Postpartum strategy to address gaps in mental health care
Peer-to-peer support, health-care provider awareness found to be lacking in Sudbury, north
More help is on the way in northern Ontario for women and their families struggling with postpartum mood disorders.
The Postpartum Mood Disorder Project, funded through grants from the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the North East Local Health Integration Network, aims to raise awareness about the issue.
Kaarina Ranta is the program coordinator with the Northern Initiative for Social Action, or NISA, in Sudbury. The group is working with counterparts across the north to help people who are struggling.
There's lot of pressure put on women that they will just know what to do when they have their babies.- Kariina Ranta
Ranta said postpartum mood disorders affect about one in five women — and she was one of them.
"I'm a woman with lived experience of postpartum depression," she said.
Ranta called on that experience to assess the resources available to people in Sudbury, and she said she found "gaps" in the system.
"We are one of the cities that did have perinatal support. We have a program run through the hospital," Ranta said.
"But, there were a lot of gaps in terms of peer support and service providers having education in the communities around what postpartum depression and postpartum mood disorders are."
Stigma still a barrier
Ranta said one of the major barriers to appropriate mental health care after a child arrives continues to be stigma.
"There's a lot of societal pressure as well to be a caring mother, have a strong family, and there's lot of pressure put on women that they will just know what to do when they have their babies."
In Sudbury, Sault. Ste. Marie and Parry Sound, Ranta said peer support groups have popped up thanks in part to the new initiative.
"Women [in the groups] are quite relieved to — I think, number one — be able to just have a safe space to talk about really the realities of what's going on," she said.
"[And] we've had feedback from moms that it's nice to see these other women."
Ranta noted that child-bearing women are not alone in reporting struggles after a baby arrives. She said one in 10 men suffer from a postpartum mood disorder, and adoptive parents can also struggle with anxiety and depression.