Black Maternal Mental Health Week 2020
Why do we need #BMMHW?
Postnatal depression or anxiety in black mothers is 13% (this number has increased) higher than in white mothers. A 2011 study found that black women are the group least likely to initiate treatment for postnatal mental illness, and the least likely to receive follow-up treatment. And this racial disparity is putting the lives of black mothers at risk.
Research in 2018 found that 23% of women who died in the postnatal period suffered from mental health disorders, and suicide is now the second leading cause of maternal death in the UK. A study in 2010 found that healthcare professionals in the UK lacked the training and the confidence for identifying the specific needs of black women – causing black mothers to ‘fall through the net’.
Join us as we continue to spread awareness and amplify the black motherhood mental health experience in the UK.
