When Darwin’s mother Amy Hetherington gave birth to her first child, she said the pressure and fear of not being up to being a good mother was overwhelming.
Key points:
- 90,000 parents suffer from mental health problems while expecting or caring for a baby
- New partnership launched to improve the skills of midwives and nursing students to better support parents with mental health issues
- The partnership could also lead to new research in the field
“The first few months with a newborn have been terrifying and very hard,” she said.
“Three days after the birth, I sat in the rocking chair with the baby for 10 hours and didn’t move… I had a little panic attack that day.
“The pressure to keep a little human being alive can be enormous. “
Although she received support from her family and a local mothers’ group, Ms Hetherington said it did not replace the need for help from a mental health professional.
“There’s this narrative that mother’s instincts are going to kick in and you’re supposed to know what to do… but we don’t necessarily know that,” she said.
In Australia, around 300,000 children are born each year, but it is estimated that over 90,000 parents suffer from mental health problems while expecting or caring for a baby.
A service aimed at supporting parents
Perinatal specialist Dr Karen Hazell Raine, of the non-profit parenting support organization Karitane, said mental illness and stress during pregnancy and the early years of parenthood “affect a mother over five and one partner or parental father in 10 “.
Karitane supports parents in the first five years of a child’s life. The organization helps parents identify and overcome challenges and provides specialist support, including parent centers, residential services, children’s mental health and behavior clinics.
“It’s not just about the mental health of the parents, but the state of health as a whole,” said Dr Hazell Raine.
“We can step in to help and identify problems. Do an assessment to provide great information to really empower and educate parents.
“And it’s not to put the burden of the burden on the parent, but it’s to look at the opportunities that we can provide them.”
Earlier this month, Karitane and Charles Darwin University launched a partnership to strengthen the education and training of midwives and nursing students in the area of perinatal mental health.
Dr Hazell Raine will hold a joint position as Senior Lecturer in Nursing and Midwifery at Charles Darwin University.
“I have a keen interest in strengthening the roles of midwives and nurses to optimize the mental health and well-being of parents, infants and children, especially culturally appropriate approaches for indigenous populations,” immigrant and refugee women, ”said Dr Hazell Raine.
“But I’m also excited about research opportunities for students and overseeing new and upcoming innovative research. “
Hoping to change the lives of many
Ms Hetherington said having a service like this available to new parents would help them feel supported in their most vulnerable times.
“It would absolutely remove a lot of that fear from those feelings that you have in your head that you maybe don’t have a lot of control over,” she said.
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