MATERNAL HEALTH
Mom calls for more testing
Elita Paterson hopes HealthLine’s maternal wellness program will expand soon so pregnant women suffering from anxiety and depression are helped quickly.
As a first-time mother, Paterson struggled with postpartum anxiety for two years after her daughter was born in 2006. She felt dangerously close to the edge many times.
Since then, she has advocated for women’s depression and anxiety to be identified early in pregnancy and taking preventive measures so new mothers don’t suffer the torment she did after birth.
“It is imperative that we screen women when they ’re pregnant because that is when we can reduce, if not prevent, further anxiety and depression,” Paterson said.
Currently, the focus of the Maternal Wellness program is on the mental health of postpartum moms. Doing that has the program already at capacity, said Brad Havervold, executive director of Community Care with the Ministry of Health.
In the program, new mothers are screened for anxiety and depression when public nurses visit them and their babies. Women deemed at risk for postpartum depression or anxiety are offered a referral to the program.
A registered psychiatric nurse or social worker with HealthLine calls the mom, does an assessment and offers emotional support, coping strategies and information on community resources.
For some moms, the support is life-saving. When a woman is suffering from postpartum psychosis and there is a possibility she plans to hurt herself or the baby, HealthLine staff go into crisis intervention.
Over nine months, between April and December 2017, close to 1,800 people called HealthLine with a variety of mental health issues.
The program, which began as a pilot in two health regions in 2013, became available across the province last year. No extra HealthLine staff were hired to provide the provincewide service.
Paterson is passionate about providing expecting mothers with mental health supports.
She’s a public representative on the Saskatchewan Maternal Mental Health Implementation Committee and co-chairs the committee with Angela Bowen, a professor with the college of nursing at the University of Saskatchewan. The two women are among doctors and other health-care professionals developing a screening tool called the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (PDS) and Care Guide to add to the provincial prenatal checklist.
When the tool is added, doctors and obstetricians will ask pregnant women 10 questions to gauge their risk of depression and anxiety.
Paterson has met with Greg Ottenbreit, minister responsible for rural and remote health, a couple of times to press for HealthLine’s Maternal Wellness Program to be expanded.
Paterson wants the program available when the PDS is added to the updated prenatal checklist later this year. She believes Ottenbreit heard her concerns when she met with him Thursday.
“My understanding is that it would just take one more person to cover physician and obstetrician referrals,” Paterson said. “That really piqued his interest.”
Anyone with mental health issues, including mothers and pregnant women, can call HealthLine at 1-877-800-0002 and speak to a qualified nurse or social worker. But pregnant women can’t refer themselves to the Maternal Wellness Program, Paterson said.
“But if they went to a public health nurse and got screened and said ‘I need help’ then they can get referred to the program,” she said.
Havervold noted there are resources outside of HealthLine, including mental health services within the Saskatchewan Health Authority and family doctors.
Women who aren’t flagged by the Maternal Wellness program, but feel at risk or those identified by their family physician as being at risk can be cared for by obstetricians, physicians and other primary care providers trained to deal with postpartum depression issues, he said. From there, they can be referred to receive further help.
Typically there are lengthy waits to see psychiatrists and mental health professionals in most areas of the province.
“I think that referrals into specialists depends on the acuity of the person,” Havervold said. “People at significant risk can be seen in a more timely way ... Like any other type of service, cardiology for example, people with urgent needs are seen urgently.”
Paterson believes educating the public and health-care providers about perinatal mood and anxiety disorders is key.
She is one of the organizers of a two-day conference called Our Mothers, Our Future that is being held in collaboration with the Canadian Mental Health Association in Saskatoon on May 25 and 26.
The certificate course is presented by Postpartum Support International and Canadian specialists. Registrations and information are available at: https://sk.cmha.ca/
My understanding is that it would just take one more person to cover physician and obstetrician referrals.