New parents struggling with anxiety urged to seek out free service

Chenzi Dong says she did not know where to turn for professional help. (Supplied: Chenzi Dong) Link copiedShareShare articleAfter Chenzi Dong gave birth to her baby boy last year, she found herself on the brink of a breakdown. "At times, I felt desperate," the Melbourne lawyer said. "Hearing the baby cry would make me tense up immediately, and I would feel terribly guilty if the baby was sick or uncomfortable." Ms Dong, who migrated to Australia from China, said she felt neglected as her family's attention was often entirely on her son. "They don't really care about my emotions or feelings, which makes me feel a bit let down." Ms Dong said she did not know where to turn for professional help, and as a busy mother, she often just pushed her feelings aside. "It's easy to neglect your own physical and mental health," she said. Ms Dong is among a large number of new parents who believe they have experienced, or have been diagnosed with, perinatal anxiety and depression. Perinatal refers to the period of pregnancy and the year following birth. Organisations such as Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia (PANDA) have quoted research showing that about one in five women in Australia and one in 10 expecting or new fathers experience depression or anxiety during the perinatal period. And a survey completed last year by Gidget Foundation Australia, a not-for-profit perinatal support service provider, found that 25 per cent of new parents in Victoria were unsure how to access professional support, while 33 per cent believed their symptoms were not severe enough to warrant professional help. A new free perinatal mental health service opened at Monash Medical Centre in May. (ABC News: Danielle Bonica) The survey also found that parents from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities were more unlikely to seek help. More than half surveyed said they assumed their symptoms were not severe enough to warrant seeking help. To support new and expectant parents, the federal government has funded the rollout of dozens of Gidget Foundation Australia Perinatal Mental Health Centres, also known as Gidget Houses, around the country. The latest clinics opened in Berry Springs in the Northern Territory and Launceston in Tasmania this month. New clinics were also set up in Clayton in Melbourne's south-east and Fairfield in Sydney's west earlier this year. New centres have also been announced for the cities of Hume and Casey in Melbourne's north-west and south-east. Expectant and new parents experiencing perinatal depression and anxiety can access 10 Medicare bulk-billed psychological counselling sessions per year. Cathy Ngo is urging new mums with anxiety or depression to seek professional help as soon as possible. (Supplied: Gidget Foundation Australia) Alyssa Lalor, director of program delivery at Gidget Foundation Australia, said many parents from CALD communities might not recognise they had anxiety or depression because they did not have a history of mental health issues. "The impact of them not seeking help is more along the lines of feeling isolated, being not connected, not having their village to support them, at a time that is supposed to be the happiest time of their lives," she said. Nilupulie Karunaratne thought asking for help was a sign of weakness. Then her husband referred her to a psychologist. Sydney mum Cathy Ngo, a Gidget Foundation ambassador, said she also found it hard to seek help when she first became a parent and only sought professional help when her son turned one. Ms Ngo said a lack of family support and limited understanding of mental health issues delayed her trip to the doctor, and that she found the free services to be "absolutely a relief". "My heritage is Vietnamese. In my culture, we don't really talk about our feelings or what we're going through," she said. "We are just expected to move on and be emotionally as strong as possible. Ms Ngo said she encouraged new mothers facing similar situations to seek professional help as soon as possible. "Seeking help isn't a sign of weakness. In fact, it's a sign of strength." Jane Fisher, director of Global and Women's Health at Monash University's School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, said becoming a parent was a major life challenge and everyone experienced some level of anxiety. However, Dr Fisher said parents from CALD backgrounds faced additional hurdles. Jane Fisher says many CALD women are reluctant to seek help for a number of reasons. (Supplied: Jane Fisher) A 2021 study published in the European Journal of Midwifery on postpartum women from CALD backgrounds in Australia found they "manifest higher levels of demoralisation as well as anxiety and depression in the postpartum period when compared with their non-CALD counterparts." "They don't really have access to their family [from their home countries], especially their own mothers. They rely much more on their partners to provide day-to-

New parents struggling with anxiety urged to seek out free service

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New parents struggling with anxiety urged to seek out free service

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