PATH aimed to enable women, families and healthcare professionals to prevent, diagnose & successfully manage mild/moderate PMI via radical systemic change, developing an inclusive, holistic health structure. This would be demand driven and co-created with existing patients and expectant/new parents. 

PATH worked on preparing parents during pre-birth for their new role and to help them avoid PMI. This often materialised as feelings of being a failure as a parent which would lead to a reticence in seeking help. It has been observed that 58% of pregnant women/new mothers fear they would be judged if they were to do so. 

PATH’s multiple entry points aimed to provide anonymous online services to allow women to access support in a way that best suits them. PATH also focused on improving the skills of healthcare professionals in order to equip them to address PMI confidently & effectively. For example, 70% of healthcare professionals in Lille (FR) felt they do not have enough knowledge to recognise PMI & 65% of UK midwives did not feel confident in providing satisfactory emotional support during the postnatal period – PATH aimed to address both these issues.

PATH benefitted from working in an international partnership in a number of ways. In terms of research, the approvals process for evaluation varied between different countries, and understanding the nuances of gaining approval for the evaluation was a core learning. Project partners gained a better understanding of the variation in healthcare delivery of PMH in the different regions, yet despite differences in service provision, the project identified that the gap which exists in service provision for mild to moderate mental illness was consistent across all partner countries. This led to shared understanding of the issues faced by healthcare professionals and peer validation. 

The development of the Parental Workplace Wellbeing Recommendations was significantly enhanced, ensuring the robustness of the quality of these standards. UK partners were able to share the learning from these UK services with our partners to help inform their PATH project developments. 

All apps, resources and training were translated into more than four languages, making sure they are more widely available across Europe. The translation was not possible without cooperation and the knowledge that came from the discussions and sharing of the knowledge in each country. During the campaign, scoping, information, and standards for each country, were explored and better informed the project of the playing field for each country. 

Rates of PMI in all 4 Member States within the 2 Seas area are similar & have remained static for years whilst rates across other parts of Europe are significantly lower. Despite the Netherlands providing maternity care (Kraamzorg) for an average of 49 hours after childbirth, rates of PMI are as high as the United Kingdom, Belgium and France. It is clear that individual countries have not managed to address the issue successfully & a wider approach was needed, learning from initiatives that have taken place & improving on these to provide a better solution. Partners were able to combine their existing diverse experience & knowledge to address this problem.