WMMHday events 2019

World Maternal Mental Health Day

Wednesday, 1 May 2019

Events

12 April

Conference on Perinatal Psychology
The theme of this conference is the early link and mental health and includes interventions in Perinatal Psychology in various areas, clinical cases and free communications. Visit the Sociedad Marce Internacional website for more information.
Location: Madrid, Spain

27 April

Zumba session for moms where we will have a Zumba fitness session, proceeding to give a talk on the importance of physical fitness in the promotion of maternal mental health. For more information on events in Kenya visit the Calmind Foundation Facebook page.
Location: Kenya

29 April

“Me for Me” self-care pledge
Registration will go live on our website on Monday morning to register pledges, which allows anyone from around the world to register their own “Me for Me” self-care pledge of something they want to achieve for themselves during that week. Find out more on the Rain Drops or Rainbows website.
Location: Global, UK

“අම්මයි මමයි” : Maternal Mental Health Campaign in Sri Lanka
From the end of April we will be launching the “අම්මයි මමයි” ( Mama and me) campaign, by the Ohana Project. It will include awareness posts on social media around maternal mental health, videos from moms, insights from mental health professionals and distribution of collateral. We also hope to share the “bluedot” from the bluedotproject and make stickers and bracelets around that concept. We also hope to share the guide to maternal mental health created by the White Swan Foundation as a starting point on our FB page.
Location: Sri Lanka

1 May

Maternal Mental Health Matters Symposium
Maternal mental health has lasting consequences for mothers and their children’s cognitive development. One in five women experiences significant perinatal mental health problems. Interventions work! This year’s theme is ‘Progress in Intervention and Prevention’. We hope you can join us and our international panel of experts who will discuss this topic from a variety of perspectives (from basic neuroscience to service delivery) drawing on evidence from initiatives here in Canada, across North America and in low and middle income settings, and with indigenous, immigrant and migrant communities, as well as unique post-disaster implications for expectant mothers. See full program or register (free) to receive the free live streaming link.
Location: Montreal, Canada

Psychiatry Grand Rounds
Physicians, Psychiatrists, Nurses, Midwifes and allied health professionals are invited to this discussion surrounding perinatal mental health screening and early intervention and the difficulties engaging with customers. More information in this flyer.
Location: Qatar

Break the Silence – Break the Stigma
We will have an online campaign dubbed “Break the Silence Break the Stigma” running throughout the week. During this campaign, we welcome moms who have suffered a maternal mental condition to give their personal stories. Let’s let other moms struggling with this know #YouAreNotAlone and there will be better days. During the campaign, we will also have professionals in the mental health sector share with us their personal reasons for supporting maternal mental health.
Our big event will be on 1st May 2019 which is the World Maternal Mental Health Day. On this day we will host more than 70 pregnant women in Kawangware to celebrate the day with us. During the event, we will give the women talks on how to take care of their physical well-being and mental well-being during pregnancy and after childbirth. For more information on events in Kenya visit the Calmind Foundation Facebook page.
Location: Kenya

Begin Before Birth
The second Begin Before Birth Canada will take place symposium at McGill on World Maternal Mental Health Day. The theme of this year’s meeting is ‘Progress in Intervention and Prevention’. We hope you can join us and our international panel of experts who will discuss this topic from a variety of perspectives (from basic neuroscience to service delivery) drawing on evidence from initiatives here in Canada, across North America and in low-and-middle-income settings. Please see this event page for more information or click here to register.
Location: Canada

Journée Mondiale de la Santé Mentale des Mères
On the occasion of World Maternal Mental Health Day, Les Toises Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Center invites Alain Gregoire (UK) , one of the major actors of the maternal mental health awareness movement, as well as Elise Marcende (Maman Blues France), a mother with lived experience, to a conference in Lausanne, Switzerland. Mobilisons-nous pour la santé mentale maternelle – hosted by Oguz Omay (Les Toises, Switzerland).
For more information visit Les Toises website.
Location: Switzerland

Paint Your Bump for Maternal Mental Health 2019
Our Maternal Mental Health Awareness Day was set up with the main aim being to dispel the myth that the transition to motherhood is effortless. We would like to implement Paint your Bump day to bring awareness and start a conversation about this hugely stigmatised area of Mental Health. We will be launching a campaign called Paint Your Bump on social media and having events around Ireland. We are asking women to paint their bumps and posting on social media with the hashtag #PYB2019 and #mmhmatters on May 1st 2019.
We are providing information and supports which are available to women in Ireland via the website and social media platforms of Facebook and Instagram.
Location: Global

