Mental health features at midwifery symposium
Midwives not only provide primary health and hospital services, but also play an important role in assisting expectant mothers with their mental health during pregnancy.
To support midwives in this key role, midwives in the Eden District attended a midwifery symposium on mental health on 17 August in George.
In the Eden District, midwives offered support for almost 8 500 births for the period of April 2017 to March 2018. Symposium facilitator, Dr Simone Honikman, a medical doctor with extensive experience in the public sector in women's health as a clinician and as a service manager, said, "It is very exciting to see how non-mental health specialists see the advantages of learning more about mental health and how to work with mothers with the common mental disorders of depression and anxiety. Health workers see the benefits in terms of physical health as well as mental health and it makes their work more satisfying."
A child's health is most vulnerable during the first 1 000 days of their life. This period, from conception until a child's second birthday, offers a unique window of opportunity to shape healthier and more prosperous futures.
Women's Health coordinator for Eden, Gail Holton, said, "Develop a support system and make sure that you talk to other expecting parents. Express negative feelings and remember, it is normal to feel bad sometimes when you are adjusting to a new baby. There are wonderful mobile applications providing health-related information, two being MomConnect and Bwisehealth.com. MomConnect provides valuable information for every stage of your pregnancy while B-Wise provides an interactive forum specifically for our youth to access information and ask questions".
In South Africa, research suggests as many as 3 in 10 women suffer from depression and/or anxiety during pregnancy. Risk factors for developing common mental disorders include poverty, food insecurity, unintended pregnancy, teenage pregnancy, lack of a supportive partner, a major life event, substance misuse, refugee status, experiencing intimate partner violence, past or present abuse, having insufficient emotional and practical support, a history of mental health problems, HIV, and previous pregnancy loss.
Women who have experienced any of these risk factors or feel that they need help, can visit their nearest clinic.