Maternal Mental Health Week 2026: “Help and support is available, and you don’t have to go through this alone.”

To mark Maternal Mental Health Week 2026, our Paths maternal mental health service specialist midwives are sharing their thoughts and reflections on why the week is so important.

Kathryn Harper, Paths specialist midwife, Leeds

This week I’ll be out across Leeds as a specialist midwife with Paths, raising awareness of maternal mental health and reminding families that they are not alone.

Pregnancy and birth can be joyful, but they can also bring deep emotional challenges. Experiences such as birth trauma, baby loss, hospital stays, and becoming a parent can have a significant impact on mental health. I’m passionate about ensuring these experiences are recognised, understood, and met with compassionate, sensitive support.

Throughout the week I’ll be visiting children’s centres and clinical settings, sharing resources, connecting with families, and creating space for conversations that shape better support. Alongside PNMH midwives, we’ll also be hosting information stands in antenatal clinics, offering self care resources and signposting to local and specialist services, with support from Dads Matter and Leeds Mental Wellbeing Service.

We’ll finish the week with time in the recurrent miscarriage clinic, offering a compassionate drop in for women experiencing repeated loss. Together with maternity bereavement, health equity, and OPAL teams, we’ll also be sharing messages online to remind families: help and support is available, and you don’t have to go through this alone.