8,000 Mothers Denied Adequate Mental Health Treatment

8,000 Mothers Denied Adequate Mental Health Treatment Every Year

Grave concerns for generations of New Zealand mothers go unanswered amidst fears of an escalating maternal mental health crisis.
Maternal Care Action Group planted more than 8,000 flowers today - one for every New Zealand mum with Perinatal Depression/Anxiety that experiences delayed diagnosis and treatment every year.
Coinciding with the first day of spring, the Plant Pledge 4 PND event highlighted the staggering shortfall in funding and services for maternal mental health care in New Zealand.
Maternal Care Action Group (MCAGNZ) spokesperson Kristina Paterson, said New Zealanders should be horrified by the statistics: “We are failing more than 8,000 mothers and their families every year due to poor mental health screening and referrals. That’s twice the population of Whitianga.
“Even with diagnosis, 75 per cent do not meet Maternal Mental Health criteria and most of those won’t access essential counselling and therapy due to cost. It’s time the Government steps up and does more to address this crisis.”
Ms Paterson warns that New Zealand mothers are not the only ones at risk: “The evidence clearly shows that with delayed mental health treatment and support, women are at risk of worsening mental health, family breakups, and suicide. But what we also know is that the children of those women are more likely to have behavioural and mental health issues themselves, and are at greater risk of dying by suicide in later life.
“Given suicide is the leading cause of maternal death in New Zealand and we have the highest youth suicide rate in the developed world, this is no longer an issue that can be ignored.”
Ms Paterson says a strong business case exists for Government investment in three key initiatives:
• Professional development training for midwives so they are better equipped to identify, screen and refer women showing signs of Perinatal Depression/Anxiety.
• Holistic services that provide early intervention assessments and recovery programmes with proven outcomes for women that don’t currently meet Maternal Mental Health criteria.
• Free counselling for all women with Perinatal Depression/Anxiety, in addition to the subsidised prescription medicine currently offered.
Ms Paterson said she had been in contact with all of the political parties prior to the event and was encouraged by the robust discussion to date: “There’s still a lot to be done but I’m looking forward to continuing discussions with whoever’s in Government after the next election in order to improve our maternal mental health outcomes.”
Present at the event at Kelmarna Gardens in Ponsonby today was a large contingent of mothers and children who have been affected by the funding shortfall, as well as TV Celebrity Chef Nadia Lim and TV Personality Jude Dobson.

Plant Pledge 4 PND event attendee and mother Melanie Watson hoped the event would spark positive change: “I really hope our country’s leaders are listening, and that they answer our cries for something to be done about the lack of maternal mental health services. They have the power to make a real difference, and I just don’t think they can afford to stand-by and wait for another mother to die by suicide before any action is taken.”
Ms Paterson said planting the flowers was designed to be a significant and symbolic step in the right direction: “Preparing for and planting more than 8,000 flowers was no easy feat, but this challenge is nothing compared to the fight that more than 8,000 kiwi mums face every year as they battle on without the help or treatment they desperately need.”
The public is invited to show their support by emailing their local MP asking for better maternal mental health care: http://www.mcagnz.org/email-your-mp.html or by sharing their story to: mcagnz@gmail.com.
“We’ve sown these seeds today, and our care for these flowers will continue. Now we’re challenging our country’s leaders to do the same for our mums by asking what they’ll do to nurture and support a mother’s mental health while they are raising their children - our future generation?

ENDS

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