Perinatal Seminar Wellington
In conjunction with World Maternal Mental Health Day these seminars provide professional development for those supporting families affected by mental illness related to pregnancy, childbirth and early parenthood. When participants leave each seminar, they will better understand how these topics impact families and have strengthened their knowledge and skills to help improve perinatal outcomes.
For more information visit PADA – Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Aotearoa or see this FB event.
Location: New Zealand

Tea for Me
Raindrops or Rainbows are launching this new annual event to encourage mums (and dads) to come together, have a cup of tea (or coffee) and a natter. Again, whilst we will be hosting our own Tea for Me event at our office, we have created downloadable documents on our website to allow anyone anywhere to host their own Tea for Me event, whether this is in their community with friends and family or in the workplace with colleagues, the options are endless. We have also created some conversation starters which are part of the downloads, using some facts that people may not necessarily know. These documents can be downloaded on the Raindrops or Rainbows website.
Location: UK

Perinatal Mental Health Information Packages
The “You Are Not Alone” Project for Postpartum Mood Disorder Wellness is organising an information stand to speak with people and raise awareness for perinatal mental health. This year, they are launching their Resource Packages to Health Care Providers in our Community. These packages will include information about Perinatal Mental Illness, Screening tools and local and online resources for families to access and our information postcards. For more information follow the YANA 4 PMH FB page and check out the event flyer.
Location: Canada

Maternal Mental Health Day walks
Parents, children, grandparents, and friends are invited to join with Ontario EarlyOn & Family Centre Staff and public health nurses for stroller walks on May 1st. We will walk, chat, share information, prizes, and refreshments as we support all moms to promote mental health. Follow Twitter, Facebook, and Blog for tweets and posts in advance and a blog on May 1st.
Burlington – May 1st, 1:00 pm, meet at 710 Cumberland Ave.
Oakville – May 1st, 1:00 pm, meet at Forster Park (Forster Park Dr. off Queen Mary Dr.)
Milton – May 1st, 10:00 am, meet at the Mill Pond (100 Garden Lane)
Georgetown – May 1st, 11:30 am, meet at 8 James St.
For more details please contact Janet Siverns at 905-825-6000 ext 2927 or by email
Location: Canada

2 May

Act regarding World Maternal Mental Health Day at Clinic Hospital of Barcelona
The Clinic Hospital will hold an event to regarding the World Maternal Mental Health Day, with a round table on Perinatal Mental Health. It will be organized by the Perinatal Mental Health Unit (Clinic Hospital of Barcelona) in collaboration with the Spanish Marcé Society (MARES) for Perinatal Mental Health.
Location: Spain

Workshop at Rivadavia Hospital
Workshop held regarding WMMHD for comprehensive preparation for motherhood. Organized by Materna and Rivadavia Hospital.
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Maternal Mental Health Workshop
In celebration of the World Maternal Mental Health Day, the Library, in collaboration with Sidra Medicine, invites you to an interactive session on maternal mental health. You’ll learn the basics of maternal mental health, what problems can arise, the available treatment options, and how can women and families support each other.  This will be followed by an overview of the Library’s related activities that helps strengthen bonds between mother, baby and family.
Time:   English session: 4:00 – 5:30 PM https://events.qnl.qa/event/nXw0O/EN Arabic session: 6:00 – 7:30 PM  https://events.qnl.qa/event/nXw0O/AR
Target Audience: General public   Please follow the links to register
Location: Qatar

3 May

Primer Open House in Chile
En el contexto de la Semana Mundial de la Salud Mental Materna, invitamos a nuestras pacientes, sus familias y comunidad en general, a compartir un buen momento con nosotras durante la mañana del día 3 de mayo. Estará todo el equipo entregando información relativa al área de la salud mental y bienestar materno y perinatal. Organised by Centro Ser Mujer.
¡Te esperamos!
Location: Chile

Voice of women
The Perinatal Psychology Commission of the College of Psychologists of Buenos Aires, organizes this scientific act in support of the Day of Maternal Mental Health. Find out more on the Spanish Language Marcé Society.
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

