Published on: 23 December 2024
It should have been one of the happiest times of Amelia’s life. She was in the garden in gorgeous summer sunshine with her loving family and five-week-old baby.
But inside she was tormented by terrifying thoughts.
“At one point I was even scared of my own shoelaces because I thought I could hurt myself with them.”
Amelia was suffering from post-partum psychosis after the birth of her much longed-for son. Postpartum psychosis is a rare and severe mental health condition that typically occurs within the first few weeks after childbirth. Its exact causes are not fully understood, but it is believed to result from a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors such as hormonal and neurochemical changes, genetics, mental health history, sleep deprivation, life stressors or following a traumatic birth.
Thankfully, Amelia found help at The Beeches, a six-bed specialist Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) based at the Radbourne Unit on the Royal Derby Hospital site. Run by Derbyshire Healthcare Foundation NHS Trust, the award-winning unit helps women struggling with their mental health and is one of a range of local mental health services for new mothers.
A Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) is a specialised healthcare facility designed to provide mental health treatment to mothers experiencing serious mental health conditions while allowing them to stay with their babies.
This was certainly the case for Amelia, who after a long labour had to have an emergency caesarean and further surgery which left her both immobile and exhausted. This delayed the initial bonding process with her baby.
She said: “Within a week of having my baby I developed a spinal headache from the epidural, which meant that every time I sat up, I had an intense migraine, I couldn’t see and I felt dizzy. I
had to go back into hospital when my baby was only a few days old for another procedure called a blood patch.”
In the early weeks, Amelia thought she was managing the tricky road of new motherhood and, although she had some anxieties, she dismissed them as normal postpartum thoughts.
But what started off as small worries soon escalated into intense anxieties and paranoia, and Amelia started to fear people being around her baby – and her. What started as small panics developed into full days of being in a psychotic state, totally disconnected from reality and those around her.
“It was a beautiful summer, my partner and I were staying with my parents, I had so much love and support around me,” she said. “But inside I had this immense fear that myself and my baby were going to die’’.
One night, in a state of fear, Amelia called the Samaritans, pleading for help. “I was seeing distorted faces and hearing distorted voices’’. It was then that one of the volunteers asked to speak with her family, urging them to get her to the hospital as soon as possible.
On arrival at Chesterfield Royal Hospital, Amelia leapt out of the car and ran into reception. “There was a huge waiting room full of people and I just kept saying, ‘I need help. I need to be in my own room without all these people,’” she said. “Then all of a sudden, I felt normal again – in those early days of psychosis, I would slip into a psychotic state, only to feel okay again moments later, as if it had all been a dream’’.
Amelia was prescribed diazepam and assessed by the Crisis team who then sent her home again.
For a few days, Amelia was cared for by her family, with the Crisis team making home visits. Her mental state became increasingly unmanageable, and her negative thoughts and fears grew more intense. '’At one point, I bolted out of the house and ran around the village, gripped by an overwhelming fear, as if I was running from something,’’ she recalled. It became clear that there was a risk to both Amelia and her baby and Amelia’s mother arranged for an urgent appointment with a consultant at Chesterfield Royal Hospital.
"My partner woke me from a deep sleep, and I remember thinking, 'Why did he wake me up? I’m dead.' He dressed me and put me in the car, but I was completely silent on the way to the hospital," Amelia said. "I believed that if I spoke, my family would die.’’
The consultant assessed Amelia and arranged for her to go to The Beeches MBU.
“I was taken there by ambulance, and my partner went home to collect our son and some belongings,” she said. “The brilliant thing about The Beeches and MBUs in general, is that
despite the mother being really poorly, mum and baby can be together. This is so important for mother-baby bonding. I was so lucky to end up in the best place with the best care.”
That first night, Amelia felt disorientated and said she didn’t know where she was or why she was there. "My memory of this time is fragmented, but I remember behaving strangely and speaking incoherently. I was writing bizarre notes and plagued by dark thoughts about death. I believed I was trapped in purgatory. My consultant described me as catatonic."
MBUs offer a supportive, structured environment with 24-hour care and supervision from psychiatrists, nurses, social workers, and other professionals. For the first few days, Amelia slept a lot and was under constant watch to keep her safe while her son was looked after by the nurses.
“At the peak of my illness I wasn’t interested in my baby because I was so far removed from reality. When I first arrived, I thought the Grim Reaper was waiting outside the bedroom door. I was actually being monitored round the clock by the nurses. It took me a few days once medicated to come round to the reality of being at The Beeches and to start engaging with my son again. Over time my one-to-one care was decreased until I was deemed to be OK to look after my baby,’’ said Amelia.
The Beeches MBU is designed to ensure that mothers feel safe and supported during recovery. It’s a place where mothers can focus on their mental health without the pressures or distractions of the outside world.
“It’s not a typical hospital environment. The rooms there are set up for you and baby, mimicking home from home, with a bed for you and a cot for baby,” she said. “There’s a communal lounge and kitchen, a sensory room and nursey for the babies. There are daily activities for mums, including crafts, pizza and film night and wellness sessions including reiki and reflexology.’’
Many MBUs involve the mother’s family, including partners, in the treatment and recovery process. This helps to ensure that the family is prepared to support the mother once she leaves the unit.
"Over time, I was allowed short walks, which gradually turned into visits with family off-site, followed by a few hours at home, and eventually overnight stays."
Before discharge, the MBU team works with the mother to develop a plan for transitioning back home. This may include arranging follow-up care, therapy sessions, and community support services to ensure continued recovery.
“The thing with mental health issues is that recovery isn’t linear. You may have a day when you feel absolutely fine and can look after your baby independently, but the next day you might have intrusive thoughts and need help.”
After discharge, mothers often have access to outpatient services or community-based mental health support to help maintain their progress and ensure they can continue to care for their baby.
Amelia, now 42, spent eight weeks at The Beeches MBU. By the time her son turned one, she had finished her medication plan, returned to work full-time, and felt as though life was getting back to normal.
"I'm incredibly grateful to The Beeches for the support they provided," she said. "The entire focus was on my recovery and helping me bond with my son so I could heal and be the best mother I could be. I feel so fortunate to have had access to the service, and I have lasting friendships and fond memories of my time there."
If you need urgent mental health support, there are lots of people who can help. Search ‘Derby and Derbyshire emotional health and wellbeing’ online or call the 24/7 Derbyshire Mental Health Helpline – either on 0800 028 0077 or 111 option 2
