Ruth White: psychiatrist who pioneered the development of perinatal mental health services and had a passion for singing and antique textiles

Ruth White was a woman of many passions; from antique textiles to singing opera to Aston Villa Football Club she threw herself into everything she committed to. This also translated into her professional life.

In 2000 the death of a trainee psychiatrist and her baby led to a huge amount of soul searching across the NHS—the report into the deaths1 highlighted a range of contributing factors, including the lack of specialist mental health services for pregnant women and new mothers.

The case prompted White, a community psychiatrist in Worcester, to set up one of the first community perinatal mental health teams in the country, using her considerable passion and drive to cajole the powers that be to give her the money to do it.

White was self-taught, seeking out the advice of experts in the field to learn about perinatal mental health and then training community nurses and midwives to identify women at risk. She used her charm and powers of persuasion to develop good links with mother and baby units in Birmingham and Stoke-on-Trent so that she could find beds for women who needed them, and she served on the Royal College of Psychiatrists perinatal committee.

In a paper evaluating the screening service, she wrote how it was successful in identifying women at risk—over a two year period 180 women were identified—and highlighted its importance: “Identifying at-risk women enables assertive monitoring, early treatment, and …