I attended a meeting of the Northwest Perinatal Mental Health Network at Wythenshawe Hospital yesterday. I heard Elaine Hanzak’s inspirational talk “What really matters to mothers” and Dr Wieck, Consultant Perinatal Psychiatrist speaking about parenting assessments on mother and baby units. I have to say it was good to hear about what is going on in practice but I came away asking myself the question “Why are we making so little progress in caring for women with postnatal depression?”

I left the health visiting profession seven years ago now and was leading a service which was delivering excellent care to women with mild to moderate postnatal depression. It was something I felt passionate about and felt that it was what health visitors had been brought on the earth to do! But in the years since I have left and moved to Chester I have worked in other areas and continue to feel that good practice is patchy and difficult to sustain, particularly with government targets and tightening resources.

So it was with a great feeling of hope for these women that Elaine and I delivered our one day workshop to children’s centre staff in St Helens on Merseyside and felt the real desire in those practitioners to feel confident in approaching women who they feel may be depressed and be able to intervene appropriately. There were also those who wanted to start support groups.

But I continue to ponder on my question and I find the same old answers coming up. There remains stigma around the whole area of mental health; also postnatal depression is something that touches many of us in places where we don’t want to be touched. However the long term consequences of doing nothing are profound; women themselves may go on to experience mental ill health later on in their lives and there is now research evidence of the impact on children even into adolescence.

As for me I will continue to coach women who have experienced or are experiencing postnatal depression in Chester, North Wales and the Wirral in the hope that by listening and empathising and giving them a chance to focus on themselves and their goals and aspirations I can make a difference to their lives. Elaine and I will continue to deliver our workshop and we will both speak on the topic when the opportunity arises.

Last week I co-facilitated a workshop with Elaine Hanzak (www.hanzak.com). It was about working with women with postnatal depression and we were training childrens’ centre staff. Elaine’s inspirational story of her descent into puerperal psychosis, the most severe form of postnatal depression, and her recovery formed the hub of the workshop. I was also able to make a valuable contribution as a health visitor and coach with a passion for the subject but also a sufferer myself. We both provided living examples of how people can recover from a mental illness and live full and fulfilling lives.

One thing that struck me during the day was the power of listening; that was the key skill we wanted to reinforce. How often do we say to someone “How are you?” and tend to get the response “Fine, thank you”. Our body language is likely to give the message that we do not really want to hear chapter and verse of someone’s health! So how powerful is it when someone touches you lightly on the arm, sensing that something may not be quite right, and says “But are you really”? That small gesture gives the individual permission to tell us their story in the certain knowledge that she is going to be heard.

It sounds simple but active listening is not easy .,. to be fully attentive to someone without letting our minds wonder is hard and takes a lot out of us but it is priceless to the person who is being listened to. It is a skill we need to value more highly and coaches and other professionals are highly skilled in the art. It makes such a difference to so many people particularly those who are suffering from postnatal depression, breast cancer, miscarriage, childlessness and the many other conditions that women experience.