The Regional Perinatal Advisory Committee received new funding this year to achieve improvements in care for mothers who experience mental illness during pregnancy or post-partum.

Three key goals are:

1. Work with key “entry points” to service to: develop standardized approach to screening and supporting new moms at risk of or with mental health challenges; improve attachment between moms and babes; reduce stigma about mental illness:

2. Revise mental health service intake process to recognize perinatal mental health referrals as a co-morbid condition and increase priority of patients for support

3. Develop skills of multi-disciplinary professionals for better screening, diagnosis, and awareness of treatment options for new mothers while building collaborative local service networks

Key accomplishments in 2016:

• Patient needs assessment about perinatal mental health supports in the KB;
• MHSU revision of intake processes to improve response times for new moms:
• Development of a referral pathway tool for perinatal mental health;
• Series of workshops hosted by BC Reproductive Mental Health available for community organization groups facilitators, clinicians, and physicians;
• Familiar faces program initiated in the Boundary region - cross professional interactions with new and expecting moms to normalize services and increase accessibility;
• Familiar Faces program to expand into all four communities in coming months;
• Pilot program initiated as a collaboration between MHSU and community organizations to provide group support sessions in four communities;
• Interprofessional learning sessions to be provided in spring 2017.

NEWS

Perinatal Mental Health Resources

• Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale tool
• Postpartum "Plain Mama English" tool and local Kootenay Boundary resources list
• IH Postpartum Depression Referral Pathways - Trail, Castlegar, Nelson, Kalso, New Denver, Nakusp, Boundary
• Perinatal Mental Health Project report