Maternal Mental Health: A right not a privilege – OUR VOICES
United for Global Mental Health, in partnership with UNICEF, Africa Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC), Foundation for Mother and Child Health Indonesia (FMCH, Indonesia) and The Carter Center has launched a new campaign centred on prioritising maternal mental health.
The perinatal period – through pregnancy, childbirth, and the year following – is a time of transformation. But for millions of women around the world, it’s also a time of emotional distress, isolation, and untreated mental health challenges.
However, multiple barriers to quality Maternal Mental Health care persist. These include:
- A low awareness of the importance of maternal mental health and therefore limited prioritisation of integrated maternal health care
- Lack of mental health screening in maternal and child health services leading to missed opportunities for early detection and early diagnosis
- Insufficient mental health training of health workers delivering maternal health care
- Scarcity of mental health resources increasing the maternal mental health treatment gap
- Stigma which remains a major barrier across all mental health conditions but is especially challenging in the context of motherhood with extra societal expectations, systemic inequalities and demands being placed on mothers.
Our campaign: Maternal Mental Health: A right not a privilege OUR VOICES underscores that maternal mental health conditions during the perinatal period are preventable and treatable.
Through the voices of women with lived experience and the front line workforce supporting these women the campaign seeks to amplify their unique experiences and urgent calls to action.
We are calling for:
- Integration of mental health into existing maternal and child health services
- Access for all women, during pregnancy and after birth, to a primary and community care health professional trained in mental health care.
- Prioritising funding for essential maternal and child health services that include maternal mental health care.
Follow the campaign on our LinkedIn and X accounts, as well as on the GMHAN LinkedIn page.
Please read our collaborative blog with UNICEF on how maternal healthcare must holistically integrate physical and mental health, ensuring new mothers receive people-centred care and support to survive and thrive.
Resources
To learn more about our recent work follow the link to our workforce project and download our maternal mental health advocacy brief – where we offer recommendations for governments and development partners to prioritise maternal mental health.