Parent and Baby Unit celebrates 20 years of providing mental health support to new mothers and their families

The Brockington Parent and Baby Unit at St. George's Hospital in Stafford celebrated 20 years of providing mental health support to new mothers this year. To mark this significant milestone previous patients, their children and families, and past and present colleagues gathered at an afternoon of celebration on 7^th June.

A specialised facility that provides perinatal inpatient mental health services to women experiencing psychological and emotional challenges during pregnancy and early motherhood, the unit provides a welcoming, calm, supportive and homely environment which allows patients to recover from pre and postnatal illness whilst continuing to care for their baby.

A ‘think family’ approach is implemented, offering support that extends to partners and promotes healthy early childhood experiences and attachment within the entire family group. Partners and family members are encouraged to help care for the mother and baby as much as they are able during their stay.

Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT) named the unit after Professor Ian Brockington, a leading academic, consultant and advocate of perinatal mental health services over several decades who championed the commissioning of the unit, collaborating with MPFT colleagues who were instrumental in setting up the service.

In opening the celebrations, Professor Brockington marked the history and importance of inpatient perinatal units as well as praising the growth and success of the Brockington Parent and Baby Unit in treating more than 1,000 women to date and being the only unit named ‘parent and baby’, to recognise the whole family. Professor Brockington remarked that he was genuinely moved by the “exceptional way the unit has embraced the family in perinatal care.”

Also joining the fun was ‘Brocki’ the Octopus, a representation of a technique that unit staff use to help bonding between babies and their parent who does not remain on the unit; a knitted Octopus is placed with the baby for a time to absorb their scent and is given to the parent to take home. The parent then brings the Octopus back to the unit with their scent attached to place with the baby to help form an attachment.

Joanne Heaney, MPFT’s Head of Function Targeted and Perinatal said: “To see children playing at the event was such a joy; children whose mums, dads and families have been supported by current and previous Trust colleagues, to enable them to grow!”