Lisburn dad's appeal for specialist mother and baby unit for Northern Ireland

A dad from Lisburn has called for a specialist mother and baby unit to treat postpartum psychosis after his family were left with no choice but to meet in hospital staff changing rooms while his wife was receiving treatment.

Gemma Reaney was treated for the serious mental health condition in a hospital ward for a period of almost three months. It affects around 1,400 new mums in the UK each year.

Her husband, Ross, has spoken to UTV about their family's experience and their campaign for change.

The couple welcomed their much loved little girl in December 2023 but unfortunately their newborn bubble was short-lived.

Two to three weeks after giving birth, Ross said Gemma began to act out of character.

“I thought it might have been the ‘baby blues’ because that’s what you hear a lot of people talking about after birth,” said Ross, “but then one morning she woke up and said to me, ‘You guys would be better off if I wasn’t here’ and that was an immediate red flag and when I knew I needed to get some help.”

Ross immediately contacted the couple’s health visitor who spoke directly with Gemma and referred her to a perinatal mental health consultant.

“They said they needed to admit Gemma, but it was around two days before there was a space anywhere in the country to be able to get her into hospital and into care,” Ross told UTV.

“At that time, I naively didn’t think it would be something that would take a long time to recover from - I was hoping it would maybe be a couple of days, maybe a week, but it turned into 91 days.”

Gemma was diagnosed with a severe depressive episode that led to psychosis.

“For anyone who doesn’t know what psychosis is like, it’s basically a stranger has taken over the person you loves body…it is the illness that’s taking over, it’s no longer the person and that’s why it’s treated as such a medical emergency as they are not in control of themselves anymore,” explained Ross.

The mental health ward where Gemma received treatment had no specific provision for mothers and babies.

“It was a very loud, noisy and scary place. There are often other patients there that are aggressive or violent,” said Ross.

“It’s deemed unsafe to bring a baby into a normal mental health ward which meant we couldn’t do normal visiting.

“Any meetings that did happen took place in a staff changeover room, so effectively a staff changing room.

“I think we need mother and baby units in this country. There have been talks about interim measures in place but it’s not enough. Especially in the first few months of a newborn's life, that’s the most important thing, but that was taken away from us.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Health told UTV that it remains "committed to establishing a regional Mother and Baby Unit" adding that an "outlines business case" was submitted by the Belfast Trust in September 2025 and is "currently under review".

They continued: "Funding decisions will depend on the outcome of the ongoing Budget process following the UK-wide Spending Review.

"While we cannot confirm a timeline at this stage, work is progressing and options for interim provision are being explored."

The department explained that in the meantime, health trusts have been "asked to identify 'Safe Areas' within the adult inpatient units where babies and children can visit their mothers" and that these are "being funded to ensure they are as family-friendly and supportive as possible".

While Gemma received treatment at the hospital, one of the nurses directed Ross towards a charity called Action on Postpartum Psychosis (APP).

“The charity helped me to speak to a dad who had been through it and that was the first time I got a sign of hope that there was a possibility of coming through it,” he said.

“The consultants and staff can’t say very much as they can’t give you false hope, but that also means that you don’t really have any hope at all.”

Almost two years on and the Reaney’s are now stronger than ever.

Ross has even fundraised over £11,000 for APP by running an ultramarathon in a bid to push for better facilities for families in Northern Ireland.

He said: “Doing that challenge was my way of turning pain into purpose.

"There is hope and light out there for anyone going through it.

“Gemma is doing amazing, her recovery has gone better than anyone could hope for especially in terms of how severe the illness was at the time.

"She’s back at work, and training and is really healthy.

“I could not be more proud of her.”

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