Perinatal Mental Health National Campaign

According to World Health Organisation, 10% of pregnant women and 13% of new mothers in developed countries suffer from mental disorders, especially depression or stress disorder, while in developing countries percentages are higher, 15.6% of pregnant women and 19.8% of new mothers respectively. In Greece, according to current epidemiological data, 50-85% of new mothers develop a mild and temporary form of postpartum baby blues, which last about 2 weeks and should not be confused with depression.

10-15% of new mothers develop postpartum depression and 0.1 – 0.2% of new mothers develop postpartum psychosis (Public Consultation for the National Action Plan for Depression, 2008). These facts correspond to the findings of international bibliography which converge to the timely detection of symptoms, minimization of impact for the woman, the child and all the family and point out the effectiveness of early detection of symptoms already from pregnancy.

In May 2014 FAINARETI launched a national campaign on the awareness of women with symptoms of postpartum depression and general mental disorders during perinatal period and their families as well as the general public and healthcare professionals. Parallel to the Helpline, the information and awareness activities are part of the programme "PROMOTION OF THE MENTAL HEALTH OF THE PREGNANT, THE PUERPERA AND THE NEW MOTHER" and are funded by the Operational Programme "Human Resources Development", NSRF 2007-2013.

In this framework the following actions are implemented:

• Written informational material (such as brochures, posters and a short guide for detecting symptoms of perinatal mental disorders) distributed at maternity departments of general hospitals, public maternity hospitals, municipal health clinics and social services and non-profit organisations throughout Greece.

• On-site information of pregnant women and new mothers who visit the out-patient clinics of public maternity hospitals in Attica.

• Visits to the community: specialists of FAINARETI regularly visit the local authorities (municipal health clinics and social services) non-profit/non-governmental organisations, academic institutions and others in order to distribute informational material on perinatal mental disorders.

• TV spot (animation video) for the awareness on perinatal mental health.

• Organisation of awareness raising events.

• Participation in Greek and international scientific conferences and events where the scientific work and interventions of FAINARETI are demonstrated on issues ranging from postpartum depression and perinatal mental disorder, special midwifery care, promotion of natural labour and breast-feeding to domestic violence and gender equality.

• Publication of Perinatal Mental Disorders: A Guide for Healthcare Professionals, 2015 (in Greek)