Maternal Mental Health Scotland
  • For those affected
    • How can pregnancy affect my mental health?
    • What is postnatal depression?
    • Why is this happening to me?
    • How can I support her?
    • What is postpartum psychosis?
  • Getting help
    • What will happen if I need help?
    • If I need medical advice, who do I contact?
    • Who will be helping us?
    • What’s a Mother and Baby Unit like?
    • What if I have had mental health problems in the past?
    • Links to ongoing support for women, partners and families
  • Resources
    • FAQ
    • Multimedia resources
    • Guideline Reports
    • Reading List
    • About Us
  • News and Events
    • News
    • Christine’s tour
  • Everyone’s Business

Education and resources about perinatal mental health


Leaving the Netherlands and exploring Finland

by MMHS • 3 October 2015

Dr Christine Puckering is on a Winston Churchill Fellowship Tour, looking at how babies at social risk are identified early, even in pregnancy, and what services are put in place to promote a secure attachment between mother and child and father and child.

Christine is going to provide regular blogs on her tour of Netherlands, Iceland, Norway & Finland.

Thinking back to the Netherlands and lessons to be learnt, three things stand out; the frequency of contact in pregnancy and the first postnatal year, the availability of the maternity nurse and the integration of maternity and postnatal care. There are many opportunities for parents to talk about issues and for professionals to spot emerging problems and very low referral thresholds between parts of the service.

Moving on to Finland, I have come to Tampere, another cradle of infant mental health in Europe. The integration of services for young families is also primary here. Midwives, health nurses and specialist services work together, and right from the start of pregnancy the same health nurse works with the family until the child starts school. One delightful discovery is the “Family Happiness Hotel”. If the mother and baby are well, they can move into a hotel attached to the hospital. Fathers, siblings and others can book in too. The rooms are exactly like any other hotel and the families can use all the hotel facilities. The only difference is the midwives and health nurses have an office on the same floor and are on call at any time. Health service managers please note: this is cheaper than keeping mothers and babies in hospital! It is certainly more private and a chance to start making new family relationships.

The children start kindergarten at 6 and more formal education at 7! What a difference from force feeding literacy to four and five year olds. Maybe that is one reason Finnish children are happier!

Finnish kindergarten

Learning about sequencing in Finnish kindergarten

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Print

Related


Find information

Recent posts

  • Wellbeing for Wee Ones
  • Funding secured for specialist perinatal mental health in Northern Ireland
  • Baby Loss Retreat – What Peer Support Means to us
  • 3D Drumchapel – What Peer Support Means to Us
  • Job Opportunity – Everyone’s Business Campaign Coordinator (Scotland)

External Resources

  • National Childbirth Trust
  • Bluebell PND Counselling Service
  • Association for Post Natal Illness
  • Mellow Parenting
  • Maternal Mental Health Alliance
  • Royal College of Psychiatrists
  • Royal College of Midwives
  • Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

Donate to support us
Please donate to support our work.

We have created this site to provide you with information and resources. However, this site is not medical advice and is provided for your information only. Maternal Mental Health Scotland cannot provide medical or health advice through this web site.

If you need assistance, please speak with your GP or contact the resources available to you within your local health board.

Find who can help me in my community

Third sector web design by Idea15 Web Design
Maternal Mental Health Scotland is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation. No: SC044891
Registered Office: Studio 1015, Mile End Mill, Abbeymill Business Centre, Seedhill Road, Paisley PA1 1 TJ Email
©2014-2017 Maternal Mental Health Scotland