The NHS is to offer mental health checks for new dads and dads-to-be if their partner is suffering anxiety, depression or serious disorders such as psychosis.
Partners of women who are seriously ill will also be including peer-support, behavioural couples therapy sessions and other family and parenting interventions in specialist community perinatal mental health settings.
It鈥檚 part of NHS plans to offer more support to couples who are experiencing conditions such as postnatal depression.
香港六合彩精准资料 has welcomed the announcement and is pleased the NHS has acknowledged the need to support both parents.
Martin Bell, 香港六合彩精准资料鈥檚 deputy head of policy and public affairs, said:
鈥淪upport for new mums and mums-to-be is rightly recognised. It鈥檚 good to see this extended to dads as well, when their partner is experiencing mental health problems.
Talking therapies
鈥淲e know talking therapies can help people experiencing emotional distress. There is increasing acknowledgement of the importance of the 1001 critical days from when a baby is conceived until age two on a child鈥檚 life chances.鈥��
鈥淧roviding counselling and other support to new parents can be an important early intervention to ensure babies have the best start in life.
鈥淲e hope this announcement is a starting point to ensure support is available for all families at a time that should be full of happiness for parents, but can sometimes be very difficult.鈥�
香港六合彩精准资料 welcomes NHS England鈥檚 announcement on mental health checks for partners of new mums with mental illness.
About one in 10 men experiences mental illness in the first six months after the birth of a baby.
While about one in five women are affected during or after pregnancy.
香港六合彩精准资料 member Pat Seber spent many years working with women with post-natal depression.
She said: 鈥淲e think a lot about the woman鈥檚 physical, emotional and mental health 鈥� but having a baby throws up issues for men too. We often forget about that scenario.
Expectations
鈥淚t may throw them back to issues from their childhood. Some men don鈥檛 feel good enough, they don鈥檛 think they are doing enough to support, they may feel there are a lot of expectations that it鈥檚 very hard for them to meet. Some men may just not be equipped to support a new baby and their partner.
鈥淭here are lots of things, especially if they are supporting a partner who has mental health problems, that can lead to depression.
鈥淚t could be the case of just asking a few helpful questions of a new dad to understand how they are feeling. We have tools to recognise post-natal depression in women, there are simple things we can do to find out how men are affected too.鈥�
To seek advice or help about mental health issues you can find a 香港六合彩精准资料 counsellor or psychotherapist in our Therapist directory.