“We know suicidal risk is still one of the leading causes of death for mums, so we need to be supporting people as early as possible and wrapping services around them,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
“Healthcare and services need to be enhanced, we need more education for people to be able to recognise the signs, more capacity to identify conditions early and we need more funding.”<\/p>\n
Julie Borninkhof says more federal funding is needed to support Australian parents. (ABC News: Nico White)<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing said the federal government was spending close to $43 million over eight years to build 20 perinatal mental health centres.<\/p>\n
“The Australian government funds a range of national perinatal mental health related services for expectant and new parents experiencing, or at risk of, perinatal mental illness,” they said.<\/p>\n
Research shows digital tools like apps and online resources can reduce stigma and serve as a lifeline for those like Ms Green, who require fast and accessible support.<\/p>\n
More than 275,000 people have visited the Commonwealth-funded MumSpace website since its launch in 2017 \u2014 a number that continues to grow.<\/p>\n
Ange Green says she developed a deep connection with her daughter thanks to treatment. (Supplied: Ange Green)<\/p>\n
PANDA said demand for its digital and remote support services had also tripled in the last five years.<\/p>\n
“Digital supports \u2014 web, app and phone-based \u2014 are fundamental in providing that safety net for people,” Ms Borninkhof said.<\/p>\n
“It’s important parents understand you don’t have to be perfect and to go easy on yourself.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/c25a5e7286b93160e6949350a160a4fb\")
<\/p>\n
Ange Green says accessing support has helped her find joy in motherhood. (ABC News: Anna Hartley)<\/p>\n
Ms Green said it was hard asking for help, but encouraged new parents not to be afraid to seek support.<\/p>\n
“For me, the reality of postnatal depression can be avoiding the most basic of daily tasks like washing and brushing my hair because it feels overwhelming,” she said.<\/p>\n
“My reality is also the clouds beginning to clear after asking for help from medical professionals and those closest to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“By talking to others I’ve been able to understand I am not alone. It\u2019s so hard to see there is another side to this, but it’s there.”<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ad1bf11161711d3d1588acdc476d7dcd\")
<\/p>\n
Annabeth’s family and friends celebrated her first birthday in May. (ABC News: Anna Hartley)<\/p>\n
How can we help friends and family?<\/p>\n
Brisbane psychologist Narelle Dickinson said feeling tired or overwhelmed now and then was normal, but feeling that way most of the time was not.<\/p>\n
“It’s a growing problem, there\u2019s more stress on families than there ever has been before, particularly financial stress,” she said.<\/p>\n
“The simplest thing people can do to help is to ask someone, ‘Are you ok?’<\/p>\n
“Having that conversation about mental health is important and suggesting they see their GP is always the best place to start.<\/p>\n
“Practical support is also really important \u2014 turning up with dinner, asking to help with cleaning or putting the washing on can make a huge difference.”<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/bbe24a203eca7985d9c07024a1ac0819\")
<\/p>\n
Brisbane psychologist Narelle Dickson says more funding is needed to tackle perinatal mental health among Australian parents. (ABC News: Liz Pickering)<\/p>\n
Ms Dickinson said the transition from working life to parenthood could contribute to perinatal mental health struggles, especially after the physical, mental and emotional stress of birth.<\/p>\n
“If you’re used to feeling productive and being work focused, it can be a really tough transition,” she said.<\/p>\n
“We don’t talk about birth trauma enough because, like perinatal depression or anxiety, it’s more common than you think.<\/p>\n
“There’s a perception that unless the birth was so bad you or your baby nearly died, we don\u2019t see that as being a terrible experience, but even a birth that\u2019s gone smoothly can be traumatic.”<\/p>\n
![\"Ange,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/e9c0c3df36e71c72e49066b38d9f8df0\")
<\/p>\n
Ange, Charles and Annabeth Green celebrate Annabeth’s first birthday at their home in Dalby. (Supplied: Ange Green)<\/p>\n
Thanks to the help she received from PANDA, loved ones and her doctors, Ms Green was able to celebrate her daughter’s first birthday in May \u2014 a celebration she once thought she might not be around for.<\/p>\n
“There are so many beautiful moments just waiting for you to be ready and to be ready to seek help, and there\u2019s absolutely no shame at all in having postnatal depression,” she said.<\/p>\n
“No one says motherhood is easy, but it also doesn’t have to be so hard that you no longer think you’re worthwhile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“For me, those feelings are slowly passing with treatment and I can see there’s a brighter reality to motherhood.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It took Ange Green months to feel connected to her baby girl. She couldn’t understand why she fiercely…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":184904,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4317],"tags":[2420,21129,27259,75765,105,218,75764,75763,43374,13691,16,15,6795],"class_list":{"0":"post-184903","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-parenting","9":"tag-baby","10":"tag-birth","11":"tag-dalby","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-mental-health","14":"tag-perinatal-mental-health","15":"tag-postnatal-depression","16":"tag-qld","17":"tag-queensland","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom","20":"tag-womens-health"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114684234761135322","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184903\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/184904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}