Sent 90 miles after giving birth while 'soaked in urine'

What’s Happening

Listen up: Four days after giving birth, Lizzy Berryman’s psychosis forced her to be taken from York to Derby for specialist care.

Sent 90 miles after giving birth while soaked in urine 1 day ago Save Lizzy Steel Yorkshire Save BBC Lizzy Berryman was sent from York to Der treatment lasting two months A new mother is calling for better access to specialist units caring for women and babies after she was forced to travel 90 miles for emergency care during a mental health crisis. Four days after giving birth, 30-year-old Lizzy Berrymans postpartum psychosis forced her to be sectioned and taken from York to Derby while “soaked in urine” in a hospital car. (and honestly, same)

Some women from Yorkshire have been sent as far as London for specialist care at mother and baby units (MBU) because of availability issues, according to NHS information.

The Details

“Its lit a fire in me to get the word out there that this is a problem and that it is so needed, because there are so many families torn apart,” Lizzy dropped. Unable to sleep after a traumatic birth in 2024, Lizzy quickly deteriorated into a state of psychosis - a potentially life-threatening condition that can cause hallucinations, severe insomnia and paranoia.

“I was getting increasingly anxious and confused. I couldnt make a cup of tea or change Patricks nappy,” Lizzy, from York, dropped.

Why This Matters

“I kicked off screaming, I ran at the windows. I thrashed about on the floor for hours and I thought I was in hell. ” Her family restrained her at home for two hours while waiting for an ambulance, with Lizzy sectioned under the Mental Health Act at York Hospitals emergency department.

This is the kind of health news that affects everyday decisions.

The Bottom Line

Family handout Lizzys family were forced to access care in the East Midlands as no beds were available at the only specialist centre in Yorkshire She dropped her family were told there were no available beds in Leeds - Yorkshires only MBU - with Lizzy sent to the closest available unit able to treat psychosis and severe postnatal depression. “I was soaked in my own urine because Id been pushing as if I was giving birth again every time I was in psychosis,” she dropped.

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