Dr Raja Gangopadhyay: brief biography

Qualifications & Career

Dr Raja Gangopadhyay had a brilliant academic career in his medical school and obtained his MBBS degree and then Masters in Obstetrics and Gynaecology (MD) with distinction from Calcutta University, India. He completed a dissertation on Intrauterine Growth Restriction of the Fetus as a part of the Masters and was awarded a medal for his work. Then he travelled to the UK for higher training and completed his speciality training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology from the London Deanery and obtained Membership from the Royal College of Obstetrician & Gynaecologists (MRCOG). He is currently working as a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist with a special interest in Perinatal Mental Health at the West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

 

Teaching and training

He obtained ‘Certificate in Medical Education’ qualification from the University of Bedfordshire (UK) and is very well-known for his teaching and training skills in Perinatal Mental Health (PMH). He is often invited to speak at training courses/ sessions at different UK Universities. He has organised Conference and Training Days on PMH. He contributed to the Health Education England’s e-learning module (Open Access Perinatal Mental Health Sessions: Module 4).

 

Invited Lectures

He is a renowned speaker on PMH/ Maternal mental health and has been invited to speak/ run a workshop in various national and international Conferences/ Events including House of Lords (UK Parliament). For lecture requests, please email: contact@ifwip.org

 

Campaign

He campaigns for better perinatal mental health care in the Maternity Units and to raise awareness of the importance of addressing stress/ mental health conditions during pregnancy. He has organised community events, expressed his concerns in the UK newspaper and met MPs/ Royal Colleges in the UK and discusses this regularly on Facebook/ Twitter and his blog.

 

Quotations in the media

His opinion and views have been quoted in the following articles:

–    ‘Mums With Mental Health Issues Are Being Separated From Their Babies, Warn Doctors’ (Huffington Post)

 

–   ‘Six things to know if you are a young mum struggling with your mental health’ (Huffington Post)

 

–   ‘We’re too scared to have a second baby’: They dreamed of large families but, like singer Adele, crippling postnatal  depression has forced these mothers to stop at one (Daily Mail: Mail Online)

 

–   ‘Depression Awareness Week: Mum Bravely Shares Experience Of Prenatal Depression’ (Huffington Post)

 

–   ‘Postnatal depression: It doesn’t just happen to new mums.’ (Netdoctor)

 

–   ‘The mother who contemplated suicide for six years and another who was sterilised after giving birth: Post-natal depression sufferers speak about a condition too many doctors don’t understand’ (Daily Mail)

 

–   ‘World Mental Health Day: Why No Woman Should Ever Feel Ashamed Of Suffering From Postnatal Depression’ (Huffington Post)

 

–   ‘Natalie Pinkham reveals pregnancy ‘caution’ after losing twin and nearly dying the first time she gave birth’ (Mirror)

 

–   ‘What to do if you think you have postnatal depression’ (Netdoctor)

 

–   ‘How was it for you? Birth trauma…..’ (Selfish Mother)

 

Media Interviews

Dr Raja Gangopadhyay has appeared in many media (Live/ Recorded) interviews including BBC Asian Network, BBC Three Counties Radio, Lyca Radio Dil Se (UK), NTV Europe and Bob FM Radio (UK).

 

Mentions

His work has received mention in the following Media Releases/ Reports/ Blogs:

–     Press Release: Health Service Executive (Ireland) (Link)

 

–    ‘Second Perinatal Mental Health Conference takes place at ULH’ (Link)

 

–    House of Commons event 2018 (1): Link

 

–    House of Commons event 2018 (2): Link

 

–    House of Commons 2018 (3): Link

 

–   House of Commons event 2018 (4): Link

 

–   House of Commons event 2018 (5): Link

 

–   ‘Pregnant mothers invited to hear about specialist mental health maternity support’ (Link)

 

–   ‘Parliamentary event to raise awareness of perinatal mental health issues’ (Link)

 

–   ‘Hertfordshire Consultant takes perinatal mental health campaign to the parliament’ (Link)

 

–   ‘House of Commons invite for Hartlepool Charity Founder’ (Hartlepool Mail, UK)

 

–   ‘Northamptonshire charity lobby Government over mental health support for pregnant women’ (Northampton Chronicle & Echo, UK)

 

–   ‘#HopeDec09 – a day to celebrate and inspire in perinatal mental health’ (Link)

 

–   ‘#Hopedec09 – How To Ignite A Flame? Fuel, Oxygen And A Very Bright Spark’ (Huffington Post, UK)

 

–   ‘Perinatal Mental Health – What Happens Next?’ (Link)

 

–   ‘From Parliament to Pub’ (Link)

 

–   ‘Beating the Blues’ (Smallish Magazine)

 

–   ‘The Good Practice of Care Conference’ (Link)

 

–  ‘Begin Before Birth Conference’ (Link)

Community events

Cumbria

Watford

 

Testimonials

“Raja Gangopadhyay got in touch with us last year asking us to help him raise awareness about post-natal psychosis. His knowledge of the subject and the contacts he was then able to provide for us was invaluable and resulted in BBC Look East being able to feature a little-known but sometimes life-threatening condition. Stories like this are often hard to cover because of getting access to a strong case study to base the news item on. Raja was able to provide us with this and the story that we were able to tell as a result of his work, was powerful and compelling. There is a lot more about this subject that we weren’t able to cover which I am sure would be well suited to a longer form programme.”

– Naomi Richardson, BBC Look East News Planner

“He (Dr Raja Gangopadhyay) is making waves in the area of pregnancy mental health an extremely important cause which needs to become more mainstream. While depression gets a lot of mention, there are varying degrees of pregnancy-related depression which can affect both woman and family in unspeakable ways. A woman and a mother are at the helm of a family unit especially in the early pre and postnatal period.

By supporting this absolutely noble cause we can ensure greater access to the awareness and education that is needed to traverse much overlooked or unspoken of matters to do with maternal mental health. He has been pivotal in founding this great cause, connecting like organisations with shared purpose and interests in this arena; and bring it to the forefront of policymakers. A recent event held in the Houses of Parliament sponsored by MPs was extremely successful all credit to him and his humble team. He continues to work tirelessly to further this cause.”

– Avani Fernandes-Niriella (via Facebook 10/01/2019)

“As it’s Maternal Mental Health week we thought it would only be right to create a blog post regarding the subject. This blog post also follows an incredibly insightful lecture from Raja Gangopadhyay. It was only after this lecture that we realised how much of an impact mental health can have on a woman and her family.”

– Courtney and Georgia