Starting a Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Service at Winnunga Nimmityjah

Abstract

This paper briefly describes how the contexts of social and emotional wellbeing in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities impacts on perinatal and infant mental health. In response to these issues, a perinatal and infant mental health service was started through Winnunga Nimmityjah, a community controlled Aboriginal health service. The process of starting the clinic and some clinical themes are described.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander maternal and child health and wellbeing: a systematic search of programs and services in Australian primary health care settings

“…Fifty two percent (12/23) of the publications were intervention studies i.e., evaluations of programs or services [ 16 – 18 , 20 – 26 , 28 , 31 ]. The other 48% (11/23) were program descriptions [ 15 , 19 , 27 , 29 , 30 , 32 – 37 ].…”

“…The programs and services identified in the literature operated from a range of locations throughout Australia. The distribution of documented programs and services by state was Western Australia (5/23, 22%) [ 16 , 32 – 34 , 37 ], New South Wales (4/23, 17%) [ 18 , 21 , 27 , 29 ], the Northern Territory (4/23, 17%) [ 17 , 20 , 25 , 36 ], Queensland (3/23, 13%) [ 15 , 23 , 24 ], South Australia (3/23, 13%) [ 19 , 28 , 35 ], the Australian Capital Territory (2/23, 9%) [ 30 , 31 ] and Victoria (1/23, 4%) [ 22 ]. One additional publication reported on three programs operating in South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland [ 26 ].…”

“…Six of the publications stated the target group for programs and services generally as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers and their children/babies/families (6/23, 26%) [ 20 , 21 , 26 , 28 , 30 , 32 ] without specifying whether care was provided pre-pregnancy and until what age after birth. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander or Indigenous women (4/23, 17%) [ 22 – 24 , 31 ], Aboriginal women who are pregnant or of childbearing age [ 17 , 25 ] and teenage mothers and young Aboriginal mothers [ 19 ] were also stated target groups.…”

The impact of Aboriginal status, cigarette smoking and smoking cessation on perinatal outcomes in South Australia

“…These programs adopt an accessible model of care framework, providing clinical, social, emotional and cultural support. [10][11][12][13][14] Through such initiatives, the poor perinatal outcomes in our study could be reduced, improving child health.…”

“…1 The success of smoking cessation during pregnancy in these women, however, appears to be affected by socioeconomic disadvantage, low education levels and stressful life circumstances. [6][7][8][9] The introduction of culturally sensitive programs in single sites around Australia has had some benefi t. [10][11][12][13][14] A concerted national approach to sustain such changes requires recognition of the impact of smoking reduction and cessation during pregnancy in improving perinatal outcomes. In our study, therefore, we aimed to identify the contribution of active cigarette smoking and smoking cessation on maternal and neonatal pregnancy outcomes in a large cohort of Australian Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women in South Australia.…”