‘Silence stigmatises’ mothers with mental health problems

THERE is a “conspiracy of silence” among healthcare practitioners and women in general when it comes to mothers who have a mental health problem.

Professor Agnes Higgins, of Trinity College Dublin, said mothers with a mental illness feel isolated and afraid to talk about the problem for fear their child might be taken away.

She said there was a real need for healthcare practitioners to change the way they think to alleviate the pressures on mothers.