Five Module Online Workshop: Perinatal Mental Health for Birth Professionals
We know that the postpartum period is a big transition for parents. A lot of emphasis is put on the birth and baby’s care and wellbeing. We tend to forget that the first-year postpartum is a vulnerable time for mental health.
We now know that as many as 1 in 5 birthing people experience some type of postpartum mood and anxiety disorders. 10% of partners experience depression. 15-21% of pregnant people experience moderate to severe symptoms of depression or anxiety.
These mental illnesses are more common than we think. That is why it is important as birth workers to be well informed about this subject and feel confident talking to our clients about mental health and what to expect in the perinatal period. It sure helps us to support them even better!
This course will help you to:
- Recognize what is common to experience about mental health in the perinatal period
- Be more familiar with all different perinatal mood and anxiety disorders
- Be able to recognize the symptoms if it happens to your clients
- Know what the risks and contributing factors are
- Know strategies to help partners support their partner who is experiencing a perinatal mood or anxiety disorder
- Learn strategies to cope with the challenges that emerge during the postpartum period
- Recognize your role as a birth professional and what requires professional support
Note: This course does not enable or permit you to make an assessment, a diagnosis, or give clinical advice.
This course will explore these topics:
- The myth of parental bliss
- The process of becoming a parent
- Common postpartum experiences:
- Baby blues: symptoms and how to support clients
- Scary/unwanted thoughts in the postpartum period and how to support clients
- Mental illness and stigma
- Prevalence and etiology of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders
- Explanation/symptoms of each perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and risk factors
- Role of birth professionals
- Support strategies for partners
- 6 components of postpartum resiliency
- Resources on perinatal mental health
Module 1: The Transition to Parenthood
Module 2: Common Postpartum Experiences
Module 3: Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders
Module 4: Partner Support
Module 5: Postpartum Resiliency and resources about perinatal mental health
With each module, you will need to watch one main presentation, watch additional videos, or listen to audios, read some articles provided, and answer questions before moving to the next module. There will also be optional reading if you want to know more about the topic for each module.
You will receive a document which contains a list of various perinatal mental health resources that you can share with your clients. A document describing the symptoms of all perinatal mental health symptoms will also be provided.
Geneviève Desrochers is a certified postpartum doula and mom of two children. In 2009, one month after the birth of her first child, she received the diagnosis of bipolar disorder of postpartum onset with psychotic features. Since then, she made it her mission to always learn more about perinatal mental health to inform expecting and new parents and to offer them support if they are going through a challenging postpartum period. In 2018, she decided to follow her passion full time and left her 19 years career in education as a teacher and consultant to start her business as a certified postpartum doula. She also self-published her memoir in French and English (Another Reality: The Story of my Postpartum Bipolar Disorder) about her postpartum journey and started a bilingual YouTube channel to share her story, information about postpartum mental health and testimonials of other parents on their postpartum experience. She loves to share her passion and her knowledge with parents and other birth professionals!
A one-time fee of $220.00 which covers:
- Instructor fee
- Online access to your learning modules, professional interviews and resources documents you can download
- Administrative costs
- Certificate of completion
