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Maternal Mental Health: Providing Care and Support in the Perinatal Period

Please join the Wilson Center’s Maternal Health Initiative, in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), for a dialogue on perinatal mental health with panelists reflecting on these issues from their own backgrounds as healthcare providers, advocates, researchers, policy makers, and from their lived experience.  Panelists will discuss the global magnitude and impact of perinatal mental health disorders on mothers, babies, families, and communities; barriers to women accessing mental health care services; lessons learned in regard to best practices for prevention and treatment; and policy changes to improve access to perinatal mental health care for pregnant individuals worldwide.

Date & Time

Thursday
Oct. 14, 2021
9:00am – 10:30am ET

Overview

Mental health during the perinatal period (pregnancy and the year postpartum) is a serious global concern. Women are more likely to develop anxiety or depression during the perinatal period than at any other point in their lives and suicide is a leading cause of maternal deaths in the first year postpartum. Stressors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have further exacerbated this perinatal mental health crisis. Nevertheless, the need for psychosocial and mental health care for women in the perinatal period is often overlooked, especially in low- and middle-income countries and other under-resourced settings.

Please join the Wilson Center’s Maternal Health Initiative, in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), for a dialogue on perinatal mental health with panelists reflecting on these issues from their own backgrounds as healthcare providers, advocates, researchers, policy makers, and from their lived experience.  Panelists will discuss the global magnitude and impact of perinatal mental health disorders on mothers, babies, families, and communities; barriers to women accessing mental health care services; lessons learned in regard to best practices for prevention and treatment; and policy changes to improve access to perinatal mental health care for pregnant individuals worldwide.

We are collecting questions and comments on this topic ahead of the event. Please send your question to mhi@wilsoncenter.org by October 10, 2021 so we can incorporate audience questions into the discussion. Follow the conversation on Twitter at @Wilson_MHI and @UNFPA and on Instagram at @MaternalHealthInitiative using the hashtags #PMHMatters and #MHDialogue. Find more coverage of these issues on our blog, NewSecurityBeat.org/Dot-Mom.

Speakers

Neerja Chowdhary

Technical Officer, Department of Mental Health and Substance Use, World Health Organization

Tafadzwa Meki

Founder, Someone Always Listens To You (SALT) Africa

Kay Matthews

Founder, Shades of Blue Project

Jane Fisher

Clinical Psychologist, Finkel Professor of Global Health, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University

Pandora Hardtman

Chief Nurse and Midwife, Jhpiego

Hosted By

Maternal Health Initiative

Life and health are the most basic human rights, yet disparities between and within countries continue to grow. No single solution or institution can address the variety of health concerns the world faces. By leveraging, building on, and coordinating the Wilson Center’s strong regional and cross-cutting programming, the Maternal Health Initiative (MHI) promotes dialogue and understanding among practitioners, scholars, community leaders, and policymakers.  Read more

Thank you for your interest in this event. Please send any feedback or questions to our Events staff.