We would like to say a huge thank you to Liz Clothier for raising £400 for APNI by running the Leeds Abbey Dash. Liz said: “I’m happy to be raising money for APNI. As you can see on my JustGiving page I have personal experience of postnatal mental illness. I suffered PND after my son was born 7 years ago, and was later diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder.
When my daughter was born, despite the full support of my perinatal mental health team (which many people aren’t lucky enough to get) I became very unwell with severe PND and psychosis. I was admitted to my local Mother and Baby unit for 8 weeks and was under their care for over a year.
The care I received there was life saving. What shocked me was the distances some of the other women had to travel. I am in Leeds and the next nearest unit is Manchester and Morpeth. One woman had been at Morpeth and her husband was having to do 5 hour round trips to visit her and her baby. Running helps with my mental health, and I want to use it to raise money for charities such as APNI that help women in these circumstances and raise awareness of postnatal mental illness.”