New tool aims to help new parents cope with challenges including postpartum depression

This week saw the launch of a new tool to support new parents when they encounter emotional challenges during pregnancy and thereafterQuebec's Minister for Social Services, Lionel Carmant, made the announcement at the Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine.According to the Observatory for Children's Education and Health, problems with sadness, anxiety or depressive symptoms during pregnancy are among the most frequent complications among future parents. It is estimated that between 10% and 25% of parents are affected and this rate has increased to 37% since the start of the pandemic.“It’s true that the arrival of a child brings a lot of happiness, but it is also the source of big changes, big upheavals in life. And like any big change, that means that each person can react differently,” Carmant said during a press conference.He noted that very few women who suffer from postpartum depression seek help. “Because it’s definitely an issue that we don’t talk about enough, but these challenges come with becoming a parent,” he said.Carmant emphasized that “we are in a key period” where it is easier to detect these issues related to parenthood and the tool which was launched on Monday also aims to support health professionals to better identify mental health issues among parents.Carmant praised the fact that parents will be able to access this resource from home and said he wants professionals to recommend it to their patients.The new free tool available online, called “Toi, Moi, Bébé,” (You, Me and Baby) offers strategies, video clips and comics for parents to help them take care of themselves in order to “take better care of their baby.” It specifically targets the period from pregnancy until the child's first birthday. It was developed by researchers and professionals in health and social services.A press release from Carmant's office specified the tool can "serve as a clinical complement to other services offered in the treatment of postpartum depression and in the management of stress associated with parenthood." Approximately 9,000 to 13,000 Quebec women were affected by postpartum depression in 2023. Among those diagnosed with postnatal depression, 30% to 60% would present symptoms in the prenatal period.The medical head of the Perinatal and Young Child Psychiatry Clinic at CHU Sainte-Justine, Dr. Martin St-André, participated in the development of the project. He explained that it contains "concrete strategies" and "strategies of radical acceptance of reality." Trough these, the tool helps the parent know how to manage a variety of mental and physical manifestations, such as intrusive thoughts, nervousness, fatigue, communication problems within the couple, lists Dr. St-André. It also gives them ideas for accepting and living with these challenges.“It's not an disease to struggle when you become a parent—it's growing pains. So we have to be careful not to put diagnoses everywhere. And “Toi, Moi, Bébé” allows us to explore these gray areas that arise in the context of parenthood,” said Dr. St-André.“Toi, Moi, Bébé” is a project resulting from the Interministerial Mental Health Action Plan 2022-2026 which aims to integrate digital interventions into mental health services. It is also part of the Perinatal and Early Childhood Action Plan 2023-2028.This article was translated from its original French.

New tool aims to help new parents cope with challenges including postpartum depression

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