Transforming care by integrating maternity and psychological support: a mixed-methods evaluation of a Maternal Mental Health Service
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Reed, Jasmine
Khossravi, Hadiss
van Rhijn, Sanne
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Background
Maternal mental health difficulties, associated with perinatal loss, a traumatic birth or fear of childbirth, are common and yet often left untreated. Maternal Mental Health Services were set up as part of the National Health Service (NHS) Long Term Plan to address this gap and provide psychological treatment and specialist midwifery care to women and birthing people experiencing maternal mental health difficulties using trauma-informed frameworks. This study aimed to evaluate the establishment and initial treatment outcomes of the Maternity Trauma & Loss Care Service (MTLC), a Maternal Mental Health Service, for women and birthing people affected by perinatal trauma, loss, and tokophobia.
Method
The sample includes all women and birthing people (N = 254) referred to the Maternity Trauma & Loss Care Service over the 12-month period from 1st April 2022 to 31st March 2023. Data were analysed using a mixed‐methods cross‐sectional design.
Results
Of the 72 clients with completed outcome measures, a reduction in the proportion of clients reporting clinically significant levels of psychological distress between the start and end of treatment from 77 to 29% was observed. The proportion of clients reporting clinically relevant symptoms of post-traumatic stress was reduced from 80% pre-treatment to 15% post-treatment. The 17 clients who provided feedback, overall reported that, as a result of accessing the service, they felt supported, listened to and advocated for whilst they received maternity care.
Conclusion
This study provides useful insights about Maternal Mental Health Services, that they fill a clear gap for women and birthing people with mental health difficulties related to pregnancy, birth and perinatal loss. It highlights areas for future research and barriers for implementing these services.
Maternal mental health difficulties, associated with perinatal loss, a traumatic birth or fear of childbirth, are common and yet often left untreated. Maternal Mental Health Services were set up as part of the National Health Service (NHS) Long Term Plan to address this gap and provide psychological treatment and specialist midwifery care to women and birthing people experiencing maternal mental health difficulties using trauma-informed frameworks. This study aimed to evaluate the establishment and initial treatment outcomes of the Maternity Trauma & Loss Care Service (MTLC), a Maternal Mental Health Service, for women and birthing people affected by perinatal trauma, loss, and tokophobia.
Method
The sample includes all women and birthing people (N = 254) referred to the Maternity Trauma & Loss Care Service over the 12-month period from 1st April 2022 to 31st March 2023. Data were analysed using a mixed‐methods cross‐sectional design.
Results
Of the 72 clients with completed outcome measures, a reduction in the proportion of clients reporting clinically significant levels of psychological distress between the start and end of treatment from 77 to 29% was observed. The proportion of clients reporting clinically relevant symptoms of post-traumatic stress was reduced from 80% pre-treatment to 15% post-treatment. The 17 clients who provided feedback, overall reported that, as a result of accessing the service, they felt supported, listened to and advocated for whilst they received maternity care.
Conclusion
This study provides useful insights about Maternal Mental Health Services, that they fill a clear gap for women and birthing people with mental health difficulties related to pregnancy, birth and perinatal loss. It highlights areas for future research and barriers for implementing these services.
Date Issued
2025-10-17
Date Acceptance
2025-08-20
Citation
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 2025, 25
ISSN
1471-2393
Publisher
BMC
Journal / Book Title
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
Volume
25
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
License URL
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
1111
Date Publish Online
2025-10-17