Human Development Scotland (HDS) is delighted to have received grant funding from the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Fund set up by the Scottish Government and allocated through Inspiring Scotland.

This is a highly significant development for HDS and represents a unique opportunity for developing new relationships with third sector organisations working to support mothers, infants and families.

What is the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health fund?

The Perinatal and Infant Mental Health fund has been set up to provide crucial help for mothers, infants and their families who are in need of mental health support.  Research shows that up to 1 in 5 mothers experience mental health challenges and up to 1 in 10 fathers experience mental health challenges.  The fund supports third sector organisations so they can provide enhanced peer support, parenting support and perinatal counselling services during pregnancy and in the early stages of life.

How will HDS use the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health funding?

The grant funding will be used by HDS in the first instance to develop a new Infant Mental Health training course which is aimed specifically at meeting the training needs of volunteers and workers from third sector organisations. The course will then be made available without charge to these organisations who, in addition to being able to being able to access the training, can also benefit from expert consultancy.

This is an exciting opportunity for HDS to extend its reach and support organisations operating in challenging roles with some of society’s most vulnerable families.

“This is a new project for HDS but one which is entirely consistent with the charitable aims of the organisation. In all its work HDS seeks to benefit society by widening access to training and ideas which are informed by psychodynamic thinking. This grant funding will help us to significantly widen access, across the whole of Scotland, to high quality experiential and observational Infant Mental Health training, and, through consultation, to the ideas which inform the training.

Our rationale for applying for this grant funding is simple. A workforce in which individuals are trained to be better equipped to recognise, understand, respond appropriately and at an early stage, to problems in infant-carer relationships, is a workforce which can take effective action to empower parents and care-givers to promote the mental health of infants and therefore reduce both the incidence and impact of trauma.” – Graham Monteith, Chair of the Board of Trustees for HDS

More details about our new Infant Mental Health course will be released in due course. Click here to find out more about the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Fund