Darling Downs Health Service introduces new digital mental health tool in Warwick Hospital’s maternity unit

Motherhood is both incredibly exciting and quite a stressful time for women and their families. To that end, Warwick Hosptial’s maternity unit will be the first in the region to introduce a new digital perinatal mental health screening tool to address new mum’s mental health.

SAVING LIVES: One of the stars out the front of the Warwick Hospital.

Stepping into the world of motherhood can be quite a confronting experience for many young mums, making tailored perinatal support services a must for women and their families.

With this in mind, Darling Downs Health has selected Warwick Hospital’s maternity unit to be the pilot site for their new digital perinatal mental health assessment tool iCOPE.

Midwifery unit manager Ross Newton said the introduction of the assessment for new mothers would provide a private and judgement free outlet for mothers to answer the questionnaire in the comfort of their own home.

“Prior to iCOPE our perinatal mental health screen was paper based and completed at the hospital during an antenatal appointment (and) sometimes, expecting mothers have other children in the appointments with them or family members and they may not feel comfortable answering honestly,” he said.

Warwick Hospital's midwifery unit manager Ross Newton. Photo: DDHS Media

iCOPE is designed to assess and screen mothers for symptoms of depression, anxiety and accesses any potential psychosocial risk factors and can be accessed through an SMS link sent after an appointment.

Mr Newton said once the digital assessment was completed, midwives from the unit would then discuss the answers with the expecting mother at different stages throughout their pregnancy allowing them to keep a check on the mother’s mental wellbeing.

“Anxiety and depression can be common symptoms for mothers, that’s why it’s so important we make sure the mothers’ mental wellbeing is being prioritised alongside her physical health, and this screening tool does that,” he said.

“Once they have completed the questionnaire, our midwives are able to see the answers and have meaningful conversations with the mothers about their mental health and take necessary steps towards improving their wellbeing.

“We hope by using this tool we can identify mothers struggling with their mental health and work with them to have a more positive and supported journey into motherhood.”

The program has launched at Warwick Hospital as of today and will be introduced into maternity units across Dalby, Goondiwindi, Stanthorpe, Kingaroy and Toowoomba in October.