Specialist Maternal Mental Health Service

Our service is for women who are pregnant or have a baby under one year old (at the time of referral) who are experiencing moderate to severe mental health issues.

We also provide advice for health professionals regarding medication for women who are considering becoming pregnant, or who are pregnant or breastfeeding and who have existing moderate to severe mental health or addiction problems.

We cover Wellington, Porirua, Kapiti and the Hutt Valley. In the Wairarapa a member of our team works alongside GPs as well as the adult community mental health team to advise other health professionals who are caring for pregnant women or new mothers who are experiencing mental illness.

All of our referrals should go through Te Haika, our 24/7 mental health and addiction contact centre. You can be referred to our service by your GP, lead maternity carer or other health professional. We do not accept self-referrals.

We are not a crisis service. If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs urgent help, please also contact Te Haika.

For health professionals

Health professionals should refer women to us via Te Haika.

Once your referral from a health professional is accepted, we will arrange a time to meet with you and carry out an assessment.

The assessment usually takes about 90 minutes. You can come to see us at our office in Hania St, Wellington, or at one of the community bases closer to where you live, or we can come to your home

If we assess that we are the service best placed to help you and you agree, we will develop a plan outlining the care and treatment you require. We encourage you and your family to take part in developing the plan.

If we are not the best service for you we will provide you with information about other services that may help you.

The maternal mental health team works with women before and after baby is born, along with their partners and whānau.

We are a team of professionals and offer a number of services, which may include:

• specialist assessments
• treatment and planning
• individualised support and therapy
• medication reviews and advice
• mental health information
• information about community support services.

We also work with other health care providers, e.g. your family doctor and other professionals or services that you may be receiving care from.

Initial contact with us should come through Te Haika, our 24/7 mental health and addiction contact centre. If you have already been referred to our service, please use the contact details below.

We are open from 8.30 am until 5pm Monday to Friday (closed public holidays).

• Phone: 04 806 0002 or 0800 426 522
• Email: tewharetipu.admin@mhaids.health.nz(attention email to SMMHS)
• Address: 21 Hania Street, Wellington (there is parking onsite).