Mental health support needed for new parents as pandemic effects linger

Shadow effects of the Covid-19 lockdowns in Victoria are set to continue into the future, as demand for peri-natal mental health services soars.

Chloe Elliott with her husband Stuart Speirs and their 10-week-old daughter Ellie, near their home in Footscray. Picture: Aaron Francis/The Australian

The number of women and new families in need of mental health support in the lead-up to giving birth and after their pregnancy are increasing, as the shadow effects of the pandemic endure.

Peri-natal specialist midwife at St Vincent’s private hospital in Melbourne, Michelle Cambrey, said demand for mental health support skyrocketed during the pandemic.

“The anxiety just went through the roof,” she said. “There was a lot of fear and it wasn’t pleasant here in Victoria. My role ramped up, and that’s across the board – not just with me. That’s with counsellors, psychologists.”

The pandemic’s mental health impacts will be felt for years, as parents cope with anxieties they may not have had before Covid-19, Ms Cambrey said.

“Think about the mums in 2020, who basically couldn't socialise with people. Their babies couldn’t socialise with people, they couldn’t be with their family,” she said. “Some of the experiences were women having, say, a birth without their partner because they may have been from overseas, and relying on family support to look after a child at home.

“It’s isolating enough having a newborn let alone not having supports whether it be family or friends.”

Ms Cambrey said the number of patients she supports is six to eight a day four days a week, up from four to five patients two days a week before the pandemic.

The Royal Women’s Hospital has also reported a surge in demand for mental health services.

“The number of people (pregnant or having recently given birth) who received support from the Women’s mental health services increased by 200 per cent from 2018-2019 to 2021-2022,” a spokeswoman said.

“More than 3000 antenatal and post-natal patients have been supported by the Women‘s mental health services during 2021-2022.”

Gidget Foundation Australia — an organisation which provides free psychological services to parents across the country — reported a 70 per cent increase in the number of appointments delivered nationally between November 2021 and March this year compared with the same period in 2020 and 2021.

A second Gidget House in Victoria opened for telehealth appointments in April last year in partnership with St Vincent’s private hospital and has delivered 341 consultations since it opened.

Melbourne-based new parent Chloe Elliot, 40, was referred to the peri-natal mental wellbeing service at St Vincent’s Private Hospital after her mum unexpectedly died in October last year while she was pregnant with her now 10-week-old Ellie. Closed borders meant she could not attend the funeral in Queensland.

“When mum passed, (my GP) immediately referred me on to Michelle. It was really hard because I had these feelings of joy and excitement … but at the same time going this huge thing has happened and I need to be able to grieve my mum.”

Victorian opposition mental health spokeswoman Emma Kealy said there is a “desperate shortage of mental health workers”.

“Three years ago the Royal Commission warned the government that a critical and urgent investment in the mental health workforce was required, yet years later Victorians are still waiting for more mental workers,” she said.

A Victorian government spokeswoman said: “Since the Royal Commission’s final report was handed down, we’ve created more than 2500 workers in the sector - including specialists in perinatal mental health support.”