4 May

Postpartum Support Network Africa (PSN Africa) is organising for the third time a Maternal Mental Health Conference. The theme of this year’s conference is ‘And Then We Weren’t: Maternal Mental Health and Rising Above Loss’.
Highlights of this year’s conference include: – Panel discussions with experts and PSN warrior mums – A free yoga workshop for mums by T.I Wellness (RSVP required) – Emotional intelligence and mental health first aid workshop for health care providers – Presentation of awards
Location: Lagos, Nigeria

We will organise an educational conference for maternal-infant professionals and community in order to increase awareness around maternal mental health.
Location: San Juan, Puerto Rico

We will hold a conference at the University of Buenos Aires at the faculty of Psychology. We will meet professionals from different disciplines.
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

6 May

“Erzählcafé Vaterwerden – anders als erwartet” is organising by the German-speaking Marcé Society for Perinatal Mental Health. The story-telling evening includes three fathers talking about their experience of becoming dads while their partners are struggling with mental health issues.
Location: Frankfurt, Germany

Conference for the international day of perinatal mental health at Sarda Maternity.
Organized by Maternity Unit of Ramón Sardá Hospital, Materna NGO and supported by Public Ministry of Health.
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

7 May

Declaration of Maternal Mental Health Day in Buenos Aires. See the flyer and follow their FB page for more information.
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Event regarding Maternal Mental Health Day
The NGO MATERNA for Perinatal Mental Health has organized an event to commemorate the World Day of Maternal Mental Health. Spanish Marcé Society (MARES) for Perinatal Mental Health support this initiative. Read more on the Spanish Language Marcé Society website.
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

8 May

First Conference on Maternal Mental Health in Chile
Organized by the Children’s Commission of the Chilean School of Psychologists, the Autonomous University and the Natal House, the day has been proposed to raise awareness, encourage women to seek help and mobilize government resources for the prevention and treatment of mental disorders in the perinatal period. Read more on the Spanish Language Marcé Society website.
Location: Santiago de Chile, Chile

8/9 May

Postpartum Support International – Perinatal Mood Disorders: Components of care. This two-day course, taught by expert and engaging faculty, uses a thorough, evidence-based curriculum designed for psychiatrists, nurses, physicians, social workers, mental health providers, childbirth professionals, social support providers, and anyone interested in building skills for assessment and treatment of perinatal mood disorders. This is a unique and rare learning opportunity as it is the first time this course has been offered in Ontario. My hope is to have as many of you as possible trained as this helps bring the necessary training and knowledge to our community that is greatly needed to properly treat the women and men suffering in silence.

At the end of the 2-day training, a certificate will be issued and CME credits. If the advanced training is completed, participants have the option of taking a certification exam (at a later date and for an additional cost).

Click here for more details and to register.
Location: Canada

8-11 May

The Marcé Conference for the German Speaking Chapter – titled “Good start into life: setting the course for the healthy development of mother and child”
This two-day conference will be attended by German and English speaking experts in the field and includes new perinatal mental health research and treatment options for perinatal stress, depression and anxiety.
Location: Solothurn, Switzerland

10 May

PSI’s Advanced Perinatal Mental Health Psychotherapy Training: An advanced training for mental health and psychotherapy providers is available the day after the Perinatal Mood Disorders: Components of Care training. It is an evidence-based curriculum designed for mental health and psychotherapy providers (who have previously completed at least 14 hours of perinatal mental health training, such as May 8-9 days). Click here for more details and to register.
Location: Canada

13 May

“Avia’s Blessing” Tamar Keller’s one-woman play describing her experiences with severe postpartum difficulties, and her way out to enjoyable, satisfying motherhood, will be presented at an event for the general public in the city of Ra’anana.  In addition, throughout the month their organization (Avia’s Blessing) will have live broadcasts of their support-group meetings at which participants will tell of their experiences with PMAD.

An Arabic language translation of “Avia’s Blessing” will be presented at an event in the Druze city of Daliat-al-Carmel (May 20).
The play “Avia’s Blessing” will be presented at Rupin College (May 23) for a student event.
“Avia’s Blessing” will be presented at an event for the general public sponsored by Footsteps Center for Early Childhood and the Yokne’am municipality (May 26).
“Avia’s Blessing” will be presented at Carmel Hospital in Haifa at an event for medical and nursing staff. (June 12).

