Swansea University graduate wins renowned award for perinatal mental health care

A Swansea University graduate has won a renowned award for perinatal mental health care.

Ann-Marie Thomas, a midwife from the Swansea Bay Health Board, was awarded by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) for her perinatal mental health care quality. 

On 18th October at the RCM Awards Ceremony, Ann-Marie was presented the award for Outstanding Contribution to Maternity Service, having spent 16 years working to improve perinatal mental health.

The Outstanding Contribution to Maternity Services: Perinatal Mental Health award recognises those working in the realm of midwifery who are championing, leading and advocating to ensure women and their families receive high-quality care. This includes specialist midwives, students, maternity support and specialist care teams.

At the awards ceremony in London, the Chief Executive Officer of the Royal College of Midwives, Gill Walton said: “Providing compassionate mental health care for colleagues within our network feeds into clinical care. This means improved working cultures for Midwives as well as putting physical and mental health in pregnancy on a part with each other.”

According to Swansea Bay News, since Ann-Marie accepted the role of a mental health specialist midwife at the Swansea Bay Health Board, midwives on the health board say that they now feel they have support, which advocates for the presence of open dialogue with families regarding mental health. 

Women who are below the threshold and cannot access specialist mental health services now have access to supportive and preventative interventions that can help them manage feeling overwhelmed emotionally. This also provides new parents with potential new parenting skills and has an impact on the mental health of future generations.

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After more than a decade of working on this aspect of mental health Ann-Marie has demonstrated passion and commitment which has been recognised in the form of this prestigious award.

Feature image credit: Facebook