The only peer-led perinatal mental health support group in Bucks relaunched in Aylesbury

A new mental health support group for pre and postnatal parents has been relaunched in Aylesbury.

Under the PANDAS Foundation umbrella, a group of parents will be hosting get-togethers twice a month at The Vineyard Centre on Gatehouse Close.

Unlike other groups offering perinatal support in Bucks, this group is led by fellow parents.

Last month on 20 March the group held its first meeting in four years, it was feared the service may be a victim of national funding cuts in 2019, while Covid also halted face-to-face sessions.

Meetings take place on the first and third Monday of every month between 10-11:30am.

Amy Scullard who campaigned to keep the group going along with fellow parents, Laura Oliver, and Alicia Peasley, said: “I had postnatal depression after my son Emmett, who is now seven.

"I didn’t tell anybody how I was feeling for about 11 months, and then when I found this group.

"After psyching myself up a few times I eventually went along and found it really helpful to be around other women who were feeling the same as me.

"It was a safe place you could go where you didn’t feel like you were being judged. I think it was a lifeline for me. I think it really really helped me."

As well as getting needed support parents can also adopt a mentor role within the sessions.

Amy added: “When I was pregnant with my second child, I thought I’m going to be proactive and I’m going to go to this group ahead of having the baby.

"I found it equally as useful, but also, as I’d been there and gone through it, I could offer peer support to the others who were there, who were in a very different place to where I was.”

Demand for PANDAS, which stands for Pre And PostNatal Depression Advice and Support, has shot up since the pandemic, with the charity reporting it has received a 240% increase in calls to its helpline at some points in the past three years.

Parents are encouraged to email the group here or join its ‘Aylesbury PANDAS Support Group’ on Facebook, which is private, for more information.