The Pandemic Perinatal Period

Foreword by Sarah Marsden

Postpartum Depression is a leading complication of childbearing. Suicide is a leading cause of maternal death between 6 weeks and 12 months postpartum accounting for around 39% of maternal deaths during that period in a given year, and within the UK specifically there has been a 15% increase over the last 10 years.

The fact that suicide is a leading cause of particularly postpartum maternal deaths is a well evidenced fact. According to the Maternal Mental Health Alliance the UK goverment wanted to see a 50% reduction in maternal deaths by 2025, but instead the number has increased not decreased even with the exclusion of any Covid related deaths during the last few years.

There has also been much research into genetically inherited trauma and how parents, even grandparents or great-grandparents living through stressful events can create an increased likelihood of stress-related disorders in future generations

In my role as a doula, I am keenly aware of how maternal (and  paternal) mental health can be negatively impacted and that navigating issues is hard enough when you have support, services are up and running and there is community around you. I help to run our local homebirth group and in April 2020 I was voicing concerns about the longterm wellbeing of babies developing in a state of stress and anxiety in utero and how lack of real human  contact was going to affect maternal wellbeing especially for those already struggling with their mental health.

I had planned a year off from doula work in the March of 2020 and instead found myself busier than ever plugging a massive void in  services as well as general companionship all while being pregnant myself. As my inbox filled with enquiries, there was no way I could further isolate people from having a smiling face and a helping hand during this time period.

This project is an opportunity to revisit those concerns, and to give a voice to those who went through a perinatal period including pregnancy, birth, loss and the first 12 months postpartum during 2020-2022 in allowing them to share their story honestly.

It is my hope that parents will feel a sense of unburdening by having someone listen to their story and releasing emotions they’ve felt and held onto about their experience and that we may also learn for the future that no one should be forced to go through these life altering experiences in isolation and, while there may be the odd mostly positive story, on the whole, those looking back are grieving the loss of what should have been and what they really needed and probably will for many years to come if not for the rest of their lives.

Perhaps the full impact remains to be seen.