The emotional wellbeing of pregnant and postnatal women is so fragile that one in five experience a mental health condition during gestation or in the year after giving birth. This is why the World Health Organization (WHO) is raising awareness of the importance of including perinatal mental health in maternal and child health services.
The organisation has issued a guide emphasising the importance of screening, diagnosing, and managing perinatal mental health conditions in its new Nurturing Care Framework.
A spokesperson for the group said: “The new WHO guide for integration of perinatal mental health in maternal and child health (MCH) services provides the best available information aimed at supporting MCH providers in identifying symptoms of mental health problems and responding in a way that is adapted to their local and cultural context.”
Of those who experience a mental health condition during pregnancy or in the year following birth, 20 per cent will have suicidal thoughts or harm themselves. Therefore, there is great risk to the woman’s health, but also to her baby’s emotional and physical development.
The WHO has stated that MCH services offered during the perinatal period can support women “in a respectful and stigma-free environment”. Consequently, this will improve attendance and engagement of mothers, and lead to better care for their children.
Signs of perinatal depression, according to mental health charity Mind, include feeling upset and tearful; irritable and agitated; guilty and worthless; empty and numb; isolated and unable to relate to people; low self-esteem; hopeless; hostile or indifferent to your partner or baby; unexcited about things you normally enjoy, and a sense of unreality. In extreme cases, suicidal feelings can be present.
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