A NEW perinatal emotional health and wellbeing clinic in Berwick has opened to meet the community’s “growing need“ for perinatal mental health services.
“We have seen the demand for these services grow beyond what is available,“ GLOW Clinic’s Dr Adaobi Udechuku said.
“There are long waiting periods to access a psychiatrist, psychologist or early parenting assistance and very limited services with specific perinatal expertise.
“Long delays to access care can be particularly distressing for women, their babies and families, and is far from ideal at this crucial time of life. The need is only going to continue growing along this growth corridor with so many new families moving into the area and the expansion of St John of God Berwick maternity services in 2017.“
GLOW Clinic aims to prevent illness in parents which, in turn, may prevent illness in their children and future generations.
Dr Udechuku said that while post-natal depression (PND) was widely recognised, she said many might not know that up to 40 per cent of PND starts during pregnancy.
“We help women with those difficulties, but also with illnesses such as bipolar disorder and postpartum psychosis which are fortunately much less common but can have devastating effects on the entire family,“ she said.
“As perinatal psychiatrists, we are able to diagnose medical conditions that can look like a mental illness; for example thyroid disorders which may present as depression or anxiety.
“From a mental health perspective, the biggest issues in this field are early identification of diseases, access to expert care and prevention.”
Dr Udechuku said it was the only service of its kind in Victoria, if not Australia.
GLOW Clinic held its official launch earlier this month. Dr Lucinda Smith is GLOW’s co-founder and director.
Saturday 28 May is the clinic’s first Mindful Parenting Workshop, guiding parents through the benefits of meditation and exercises to assist in better responding to the challenges of parenthood.
