A Conversation on Maternal Mental Health: Why Northern Ireland Must Catch Up
It’s one of those crisp Autumn afternoons where the air feels electric with possibility—and today, that feeling was matched by something extraordinary. I’ve just stepped out of a meeting with a journalist from CNN, who’s working on a Europe-wide feature exploring maternal mental healthcare across Northern Ireland, Greece, Italy, and Hungary. To be part of this story feels both humbling and urgent.
The journalist I spoke with was deeply engaged—someone who truly understood the complexities of psychiatric care in the post-partum period. We talked at length about a painful truth: Northern Ireland remains the only nation in the UK without a mother and baby unit. If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you’ll know how close this issue is to my heart.
Mother and baby units are specialised psychiatric wards designed to support a mother’s mental health while keeping her and her baby together. That togetherness matters. I know because I didn’t have it. I was separated from my baby at a time when I believed I was failing as a mother—and that separation only deepened the shame and despair I felt. It’s a wound I carry, and it’s the reason I continue to speak out. No mother should face that kind of isolation during one of the most vulnerable chapters of her life.
The photograph in this article was taken just a few weeks after my discharge and despite the smiling faces I was a shell of a human being. The trauma of hospital admission was still very present within me and I was only starting to learn to be a mother again. This could have been so easily avoided if we had access to the gold standard care of a mother and baby unit.
What struck me during our conversation was how far ahead the UK is globally in maternal mental health—yet Northern Ireland is still left behind. The journalist shared stories from Greece, where mothers living on islands must travel to Athens, leaving their children behind, just to access care. Hearing that made me reflect on my own journey and feel immense gratitude for the local perinatal team who supported me after my hospital admission.
I hope this CNN piece reaches far and wide—locally and internationally. I hope it sparks conversations, stirs compassion, and most of all, puts pressure on our government to invest in maternal mental healthcare. Because every mother deserves care that keeps her whole.
