TRANSCRIPT
New data reveals most Australian parents do not have a strong support network, meaning they are unable to turn to other parents for support.
The data comes from a survey of 508 parents and expecting parents commissioned by the Gidget Foundation.
Amelia Walker, is the team leader for clinical intake and content at the Gidget Foundation.
"The new data reveals that two thirds of new Australian parents don't feel that they've got a strong support network of other parents. And so we're finding that people are feeling quite disconnected from that parenting village. And we're also finding that with only two in five rely on other parents for support. So that's a real disconnect from maybe historically where young families have sort of come together to support each other through quite a vulnerable time."
Australian Bureau of Statistics data reveals mental health disorders affect 43 per cent of Australians aged 16 to 85 at some point in their lives.
Research published in the BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth journal reveals perinatal mental health disorders are highly prevalent and disabling - affecting up to 20 per cent of women worldwide.
Mental health disorders during this critical period can have long-term potential negative impacts on the mother-infant relationship as well as affecting a child's social and emotional outcomes.
Ms Walker says changes in the way extended families function can also impact parenting.
"I think that the changing shape of the family structure is quite impactful. People are approaching parenting quite differently these days and making very independent choices about what their families look like. And possibly finding other families that sort of resemble your own can be a little harder. But we're also finding, I guess, it's a little bit of the COVID lag as well. People who had their babies, during COVID are now going into second pregnancies, and they've gone through a period of isolation with that first experience, to actually go into the second pregnancy can be quite overwhelming."
Nilu Karunaratne is a mother of twins, who moved to Australia from Sri Lanka in 2019.
Soon after Ms Karunaratne migrated she found out she was pregnant with twins.
But after the birth of the twins, she began to experience depression.
She says she was crying a lot, not sleeping, not wanting to mix with other people and becoming very anxious.
She initially thought her depression would quickly subside - but it didn't.
"My babies were in good and their health was good and everything was well. But after one month, my baby situation became worse. Their sleeping pattern also changed. They never had a continuous one hour sleep at a stretch, and they were continuously crying. Due to these reasons, it all became complicated. I would shy away from the society and I would shy away from facing anyone. So the worst part is, I couldn't enjoy my motherhood due to these overwhelming situations."
Her babies were also crying more often and stress also led to breastfeeding difficulties.
As a result, Nilu retreated from the outside world.
What made matters more difficult is the cultural tendency she says in South Asian cultures to not share personal stories or seek help from others.
Her husband saw she was struggling and encouraged her to get psychological support.
"He recognised the seriousness of my condition and he referred me to a psychologist. Then I had three to four online sessions with my psychologist. And within these sessions, we all mutually agreed to continue my day to day routine. This means I went to the normal Pilates classes, just to get my mind relaxed, and I did some easy home workouts as well. I practice meditations and I continued all my normal day to day things. I very quickly became a normal person."
Ms Walker says COVID has had an ongoing impact, especially for those with extended family overseas.
"It's such a relevant point, particularly in light of what we were talking about with COVID because culturally, often people from different parts of the world would historically have parents coming at the time when the baby's born. Often the parents or their grandparents, I should say have taken quite a lot of charge in the household, holding a lot of that comfort and space for a new and expectant mum. And we obviously found that those opportunities weren't there for our migrant families to reconnect and to be close to their extended family."
Ms Karunaratne has this message for migrant parents in Australia.
"I never wanted to share my postpartum anxiety thoughts with anyone. I was shy to ask for help from others. So I think open communication is a must if you're a new mother, or expectant one, you have to communicate. I think, initially, I also thought that asking for help is a weakness. It's not at all it's not a weakness. Asking for help is a strength. Professional help is there not like the previous days. We have so many psychiatrists, psychologists out there, please get the professional help so you can recover well like me."
Ms Walker says 56 perinatal, parenting and mental health organisations have combined forces in an online support tool to help parents find support.
Or people can call the Gidget Foundation directly on 1300 851 758
