Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week this year is to take place from 29 April–5 May. It will be dedicated to talking about mental health problems before, during and after pregnancy. The Perinatal Mental Health Partnership UK says the week is all about:
The Covid-19 pandemic was thought to have increased the rates of prevalence of postnatal depression, exacerbating mental health risks for new families. A systematic review from 2023 examined the effect of maternal and paternal PND on parent–infant relationships and children's development in the first 36 months after childbirth during the Covid-19 outbreak. It found that maternal PND significantly affected the quality of the early mother–infant relationship and the infant's motor, self-regulation and socio-emotional development. The authors concluded that their findings strengthened the importance of planning targeted prevention and treatment strategies to prevent PND and its short- and long-term consequences, especially in the case of stressful and traumatic events (Federica et al, 2023).
A further study also indicated that Covid-19 had an important negative impact on postnatal women's mental health and may have accelerated an existing trend of increasing prevalence of postnatal depression. Risk factors for postnatal depression were consistent before and during the pandemic (Harrison et al, 2023).
During Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week, daily themes for 2024 include: Demystifying perinatal mental illness; Moving together through your changing world; World Maternal Mental Health Day – Stronger together; Finding you in this journey: Identity transformation in the perinatal period; Perinatal positivity pot: Shining a light on parent voices and recovery stories; Support for all: Sharing empowering resources for all families in the UK and beyond; and Reflections on rediscovery: Looking back over the week.
For more information visit: https://maternalmentalhealthalliance.org.