Project to use mums to support new mums
MOTHERS’ wisdom is being harnessed as a fresh way of helping new mums struggling with their mental health soon after birth.
A $850,000 project led by La Trobe University will train Victorian mothers who have experienced postnatal depression or anxiety to become telephone peer support workers to new mums at risk.
More than 1000 women from Wyndham and Hume identified as being at risk at the four-week maternal health check will be invited to join the study comparing regular telephone peer support to the usual care offered by nurses and GPs.
“We’re giving them what they might normally get in the community — the support of another mother — but we don’t often get that in the community these days,” project lead Professor Della Forster said.
“People still feel very stigmatised to admit they’re not coping, so many women don’t proactively seek support. People are on social media all the time, but it doesn’t replace that contact with a real person.”
A similar trial in Canada saw the peer support program almost halve rates of depression after three months.
The trial is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council.
Given more than 53,000 new mums across Australia experience postnatal depression each year, and that it could lead to serious health outcomes for mother and child, Prof Forster said it was vital more effective ways of reaching vulnerable women were found.
“It can have serious consequences on a woman’s relationship with her partner, affect the relationship with her child and other children, and impact bonding and attachment,” she said.
Mother-of-two Cat Garcia, 31, started having panic attacks each time eldest daughter Ruby cried. She become franti- cally pressured about housework and office paperwork piling up.
She sought help from the Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia helpline and her GP, who diagnosed her with post-natal anxiety and referred her to counselling.
“I used to be someone who would hold things in and try to manage on my own,” Ms Garcia said. “Talking to someone about how I was feeling without being judged was the main thing that helped me.”
For confidential support, contact PANDA on 1300 726 306. For details on becoming a volunteer peer support counsellor, email D.Forster@latrobe.edu.au