City student's bid to raise awareness of maternal mental health

A CITY student is looking to raise awareness of maternal mental health.

Ruth Seekings, who is in the second year of studying midwifery at the University of Worcester, was recently asked to create a piece of artwork relating to the problem with World Maternal Mental Health Awareness Day ahead on Wednesday, May 1.

She said: "I created a little statue called the 'suffocating mother' to represent the pressures that some new mothers feel, especially regarding accepting their new postpartum body.

"This is something I feel really passionate about advocating for as a student midwife and feel it is so important for new mums to know there is plenty of support out there and they are not alone."

Ruth Seekings' 'suffocating mother' (Image: Ruth Seekings)

The postpartum period begins soon after the delivery of the baby and usually lasts six to eight weeks and ends when the mother's body has nearly returned to its pre-pregnant state.

Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week runs until May 5 and is a campaign dedicated to talking about mental health problems before, during and after pregnancy.

Organised and led by Perinatal Mental Health Partnership UK, it aims to raise public and professional awareness of perinatal mental health problems, advocate for women and families impacted, change attitudes and help people access the information, care and support they need to recover.

The partnership is a small group of individuals, including parents with lived experience and clinicians, who came together to raise awareness of maternal mental health.

World Maternal Mental Health Day is a big part of the week's campaign.

The Maternal Mental Health Alliance will be hosting its first Maternal Mental Health Advocacy Day then, encouraging the community to come together and use its collective voice to advocate for the mental health needs of new and expectant mothers in the UK.

For more details, visit wmmhday.postpartum.net or maternalmentalhealthalliance.org.