Engaging Mothers and Professionals to Make Maternal Mental Health a Critical Item in Primary Health Care. 

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A report by Dr. Martha Traverso-Yepez & Dr. Caroline Porr on behalf of the Engaging Mothers Research Team.

We offer professional development for perinatal mental health professionals. Our trainings are inter-professional; we welcome social workers, psychotherapists, clinical psychologists, midwives, nurses, naturopaths, OB’s, psychiatrists, pelvic floor physiotherapists, family doctors, community organizers, pediatricians, coaches, or sleep consultants. If you work with perinatal families, you belong here.

We combine relational knowledge with relational care by providing trainings that offer an integration of perinatal mental health research, clinical experience, and personal wisdom. Professional development certificates are provided to all our course graduates.

The Center for Women’s Mental Health at Massachusetts General Hospital provides state-of-the-art evaluation and treatment of psychiatric disorders associated with reproductive function including premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), pregnancy-associated mood disturbance, postpartum psychiatric illness, and peri- and post- menopausal depression. Clinical care is complemented by research in each of these areas ranging from studies of a spectrum of treatments for individuals who suffer from PMDD, postpartum depression, and depression in menopause to longitudinal observational studies for individuals who suffer from mood disorders during pregnancy. Offers accredited courses to healthcare professionals on topics surrounding perinatal mental health.

Ontario Perinatal Mental Health Toolkit is a series of modules developed by Healthy Human Development Table with support from Public Health Ontario. It includes five modules on approaches to perinatal mental health that can be used to help public health unit management, and planners, as well as front-line staff who deliver perinatal mental health services. 

Dr Alain Gregoire is Consultant Perinatal Psychiatrist and Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Southampton, UK. He was the founder and is currently the Chair of the UK Maternal Mental Health Alliance. Dr. Gregoire presented at a Deliberative Workshop on June 14, 2019 at the Signal Hill Campus of Memorial University. This groundbreaking event made the case addressing perinatal mental health in Newfoundland and Labrador.

MotherToBaby, a service of the non-profit Organization of Teratology Information Specialists (OTIS), is the nation’s leading authority and most trusted source of evidence-based information on the safety of medications and other exposures during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. We specialize in answering questions about the safety/risk of exposures, such as medications, vaccines, chemicals, herbal products, substances of abuse, maternal health conditions and much more, during pregnancy or breastfeeding. Our no-cost information service is available to people who are pregnant and/or breastfeeding, their family members, health professionals, and the general public via chat, text, phone, and email in both English and Spanish.

British Columbia Resources for Reproductive Mental Health is a webpage through the BC Children’s Hospital that provides several reproductive mental health resources. Resources provided include self care guides, factsheets, practice guidelines, resources for professionals, as well as other resources for reproductive mental health. 

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The Marcé Society is an international, interdisciplinary organization dedicated to supporting research and assistance surrounding prenatal and postpartum mental health for mothers, fathers and their babies.

The Society aims to promote, facilitate and communicate about research into all aspects of the mental health of women, men/partners, infants and their families throughout pregnancy and the first two years after childbirth. 

The Society is multidisciplinary and encourages involvement from all disciplines including: psychiatrists, psychologists, paediatricians, obstetricians, midwives, nurses, early childhood specialists.

LGBTQIA Inclusive Pregnancy And Birth Care is a blog written by homebirth midwife Sandra Londino on providing inclusive pregnancy and birth care for individuals of the LGBTQIA community. The blog post provides definitions of important terminologies, as well as practical tips for how pregnancy and birth care professionals can provide inclusive care.

PANDA (Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia) is a national not-for-profit organization with various handouts, fact sheets, and resources. They also offer information on perinatal anxiety and depression for LGBTIQ families and other information for health professionals.

Free medical app by the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. It is a perinatal depression assessment and decision support tool that is intended for obstetric providers. 

Saskatchewan Maternal Health is a program that helps parents, individuals, and healthcare providers building mental health services for pregnant and parenting persons in Saskatchewan. The program focuses on improving awareness, assisting in developing support services, and recommending policy updates for persons who suffer from depression and or anxiety during pregnancy and postpartum. Several resources are provided on their website.

Training through Postpartum Support International (PSI) for lifetime certification in perinatal mental health. It is available for three groups: mental health/psychotherapy; psychopharmacology (all professionals who prescribe medications); affiliated professionals (e.g., nurses, doulas, lactation, social support, occupational or physical therapists, dietitians, and others).

Tools and Resources to Identify and Support Women with Perinatal Depression and Anxiety is an online course and suite of practice support resources for public health nurses (and other health and social service providers who work with perinatal individuals and families). The course and resources aim to build capacity to provide responsive support services for individuals and families experiencing perinatal depression and anxiety.

The Perinatal Mental Health programme includes courses to help educate and develop the workforce caring for people with perinatal mental health issues. There are currently courses across three key areas: Perinatal Mental Health; Perinatal Mental Health for Health Visitors; Perinatal Mental Health for Occupational Therapists.

Basic Skills in PMH (Perinatal Mental Health) is a course through the Australian not-for-profit organization COPE, which is devoted to reducing the impacts of emotional and mental health problems in the pre and postnatal periods.  The course outlines key components of knowledge and skills required to undertake screening and management of perinatal mental health disorders. 

A website dedicated to the updated research on medications in pregnancy, lactation and reproduction. Easy to read layouts, detailed information from many devices! Subscription based.