Information & Resources

Where do I start?

The most valuable professional resource a depressed mother can have is a health professional who will provide counselling.

Accessing this help can be daunting and sometimes difficult. The best place to start if you are worried about your feelings is with a health professional you trust. This might mean making an appointment to speak with your GP, your Early Childhood Nurse, or your midwife or Obstetrician. These professionals spend much of their day consulting patients about their emotional health rather than just their physical health. They are in a position to speak with you honestly about your feelings and can then refer you on to a psychologist or a psychiatrist if they feel that would help you. Some GPs are trained counsellors themselves.

Whoever helps you, research has consistently shown that mothers who receive timely professional counselling have the best chances of recovering more quickly from antenatal and postnatal anxiety and depression. Medication will also be used in some but not all cases. Irrespective of the use of medication, it is the counselling that has shown to be the key to helping women.

Information sheet - Perinatal anxiety and depression, what does it actually mean & how to get help
Personal stories of perinatal anxiety and depression (please be patient whilst the 42Mb video file opens in a new window)

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If the health professional you are seeing is not the right person, for whatever reason, find someone else. This is not always easy, but persevering until you find someone that you connect with is worth it.

Groups and organisations that offer help

There are a number of playgroups available to support mothers suffering from postnatal anxiety and depression.

Tresillian Family Care Centres

Provides guidance to new parents, a residential service, an outreach home-visiting service and support groups.
Help Line - 02 9787 0800
Parents Help Line 02 9787 0855 or 1800 637 357 (outside Sydney)
http://www.cs.nsw.gov.au/tresillian  

Parent / Infant Group
Connect with Me
A four week parent / infant interaction group for parents and babies up to 8 months.
Commencing: 9 Nov
Cost: $20
Venue:  25 Shirley Rd Wollstonecraft
For bookings and enquiries phone:  9432 4000

Parenting Alone Group
A three week group for women parenting alone.
Commencing:  01 Nov
Cost: $20 plus $35 for baby sitting
Venue:  25 Shirley Rd Wollstonecraft
For bookings and enquiries phone:  9432 4000 

Karitane

Provides residential units for mothers experiencing problems during the postnatal period, as well as volunteers who make home visits.
24hr Careline - 02 9794 1852 or 1800 677 961 (outside Sydney)
http://www.karitane.com.au  

Dalwood Family Care Centre

Provides assistance in regard to mothercraft issues, emotional, psychological &family issues following the birth of a new baby. Also toddlers 1-3 years. For mothers & babies who are experiencing difficulties with feeding and sleepingand settling babies.
Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30am-4:30pm
21 Dalwood Ave, Seaforth NSW 2092
Phone: 02 9951 0321 Fax: 9951 0324  

Baby and Beyond Counselling and Supported Playgroup

Provides groups and individual counselling and with babysitting.
Phone:02 9957 5858
http://www.babyandbeyond.net.au
melissa@babyandbeyond.net.au  

Perinatal support Programs on Sydney's Northern Beaches

Manly -Warringah Division of General Practice is supporting two worthwhile programs for pregnant women and mothers with young children.
The programs are held at Mona Vale Hospital.  Please contact Dr  Vered Gordon  on 02  99796966 for further details.

Being Mums:
This is an eight week evening program for mothers of children under 2 yrs of age who are feeling stressed and at times finding it hard to cope. It allows them to reflect on their journey of motherhood, share
experiences and develop new skills and resources.  For two of the sessions, partners or a support person are also invited to attend. Topics c overed include adjusting to parenting , improving relationships,
and using mindfulness skills to better manage stress, emotions and unhelpful thinking styles.

Sessions run weekly for two hours and are held at Mona Vale Hospital. Groups commence with each school term.
For further information contact  Dr  Vered Gordon  on 02  99796966

Mindful Mums:
This is a mindfulness based group program for women in the second and third trimester of pregnancy aimed at helping them to better manage stress and difficult moods. It is particularly useful for women who have
experienced previous anxiety or depression who would like to learn some additional coping skills before the birth of their new baby. The program does include some meditation and yoga.

The sessions are held at Mona Vale Hospital on a Wednesday evenings and run for two hours over a 6 week period. 4 additional sessions are also offered postnatally.
All participants are required to attend a half-hour interview prior to commencing the program.
For further information contact Dr Vered Gordon on 02 99796966  or Linda Elliot  02 99860060

Baby and Beyond Support Group

Term 2 enrollments

Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Support Group for Women
This is a 2 hour group therapy experience co facilitated by Melissa Hughes and me. Child care is provided, it also includes one Men's week.

