What is the role of nurses in Maternal Mental Health?: School of Nursing (Porto) marks World Maternal Mental Health Day
The School of Nursing (Porto) of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa marked Maternal Mental Health Day, which is celebrated every year on the first Wednesday in May, challenging us to reflect on the key role of nurses in the early identification and intervention in the mental health problems of mothers.
"A child is born and a mother is born," says Maria João Guerra, a lecturer at EE (Porto). In this sense, it is crucial to take care not only of the newborn, but also of the "new mum", since there are major hormonal changes and emotional imbalances during a period of great adaptation to a new role.
Nurses specialising in maternal and obstetric health have the most skills to identify and intervene in these situations, as they are equipped with strategies that they can share with new mothers.
The challenges of motherhood
Due to their close proximity, nurses have the best chance of identifying mental changes in women during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. The birth of a child is a time of great happiness, but also a time of many challenges, such as sleep deprivation, changes to family routines and emotional changes for the mother in relation to the new "me" that is also being born.
Faced with such phenomena, it is important for nurses to be attentive and equipped with the skills to be able to identify changes that may be pathological, such as postpartum depression.
How can we support these mums?
Maria João Guerra explains that one of the ways to provide more support to these new mothers would be through regular home visits by nurses specialising in maternal and obstetric health in the months after the birth of the newborn, since it is in the family environment that we often see subtle signs of mental changes. Some of these signs are aspects that we often recognise as normal in a mother with a newborn baby, such as looking sad and empty, keeping the house dark all the time, showing little care, among others.
Intervention will have to start with promotion, and it is crucial that these mothers are given the opportunity, before giving birth, to find out what emotions they might feel, what strategies they can use and what resources exist to help them. This opportunity is not often given, as most courses, whether in preparation for childbirth or parenthood, do not address emotional issues in any depth. Another major challenge is the lack of public resources available. Paid resources do exist, but they come at a high cost, making them inaccessible to most people.