26 July 2022

This week, the Maternity Trauma and Loss Care Service (M-TLCS) turns one. The pilot service is jointly led by CNWL and West London NHS Trust (WLT) in partnership with local maternity units.  

M-TLCS helps women who are experiencing psychological difficulties following pregnancy loss, still birth and neonatal loss, as well as birth trauma and women who have a fear of childbirth (tokophobia). They offer a combination of psychological therapy and specialist midwifery input, with a particular focus on women whose early life experiences make them more vulnerable to mental health difficulties.

As we mark the first birthday, we heard from service users on their experience of pregnancy and the service

“The MTLCS team literally transformed my pregnancy journey and gave me some additional lifelong skills on the way. They filled my sack with tools to deal with anxiety and three months postpartum I’m able to hold my ground, avoid potential postpartum depression and be healthy for my child, which was the main driving force that led me to ask for help. They are kind, caring, non-judgemental, accommodating and always just a phone call away."

Click here to read the full blog post from WLT

“The sessions I’ve had with the MTLCS team have transformed my ability to cope with stresses and make sense of the feelings I was experiencing surrounding my birth experience. I am now able to speak about my experiences without bursting into tears or experiencing heart palpitations and shortness of breath. I am also able to justify the reason things happened the way they did and appoint less blame on myself for what happened.” 

“The team helped me through every type of emotion, I would not have been able to do it without them. They went above and beyond for my mental physical and emotional wellbeing.” 

“I wanted to thank you for all that you have taught me; dealing with things when my anxiety gets the better of me. Your care and support got me through six months of pregnancy, and thank you for helping me to find myself again and be in good headspace for the arrival.” 

You can also watch this video from Expert by Experience Honey Attridge, as she talks about her experience of birth and the importance of perinatal services to support women through the first stages of motherhood.

How to access the service

Do you need support? Visit the new service page online