he mother-of-three met with staff, clients and health professionals at Colham Manor Children’s Centre in Hillingdon, west London, in her role as patron of the Maternal Mental Health Alliance.
It’s not every day you get a poppy from a Princess 😊 Akeem who’s 3 was very chatty when Kate unexpectedly stopped to say hello at a maternity mental health visit so she gave him her remembrance poppy.
As she arrived at the centre, she had the sweetest exchange with one little boy – much to the delight of onlookers.
Caring Kate bent down to speak to three-year-old Akeem, who was very chatty! At one point, the little boy stopped to admire the Princess’s Remembrance Poppy, which was pinned to her coat.
And the kind-hearted royal promptly gifted Akeem her own poppy, before handing over the pin to his delighted mum.
During her tour of the centre, Kate heard how the care provided in the London Borough of Hillingdon is targeted to better suit the needs of women and families.
Kate, who has made it her mission to help improve the first five years of children’s lives in the belief that early intervention can stop problems developing in later life, met staff and volunteers as well as mothers and babies using the centre.
She said: “I think more places like this would be so valuable in communities, bringing people together.” The Princess also told one mum: “It’s fantastic what’s being done here. It’s not about having more services, it’s actually about being able to integrate them.”
Another mother, Saher Hussain, who was there with her 12-month-old daughter Hanna, said she had suffered from post-natal depression but struggled to get support when she had lived in the nearby borough of Harrow. “I was so scared it would happen again and, unfortunately, it did,” she said. “But it’s been a lot easier to find the support in Hillingdon.”
Kate met representatives from agencies working across perinatal services in Hillingdon, including specialist psychiatry staff, midwives, health visitors and social workers, for a roundtable discussion convened by the MMHA.
Within the discussion, the group talked about how the service has developed to meet the needs of the most vulnerable mothers in their community, the impact this has had, and opportunities for further growth.
