers opportunities for members to share experiences and best practice in supporting colleagues through any mental health challenges they face, either in the run up to giving birth or once their children have been born.”
Further information and support on maternal mental health can be found through several organisations:
Vetlife provides free and confidential support to veterinary professionals, including those of us experiencing mental health needs. You can call Vetlife Helpline on 0303 040 2551 any time of day or night or email via www.vetlife.org.uk
Mind Matters – https://www.vetmindmatters.org/ – resources for mental health and wellbeing support
Vets In Mind – https://www.vets-in-mind.org/ – an app bringing together mental health information and resources for the vet profession including a section on ‘Being a female vet’.
PANDAS for perinatal MH support – https://pandasfoundation.org.uk/ – offers helpline, email support, plus online support groups
Maternal Mental Health Alliance – https://maternalmentalhealthalliance.org/
Mind’s info line – https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/helplines/
British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy – https://www.bacp.co.uk/
Vetmums Facebook group – a voice for mums in the vet profession
Veterinary Woman Facebook group – a private group where healthy discussion, debate and support is welcomed
If you have been affected by perinatal mental health issues and would like to join the conversation, or share your story to help promote awareness and support, please get in touch: info@veterinarywoman.co.uk
*All names have been changed
References
1 Maternal Mental Health Alliance: about perinatal mental health (n.d.) https://maternalmentalhealthalliance.org/about/perinatal-mental-health/
2 Bauer A, Tinelli M and Knapp M (2022) The Economic Case for Increasing Access to Treatment for Women with Common Mental Health Problems During the Perinatal Period, Care Policy and Evaluation Centre, London. https://www.lse.ac.uk/cpec/assets/documents/CPEC-Perinatal-Economics-2022.pdf
3 Vetlife: stress, anxiety and depression https://www.vetlife.org.uk/mental-health/depression/
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