Specialist Support Helps New Moms with Severe Mental Illness Reduce Relapse Risk

New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London, and in partnership with the University of Exeter and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, has found that women with a history of severe mental illness face a lower risk of relapse after giving birth in regions where they have access to a community perinatal mental health team (CPMHT).

The research, published in Lancet Psychiatry, is the first of its kind to evaluate the effectiveness of CPMHTs, and suggests that women with access to specialist support have a reduced risk of acute relapse after birth, but also highlights the importance of the need for mental health services to work more closely with maternity services.

CPMHTs were rolled out in England from 2016 as part of a unique national initiative to improve the access to specialists for women with perinatal mental health problems and overall mental health outcomes. Women with a history of severe mental illness such as bipolar disorder and severe depression are at greatly increased risk of relapse in the first few months after birth and CPMHTs aim to improve access to preventive care during pregnancy in addition to treating new episodes of mental illness during pregnancy and after birth. However, little research has been conducted into exploring the effectiveness of such CPMHT care.