Devon Perinatal Mental Health Team

28/04/2026

Join our Co-Founder, , as she chats with .natalie.psychologist, a Perinatal and Early Years Psychologist about the differences between the Baby Blues and Postnatal Depression.

Whether you are a new parent or supporting one, understanding the shift in emotions after birth is vital. For Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week, we are hosting a conversation to help distinguish between common transitions and deeper struggles.

What We are Covering:

The "Baby Blues": Why they should be temporary and when it is time to seek further support.

Beyond the Blues: Identifying Postnatal Depression, Postpartum Rage, and the "numbness" or symptoms often left out of the conversation.

Intrusive Thoughts: Understanding why they happen and how to manage them.

The Road to Recovery: Focussing on real, practical ways to start feeling like yourself again.

Taking place on 4th May at 2pm on the Facebook and Instagram Pages.

23/04/2026

🌿 Exmouth Forest School – This Friday! 🌿
For mums under the Perinatal Mental Health Team
Friday 25th April| 11am–2pm
📍 The Forest School, Exmouth, Leeford Woods, Knowle Hill, EX9 7AL
🔎 What3Words: octagon.proposals.proven

Mums, babies, and your extended families… you’re all warmly invited to join us in the woods this Friday 💚✨
There’s no need to arrive on time—come and go whenever suits you and your family.

Spring has sprung 🌸 Come enjoy the forest at this magical time of year and soak up the peace and beauty of the season 🌻

22/04/2026

On World Administrative Professionals’ Day we would like to celebrate and say a heartfelt thank you to our wonderful Community Perinatal Service administrative team.

Our admin colleagues play a vital role in providing high‑quality administrative support. This work goes far beyond keeping our service running smoothly. Administrative professionals are often a key source of support for their teams’ health and wellbeing and provide a crucial link between services, patients and families.

20/04/2026

Introducing one of our fantastic Clinical Team Leaders......

30/03/2026

Monthly reminder for the Ipplepen Forest School. Open to all those under the care of the perinatal team. 12:15-2:15 on the 2nd April. Dainton Copse Forest School. TQ12 5TX. Come celebrate Spring in the most magical of settings. Partners or grandparents also welcome.
Come for as long or as little as you like. Cake around the fire and a gentle forest based craft are always on offer.
A place to soak up the new season and calm the nervous system 🌲

30/03/2026

A wonderful resource and community, that many of the families we have supported have found invaluable.

Autistic Parents UK is often mistaken for a support service for parents of Autistic children, and we are met with surprise when we clarify that Autistic Parents UK is for parents who are Autistic themselves and parents to children of all neurotypes. A lot of existing support for Autistic people focuses on children and adults in residential care. The mainstream narrative infantilises Autism, which perpetuates misconceptions and leads to huge gaps in support.

Autistic adults can create a family in any of the beautiful, varied, and glorious ways it is possible to do so. Parenting can present some specific challenges for Autistic parents (the reason we're here), but when we have good support and understanding, it can also highlight many of our strengths.

Autistic children grow up. Autistic adults can become parents. We exist.

https://www.autisticparentsuk.org/post/autistic-people-can-be-parents

17/03/2026

15/03/2026

Mother’s Day can be a joyful celebration for, but for many it can also bring complex or painful feelings.

Today we want to acknowledge everyone for whom this day may feel difficult.

💐 To those who have lost a child or their own mother – we hold you in our thoughts.
💐 To those experiencing infertility or pregnancy loss – we see your struggle.
💐 To those navigating strained relationships with mothers or children – we recognise how hard that can be.
💐 To foster mums, adoptive mums, step-parents and mother figures – thank you for the care and love you give.
💐 To single parents – we see the strength it takes every day.
💐 To those experiencing postnatal mental health difficulties – you are not alone.
💐 To those working to break cycles of trauma and create something different for their children – we see your courage.

If Mother’s Day brings difficult emotions, you might consider:

🌼 Giving yourself permission to feel whatever comes up – there is no “right” way to feel.
🌼 Taking a moment to appreciate the supportive people in your life.
🌼 Choosing how you spend the day – whether that means celebrating, keeping things quiet, or stepping away from social media.

However this day feels for you, your feelings are valid and you deserve compassion.

12/03/2026

“There’s no guarantee that just because a product is being sold, that it is suitable to use for baby sleep.”

Amy is a 24 year-old mum from Land’s End. She spoke to us about the confusing and relentless advertising of baby sleep products on social media.

“On Instagram and TikTok, I kept seeing people using pods – I thought ‘everyone has a pod’, because they were all I was seeing. I was in an echo chamber. So I placed an order for a pod.”

“When I then spoke to my partner about it, he reminded me that pods don’t follow safer sleep advice. I felt so stupid in that moment. As a teacher, I’ve even taught PSHE lessons about not buying into all the ads you see online! I cancelled my order in the end before it was delivered.”

And her tips for other new parents?

“I find it helpful to take a screenshot of a product I’m interested in, and come back to it another time. It gives me time to think things through and work out if they are a safer option or not.”

“There’s a lot of contrasting advice and it can be really overwhelming. To counter this, I look at The Lullaby Trust. They get my questions answered, but also provide me with other bits of guidance I hadn’t even thought of.”

The Lullaby Trust's advice 👉 https://bit.ly/4rZgcSS

09/03/2026

It's so exciting that more of our clinicians have been trained to deliver the Parents Comfort Zone Programme....read more about it below....

No mum should feel alone during pregnancy.

Thanks to support from Open Up’s Little Something Fund, four additional clinicians in the Devon Perinatal Mental Health Team have been trained to deliver the Parents Comfort Zone programme across Devon.

This eight week programme helps antenatal mums manage anxiety, build confidence and connect with other women who understand how they are feeling.

By expanding the programme, up to 84 women each year can now access this support before their baby arrives.

Read the full story in the comments below.

Devon Partnership NHS Trust