Findings from our Perinatal Conference

Family Action’s Perinatal Conference, held in Westminster on the 4th July, provided an overview on the latest Government policy on perinatal services, an examination of the risks to child development and examples of good practice including a spotlight on Family Action’s Perinatal Support Project.

The event was attended by nearly 70 delegates from local authorities, practitioners, and the voluntary sector. Delegates reported that they found the day "very interesting and extremely informative" providing them with a "better understanding of perinatal services".

Speakers on the day included Dr Daniel Poulter MP, Ailsa Swarbrick - Department of Health, Dr Susan Pawlby - Development Psychologist at Kings College Hospital and Professor Jane Barlow from the University of Warwick.

""Perinatal services are definitely the future and Family Action is ahead of the game, you are offering something completely unique in terms of volunteered delivered services."

Professor Jane Barlow, University of Warwick

Professor Barlow is currently conducting an independent evaluation of our Perinatal Support Project, due for publication in the late Autumn. She confirmed during her presentation that some of the outcomes of the project include statistically significant improvements in:

Depression and anxiety
Social support
Warmth towards the baby

Polling amongst delegates was conducted throughout the day:

78% agreed that it was unrealistic to expect midwives and health visitors to give extensive emotional support to mothers with perinatal depression
88% agreed that there was a lack of clarity about who should be commissioning maternity and early years intervention services for those at risk
98% agreed that there is a role for the charity sector in supporting new parents and babies in at risk groups

Finally, Dr Susan Pawlby, a development psychologist at Kings College Hospital presented on the South London Child Development Study. This study was conducted amongst 204 women over a 16 year period, from 1986-2012.

The results show that compared to children of well mothers, children of mothers who were depressed in the perinatal period:

Had lower IQ scores - boys’ 20 points lower
Were 12 times more likely to have a statement of special needs in the primary school years
Were more angry and inattentive at 11 years
Were more likely to suffer from separation anxiety at 11 years
Were more likely to have a diagnosis of depression at 16 years
Were at elevated risk for violence at 16 years

The findings also showed that 90% of the women who were depressed in pregnancy, went on to have further episodes of depression, demonstrating that when left untreated, maternal depression is a life-long illness.

Thank you to everyone who helped to make the conference such a success.

If you would like any further information about the conference, or any of the presentations, please get in touch with us. You can learn more about the Perinatal Support Project here.

Family Action’s perinatal conference was kindly supported by Mothercare, Big Lottery and The Monument Trust.