Men's Group - Supporting the partners of women who have experienced Perinatal Anxiety and/or Depression
These are 2 hour group therapy sessions co facilitated by qualified therapists Freddie Liger and Andrew Grady. There is no child care available.

Registrations can be complete online at www.babyandbeyond.net.au 

Pregnancy Matters - for Mothers & Others

Learn to Manage Pregnancy & Post Pregnancy Anxiety, Distress & Depression
Suite 34, 7 Narabang Way, Belrose NSW 2085
To make an appointment call (02) 9986 3105
or contact us via email maggie@pregnancymatters.com.au or sue@pregnancymatters.com.au
For more information please visit www.pregnancymatters.com.au

Individual or Anonymous Help

Some women prefer to maintain their anonymity in their quest for help.  Women living in rural and remote communities often struggle to get access to the help they need.There are 2 important resources that are available for these groups of mothers:  

PANDA phone line

PANDA - Post and Antenatal Depression Association Inc.  Provides telephone counselling and information.  Between 9.00am and 7.00pm weekdays you will be able to speak to a trained mother who will listen to you and understands where you are coming from.
Phone: 1300 726 306
http://www.panda.org.au  

A self–help Workbook

Preventing the Bough from Breaking:  Overcoming Postnatal Depression.
Family Support Network Inc, Lismore, NSW,  2008.This book and DVD program has been developed by professionals with years of experience researching and working with women suffering perinatal anxiety and depression.  The chapters can be worked through individually or with a health professional.The book and DVD can be purchased from Family Support Network, Lismore.
email: bondingwithbaby@familynet.ngo.org.au
Phone:  (02) 6621 2489 

Panda Fact Sheets

 

Insights into motherhood, families and our society

Reading about the thoughts and experiences of other parents can provide many insights.  Considering social attitudes and the realities of contemporary motherhood provided through current research can also be enlightening.  Many fiction and non-fiction books have been written in Australia over the past decade.  Some will make you laugh out loud, others will make you cry. They will all make you reflect on your own situation and will reinforce the fact that you are not alone in your parenting journey.

Here is a selection which is of course not exhaustive:

Fiction:

  • Fedler, J.  Secret Mothers’ Business,  Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 2006

Non-fiction:

  • Brown, K.  Mother Me: a mum’s guide to balance, wellbeing and harmony,  Pan Macmillan, Sydney, 2008
  • Cameron, S and Crook, K.  Mother Wisdom: for mothers, by mothers, Pan Macmillan, Sydney, 2007
  • Caro, J. and Fox, C.  The F Word: How we learned to swear by Feminism, University of  New South Wales Press, Sydney, 2008
  • Collinge, A., Daniel, S. and Grace Jones, H.  Always a part of me: Surviving Childbearing Loss,  ABC Books, Sydney, 2002
  • Evans, D. and Evans, S.  Motherwho? Personal stories and insights on juggling family, work and life, Big Sky Publishing, Brisbane, 2007
  • Haussegger, V. Wonder Woman: The myth of ‘having it all’,  Allen and Unwin, Sydney 2005
  • LeBlanc, W.  Naked Motherhood,  Shattering Illusions and Sharing Truths,  Random House, Sydney, 1999
  • Maguire, E.  Princesses and Pornstars: Sex, Power, Identity,  The Text Publishing Company, Melbourne, 2008
  • Maushart, S., The mask of Motherhood: How mothering changes everything and why we pretend it doesn’t,  Random House, Sydney, 1997
  • Power, R.  The Divided Heart: art and motherhood,  Red Dog, Melbourne, 2008  
 

Fit & Fabulous for Life After Babies

a book which provides support to women at the time they need it most. It has everything mothers need and want to know about building a healthy lifestyle when they have the busiest 24-hour job in the world. Fiona gives women not only plans for what to do in terms of exercise and nutrition, but more importantly how to do it and keep doing it to reach goals, feel great and get back in shape. Fiona Thomas Hargraves is an exercise scientist, nutritionist, author and mother of two.

"Fiona Thomas Hargraves’ Fit and Fabulous for life after babies is concise, factual, instructive and, above all, respectful of women. It guides rather than directs. Written with warmth, humour and attention to detail, this book is a valuable guide for mothers.”
Dr Vijay Roach, OBSTETRICIAN, AND CHAIRMAN, THE GIDGET FOUNDATION

www.fionathomashargraves.com 

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The real book you need at 3am

Why didn't anyone tell you it was going to be like this?
This gem of a book is for mums in the first year of motherhood. Being a mother can be tough, and we mostly do it alone.
This book helps you with every mother's concerns about self doubt, overwhelming and guilty feelings.

www.karenmiles.com.au

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