Social care charity Quarriers is to increase its services to new and expectant mums struggling with mental health issues

Around 500 new and expectant mums struggling with mental health problems are to receive support from Quarriers.

The social care charity’s Family Resource Centre in Ruchazie has won £250,000 of funding to provide perinatal mental health services over the next three years.

The department for culture, media and sport's Tampon Tax Fund has pledged £121,839 which comes on top of a Comic Relief grant of £119,975 awarded late last year.

With the funding, the charity will be able to help 500 women experiencing perinatal mental health issues, either during or after pregnancy.

The help offered will comprise of group work, 1-2-1 support, family engagement, as well as the range of other services at Ruchazie from support for families affected by substance abuse to access to holistic therapies on site to aid relaxation and promote well-being.

Commenting on the funding, Alice Drife, Quarriers chief executive, said: "Mental health has entered the public's consciousness in a big way of late thanks to a number of influential people opening up about their experiences with it. This dialogue is healthy and helps combat any stigma associated with mental health.

“New mothers, or mothers-to-be, are a particularly vulnerable group as it is a time of great change where they must juggle many pressures. This funding really will go a long way to helping the people we support reach their full potential."

Earlier this year, Quarriers Family Resource Centre in Ruchazie opened its sensory garden and mud kitchen. The sensory garden is designed as a learning space to stimulate children's development whilst the mud kitchen gets kids closer to nature and supports physical, emotional and cognitive development.