Juno Perinatal Mental Health Support was founded in February 2015 by a group of mums in Edinburgh who all have personal experience of struggling with their mental health during the perinatal period. We support other mums through our weekly peer support groups across the city.
Our main aim as Juno is to help mums who are struggling with their mental health realise that they are not alone in how they feel. It is very common to think ‘why me?’, ‘why can everyone else cope?’, ‘will I ever feel normal again?’, ‘it’s not supposed to feel like this…is it?’.
Our volunteers all have personal experience of these feelings of isolation/despair and the devastating impact it can have on the whole family. Juno is here to reassure mums and mums-to-be, that there is light at the end of what appears to be a very long, dark tunnel and with the right support you can, and will, get better. For most mums struggling with their mental health in the perinatal period, their first stop is usually a health visitor or GP. We are here to offer additional support in a number of ways with the aim of ensuring that families suffering have as much choice as possible to aid their recovery. Here at Juno we have built up an extensive knowledge of local resources in the hope that we can always aid families, whether it be directly, or through referral to another body. We offer a safe, relaxed environment in our groups alongside friendly chat, a welcoming smile and absolutely no judgement. Our day time groups also provide play equipment for babies and toddlers.
Why Juno?
Juno is the Roman goddess of love, marriage, pregnancy and childbirth who was regarded as a female guardian angel. She is queen of all the gods and is connected with all aspects of the life of women. We can’t think of a better embodiment of our aims through our services.
What is meant by perinatal mental health?
The term perinatal cover the time period from the moment of conception until the child is 2. Some women aren’t diagnosed until their child is 2 or beyond but might have had symptoms of depression or anxiety for some time.
We use the phrase ‘mental health’ because it covers a broader spectrum – many people may not suffer depression, but battle with anxiety, stress, trauma and OCD for example.