Beating the baby blues

Family Action has been providing practical, emotional and financial support to vulnerable and disadvantaged families since 1869. Family Action's new Perinatal Project works with pregnant women and new mothers, with children up to the age of one, who may be at risk of depression. The Project operates in four locations across England in partnership with other agencies, including midwives, to improve parental mental health and mother and baby attachment. Through the guidance of a project co-ordinator and trained befrienders, many of whom understand the loneliness and worries that sometimes come with a new baby, vulnerable women will be given assistance to cope with the changes in their lives. The Project is being evaluated by a team led by Professor Jane Barlow of the University of Warwick ahead of a perinatal conference next summer.