The Duchess of Cambridge has added another patronage to her royal resume – The Maternal Mental Health Alliance. The Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA), established in 2011, is a UK-wide charity and network of over 100 organizations, dedicated to ensuring women and families affected by perinatal mental problems have access to high-quality comprehensive care and support. This new patronage is on par with The Duchess of Cambridge’s ongoing work on Mental Health and Early years.
The patronage is announced as the UK is observing Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week. To mark the new patronage, Kensington Palace released a new video in which The Duchess of Cambridge, a Mother of three adorable children, said,
We all know that pregnancy, childbirth and the first months and years of a child’s life can be hugely demanding. Parents often feel lonely and overwhelmed by these early years. Around 20% of women in the U.K. are reported to experience perinatal mental illness. Sadly, we also know that many more are suffering in silence.
The MMHA’s ‘Everyone’s Business’ campaign is calling for all women in the UK who experience mental health problems before, during, and after pregnancy to receive the care and support their families need. Around one in five women develop a mental health problem during pregnancy or within the early years after having a baby and the pandemic had increased the mental health risks new and expectant mothers face, which if untreated could have a devasting impact on a woman.
The Duchess of Cambridge was the brain behind the Heads together project that brought The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s work around mental health under one umbrella in 2016. Since her marriage, Catherine has made Mental health and early years intervention the focus of her public role as a member of The Royal family. Continuing in the video about the need for maternal mental health, The Duchess said,
No one is immune to experiencing anxiety and depression during this time. It is crucial, therefore, that all those who might be struggling are given the right support at the right time, so that they’re able to share these feelings without fear of judgment and can access the information, care, and support they need to recover.
The Chairperson of MMHA, Luciana Berger, said on The Duchess becoming the Royal patron, “The Duchess’s longstanding dedication to the early years and keen interest in mental health marry beautifully with the Alliance’s mission to ensure every mum, baby, and family affected by perinatal mental health problems can access the right care and support necessary. We look forward to working with the duchess to make this goal a reality for all”.
Last week, The Duchess of Cambridge joined Princess Anne for a joint visit to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of Midwives and joined a roundtable discussion on how to ensure the best possible maternity care for all women and heard more about the ways that the two organizations are working together to improve maternal health care, before jointly opening the new building.
In the video, the Duchess of Cambridge was wearing a white Max Mara Studio Zaza dress. Thanks to Middleton Maven for the id. The $572 dress was part of the Spring/Summer 2022 collection and was described as, “A Printed crepe de chine shirt dress featuring a collar and cuff-embellished long sleeves. The bodice and sleeves are decorated with hemstitch embroidery, whilst the pleated skirt bestows movement”.
In other news, Buckingham Palace released the schedule for the 2022 Garden Parties. The parties were canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. Each Garden party will have approx 8000 guests invited from all walks of life who have contributed to the well-being of society in one or another way. This year parties will be held on May 11, 18, and 25th at Buckingham Palace and at the Holyroodhouse Palace on June 29th.
The Palace also confirmed that The Queen will not be attending these parties but will be represented by the members of the Royal family. We will see The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attending at least one party during the month.
