Louis Theroux's new documentary, Mothers On The Edge, that aired on BBC Two last Sunday, follows mothers facing extreme postpartum mental illness. As a comparatively rare mental illness, and a frightening one at that, it's a relatively taboo subject. But the reality is that for those affected - the mother herself, any partner and wider family, it is a devastating and terrifying experience that can occur quite out of the blue - even without any history of previous illness.

This is the story shared by Kathryn Grant. Kathryn courageously relates her experience in the Best Beginnings video on being launched today, at the tail end of Mental Health Awareness week. Kathryn made a full recovery and has since campaigned over the years to raise awareness, reduce stigma and improve help and support.  She says about her contribution to the video, which forms part of the original mental health series "Out of the Blue" - all of which are now available to view and download in Baby Buddy, "I’m really happy to be involved in Best Beginning’s Out of the Blue video series.  Our story is not an easy one to relate, but it’s important to me and my family that we spread awareness of postpartum psychosis and hopefully make the journey that little bit easier for new families in the future.  I’m especially pleased that Dr Trudi also contributed to the film - she and her team at the MBU were instrumental in my recovery.”

Head of perinatal psychiatry at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Dr Trudi Senivaratne,  appears in both the Best Beginnings' video and Louis' 1-hour long documentary and says, "Postpartum psychosis is a psychiatric emergency....however, it is highly treatable. Access to specialist Mother and Baby Units and specialist community perinatal teams is essential so that the mother and baby  can stay together whilst the mother recovers and continue to receive specialist care in the community'"

The point of our video is to raise awareness about Postpartum Psychosis and to show what mother's may typically experience . It also shows that it can happen to absolutely anyone. It explores the recovery process and what measures are in place to help those affected return to normal as soon as possible. It also signposts support to organisations like Action on Postpartum psychosis. There is still considerable stigma about the illness that is generally at the more extreme end of the spectrum of illnesses but like any serious illness, mental or physical,  there  is  nothing to feel ashamed about and affected families deserve enormous compassion and support.

Postpartum Psychosis video is in Baby Buddy app along with 47 other mental health (Out of the Blue) videos available, to help parents and parents-to-be understand the experience better, knowing it really can happen to anyone, when and where to seek help and that there is light in the end of the tunnel.

All of us at Best Beginnings are so grateful for everyone that collaborated on the Out of the Blue film series available in Baby Buddy app. This is our initiative to support and inform parents that will hopefully reduce the stigma related to maternal mental health and open up the conversation so each parent and child can have the best start in life together.

Take a look at the film below: