00:00Hello. Hello. Very nice to meet you. This is definitely a first, I think.
00:08Well, firstly, huge congratulations. Thank you.
00:12Is it a little boy or a little girl? It's a little boy.
00:16Little boy. He's so sweet.
00:21Oh, congratulations.
00:31Are you very aware of a difference or a shift in mother's emotional and mental well-being in comparison to
00:42before the pandemic?
00:43Have you noticed a shift in that?
00:46Well, yeah, there's a lot more. There's a lot more anxiety.
00:50I think we're finding that there's women that have no mental health history that are actually becoming incredibly anxious
00:57because of the situation currently.
01:00So we're getting a lot more referrals in, which is specifically around anxiety to do with COVID.
01:07Do they know where to go? Do your mothers know where to go to get the right support for,
01:11particularly for emotional and mental well-being, do you think?
01:16So the midwives are very good at signposting to local talking therapy services.
01:22We have the perinatal mental health team that we work with very closely within Kingston Hospital.
01:28And they have been sending out a weekly newsletter about coping mechanisms,
01:33about signposting to relevant services.
01:36And, you know, it's very, very rich information on there.
01:39So actually, we circulate that out to the maternity unit so the midwives can use that to give to the
01:45women.
01:45Yeah, it's probably such a valuable sort of tool.
01:48It's such a valuable tool for them now, particularly now.
01:51To you all there, you're doing an amazing job, honestly.
01:54As you say, babies come all the time.
01:56So, you know, the fact that you're having to work in these difficult times, so well done.
02:04Having that face-to-face contact and being at a distance and having your mask on,
02:09not seeing someone's expressions and knowing if she might be hesitating to say something,
02:14it is a bit hard, but we're kind of working around it.
02:17And we're saying, even with what's going on, we're still here to support you.
02:21We're still here to listen to you.
02:22We're still here to make sure we provide the best care for your pregnancy, for your baby,
02:27and support your family also.
02:29And we're still here.
02:31Is this what it looks like, Sam?
02:34Yes.
02:34Oh, you're smiling.
02:36Can you tell?
02:37I know, that's what's it.
02:38With your eyes, yes, I can.
02:42We need to do more to get the message out that mental health is important.
02:47And if you need help, get help.
02:50We're here to help.
02:51As organisations, you're playing such a vital role, you know, giving key information.
02:55You're hugely trusted by the public in general.
02:58And therefore, the information that you provide is, you know, a lifeline to a lot of people at this time.
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