News and reports

As well as a difficult pregnancy, Kristy felt pressure both to breastfeed and to produce 'the perfect family'. Thanks to the support from her husband and home birth midwives, Kristy sought the help she needed for her mental health.

Maxine tells us about the multitude of factors that contributed to her mental illness as a new mum, as well as the support she thinks other mothers need to help them stay well.

Sharelle had a traumatic experience giving birth to her first son, which caused her to become anxious when she was pregnant with her second. This is her story.

After a traumatic birth, Zoe struggled to get the support she needed to prepare for the arrival of her second baby. She shares her story about the impact this had on her mental health, and how she’d like things to be different for other mums.

Maria faced a number of challenges as a new mum both during and after her pregnancy. The focus from staff on her weight, a history of depression and anxiety, and the mental health challenges her partner, Simon*, faced all led to a feeling of failure.

After months of caring for an unwell baby who was screaming 15 hours a day, Helen found herself resenting her daughter and wanting to leave her family. She explains how speaking to a counsellor has helped her to recognise and manage her depression.

Rachel experienced anxiety and depression throughout her pregnancy and after her baby was born. Read her story to understand just how important it is that mums and their partners receive the right support for their mental health.

Find out what's working well for people and what needs to improve when it comes to people about their mental health experiences before, during and after pregnancy, in our new report.

Find out what the public have been telling us about health and social care from April to June this year.

Read a summary of our latest research to find out why personalised care is important.

We take a look at the work Healthwatch have been doing with young people, and their families, to find out how health and education services are working together for people with additional needs.

We asked the Healthwatch network what the most important health and social care issues were for local residents. Find out more.