This week marks the end of Black Maternal Mental Health Week (23 to 29 September), and NHS trusts are highlighting changes that need to be made in perinatal mental health services.

Research shows Black women in the UK are four times more likely to die during pregnancy and childbirth compared to white women. They are also more likely to experience perinatal mental health issues but less likely to receive support.

Black Maternal Mental Health Week focuses on the mental wellbeing of Black mothers and their children and addresses the disparities in care they face.

This year's theme is Transforming and Advancing Change.

Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) said they are working to make sure everyone receives the care they need, and to personalise treatment and support patients to meet their needs.

Their perinatal mental health services have links with several organisations across Essex who support mothers and their families of Black, African and Caribbean heritage.

One of those is B3 - Bumps, Birth and Belonging Community Interest Company, based in Thurrock, which was set up by midwife and mum-of-four Nicole Lawal in response to the physical and mental health inequalities faced by Black women and their babies.

Lawal said: “B3 is tackling the stigma surrounding mental health in the Black community by offering free, accessible counselling services.

“We ensure that mothers feel a part of the community they live in without feeling judged or ostracised.

“We offer vital support to mothers dealing with postpartum depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges.”

She said there is a lot of fear about perinatal mental health services because women are concerned about what will happen to them and how they will be judged as a mum.

“There are definitely visions of people in strait jackets or solitary confinement, that is the vision that mums have, but I tell them it’s really not like that,” she said.

Lawal said many of the women she helps identify with the findings of a 2010 study in which researchers said African-American women feel obligated to present an image of being strong and prioritising looking after their families and community over looking after themselves.

Racial discrimination and historical racism contribute to why the women who took part in the study took on the superwoman role.

Lawal said it took a while before anyone took up the offer of counselling from B3 because there was a stigma around asking for help.

However mums have since said counselling, as well as speaking with other mums in the group, has helped them realise they are not alone.

B3 also supports mums with situations such as financial hardship, domestic violence and visa issues, which also have a deep impact but they find difficult talking about.

Caroline Bogle, associate director for Community Perinatal Mental Health Services at EPUT, said: “Our colleagues in Perinatal Mental Health Services really believe in the help we offer and many have their own lived experience of struggling as a new parent.

“Providing compassionate and individualised care and support for new and expectant mums is at the heart of the our services and it’s so important that new mums from Black, African and Caribbean heritage who are struggling feel comfortable to reach out for help so that they and their families can benefit from getting the right support in the same way as people who don’t face the same fears and barriers to care.”

NHS West London Trust also observed the awareness week.

Dr Jamila Carey, perinatal mental health consultant at the Trust, spoke during an interview on the award-winning Unapologetically Black Podcast hosted by Dope Black Women in May to raise awareness.

During the interview, she also spoke about the fears associated with becoming a parent, advocating for oneself during pregnancy, cultural disconnect between generations, and preventing postpartum depression.