Health Campaign

Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week

May 4 – 10, 2026

Mothers and parents sharing experiences in a supportive community setting, representing the importance of listening to lived experiences in maternal mental health.

2026 Theme

A Decade of Voices

Campaign Representation

Officially represented by the Lime green Ribbon.

Campaign Description

Celebrated annually through the first full week of May, 'Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week' highlights the emotional challenges faced by new mothers, including postpartum depression and anxiety, while promoting screening, peer support, and elimination of isolation.

Theme Focus

Marking 10 years of the UK's Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week, this theme celebrates a decade of progress in reducing stigma and expanding specialist perinatal services, while spotlighting that many women still don't feel heard about their mental health — encouraging women to know it's okay to express their needs and experiences. Daily sub-themes include "Voices of Experience," "Voices of Care," and World Maternal Mental Health Day (6 May) itself, globally themed "Stronger Together."

Key Priorities

  • Listen to and value women's and parents' lived experiences
  • Raise awareness of mental-health problems before, during and after pregnancy
  • Reduce stigma surrounding maternal and perinatal mental health
  • Encourage open, non-judgmental conversations
  • Improve early recognition and access to support
  • Strengthen specialist perinatal mental-health services
  • Integrate mental-health support into maternal and reproductive healthcare
  • Promote collaboration between families, healthcare professionals and peer-support workers
  • Involve people with lived experience in designing and evaluating services
  • Address inequalities in access to maternal mental-health care
  • Provide culturally responsive and inclusive support
  • Support people experiencing pregnancy or birth-related trauma
  • Recognize the mental-health impact of miscarriage, stillbirth and baby loss
  • Strengthen peer and community support
  • Improve support during the transition into parenthood
  • Continue advocacy for policy and systems-level change

Key Concepts

  • Maternal mental health
  • Perinatal mental health
  • Pregnancy
  • Postpartum
  • Postnatal period
  • Perinatal depression
  • Perinatal anxiety
  • Maternal well-being
  • Psychological resilience
  • Psychological well-being
  • Birth trauma
  • Postpartum depression
  • Baby blues
  • Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs)
  • Postpartum anxiety
  • Pregnancy loss
  • Parent–infant bonding
  • Women's health
  • Miscarriage
  • Stillbirth
  • Baby loss
  • Perinatal psychiatry
  • Parenthood
  • Culturally responsive care
  • Maternal healthcare
  • Reproductive health
  • Mental-health screening

Campaign Resources & Support

View Awareness Calendar