The Relevant Role of Public Health Nursing in Promoting Maternal Infant Mental Health

Original Presentation: February 2, 2021

During pregnancy and the first year after delivery (a.k.a. the perinatal period) there are many changes and stressors in a woman’s life. Due to physical, emotional, and hormonal changes, as well as a range of socio-environmental stressors, in NL up to 25% of mothers (one in four mothers) could be affected by a range of mental health issues. Although this is a higher rate than the Canadian average (one in five), we still lack a provincial strategy to tackle this issue and about half of these mothers do not receive the attention they need. In this presentation, in addition to detailing the ways that perinatal mental health issues could affect mothers, fathers, the baby, and the whole family, I emphasize the role of public health and public health nursing to provide care and supports for mothers and infants. This data from recent research also includes nurses’ contributions to enhancing the PHNs’ role in moving the perinatal mental health agenda forward.

Presenter:
Martha Traverso-Yepez PhD

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