Key Objectives
- Normalise the range of emotions around pregnancy and new parenthood, and reassure families that support is available whatever they're experiencing.
- Map out the full pathway of local services, from Chat Health and Family Hubs through to health visitor listening visits, talking therapies, the specialist community Perinatal Mental Health Team, and urgent support including the Derbyshire Mental Health Helpline, Derby Safe Haven, and the Mother and Baby Unit.
- Support dads and partners specifically, highlighting dedicated groups and free resources like the DadPad app.
- Encourage families to take the next step, whether that's visiting a Family Hub or speaking to a midwife, health visitor or GP.
- Target Audience: New and expectant parents across Derby, including dads and partners.
Stills from animation
Following on from the Derby Family Hub and Keeping Babies Safe animations, this project extended the same warm, accessible visual language to a more sensitive subject: perinatal mental health. The animation keeps the same purple colour scheme and tone established across the Family Hub series, so families encountering any of these videos recognise them as part of one trusted, joined-up resource.
The story is built around a roundabout metaphor, taken directly from an existing infographic about the pathway, with each exit representing a different route into support: getting advice, getting help, getting more help, and risk support. This structure lets the animation move naturally from light-touch, universal reassurance in the opening scenes through to signposting for more complex needs and, where necessary, urgent and emergency care — without ever feeling alarming or overwhelming.
Services covered include Chat Health, local Family Hubs, community peer support groups, dedicated dads' groups and the DadPad app, health visitor listening visits, Derby and Derbyshire talking therapies, GPs, and the specialist community Perinatal Mental Health Team. For families facing more complex challenges, the video also signposts the Derbyshire Mental Health Helpline, Derby Safe Haven, the specialist Mother and Baby Unit, and emergency services — always framed positively, with the consistent message that help is available at every stage.
At around four minutes, the finished animation runs longer than originally scoped, reflecting the full breadth of the pathway it needed to communicate. It was produced with English subtitles and translated into five additional languages, and space was built into the video for British Sign Language interpretation, ensuring the pathway is accessible to families across Derby regardless of language or communication needs.