Location: Israel

15 May

This series of events – organized by the Perinatal Psychiatry Network and the UNIVersity Pole of Adult Psychiatry (UNIVA) – will include a conference, a film debate and much more. See the flyer for more information.
Location: France

The Footsteps Center for Early Childhood of the Yokne’am municipality is holding a morning for mothers entitled “Getting out of the house.”  It will include walks with strollers, guided social and physical activities, breakfast and an open discussion about physical emotional changes following childbirth.
Location: Israel

16 May

Workshop on breastfeeding and mental health – Looking for a balance
The VIII Conference of Perinatal Mental Health has organized a workshop about maternal breastfeeding and mental health. Read more on the Spanish Language Marcé Society website.
Location: Santiago de Chile, Chile

“Moms and strollers–take a moment for yourself” at Ben Gurion University in Be’er Sheva.
The program will begin with a light breakfast and then will include presentations about self-care by a midwife-psychotherapist, dietitian, breastfeeding counsellor, physiotherapist, and psychotherapist with emphasis on expressiveness and creativity.  In addition, there will be a one-woman stand-up comedy presentation.
Location: Beersheba, Israel

17 May

The VIII Conference on Perinatal Mental Health is being organized by the Spanish Regional Group of International Marcé Society (MARES). A renowned international speaker (Ian Brockington) will participate in the conference. You can attend in person or follow it via STREAMING – in real time and throughout the week after the conference day. For more information check the Sociedad Marce Internacional website.
Location: Barcelona, Spain

The Footsteps Center and the Yokne’am municipality is sponsoring a morning of for pregnant women and partners, open conversations about emotions, couple relationships and intimacy, how to get through new parenthood successfully.  Nominal cost with reduced cost if father attends!
Location: Israel

21 & 22 May

31 May – 1 June

Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders Conference – this conference will be available via distance-learning and will help learners: identify symptoms and treatment needs for perinatal women with mood and anxiety disorders, apply current guidelines of practice and evidence-based strategies for treating perinatal depression an anxiety, utilize current screening guidelines, referrals, and resources for mothers and families, and support depressed mothers through a variety of approaches across disciplines.
Learn more here
Location: Utah, US

1 June

The Social Services Department of the city of B’nei Brak is planning an evening to highlight MMH Month. The event will include two lectures on PMAD, families and the close environment. There will also be a fair to include stands of products of interest to women, mothers, and babies. Wrap-up will include a raffle with prizes!
Location: Israel

23 June

“Perinatal Depression–Identification and Coping “ a conference at the Women’s Center at Ben Gurion University in Be’er Sheva, to include a personal story and a professional panel discussion.
This event had been planned for May 5^th, but unfortunately, it had to be cancelled the same morning, due to the bombardment of Southern Israel by hundreds of missiles from the Gaza Strip.  It is now rescheduled and will hopefully take place!
Location: Beersheba, Israel

Global Maternal Mental Health Awareness weeks – 29 April – 3 May

Maternal Mental Health Awareness week at Vall D´hebrón Hospital 

A series of paintings will be shown in the hall of this child and women´s Hospital to increase awareness about maternal mental health problems. The paintings were made by a patient that went through high-risk pregnancy and needed psychological support during the perinatal period.
Location: Spain

First Maternal Mental Health Week in Kenya

We will run a whole week campaign dubbed “Perception Vs Real Life of mothers”. During this campaign, we will have mothers share pictures of themselves taking up their mom duties in real life and another picture of them well groomed. This is supposed to showcase the life of mothers behind the scene which make them prone to maternal mental illnesses versus what people actually see when they are out there. Keep up-to-date with events in Kenya via the Calmind Foundation Facebook page.
Location: Kenya

Maternal Mental Health Week in Canada

To create awareness we will be holding our 2nd annual stroller walks across Simcoe Muskoka region.

Moms & babies, family & friends are invited to participate in a stroller walk to discuss, promote, support and raise awareness for maternal mental health during World Maternal Mental Health Week. Join us for fun, prizes, booths, and speeches from you mayors and councillors. Our voices are stronger together. Come out and help us advocate for appropriate services to support the development of happy, healthy and resilient families. Wear BLUE to show your support.

Barrie – April 29^th 10 am-12 pm – Join via this FB event
Midland – April 30^th  10 am-12 pm – Join via this FB event
Collingwood – May 1^st  10 am-12 pm – Join via this FB event
Orillia – May 2^nd  10 am-12pm – Join via this FB event
Gravenhurst/Bracebridge (TBD) – May 3^rd  10-12 – Join via this FB event

For more details please contact Jaime Charlebois at 705-325-2201 ext 3544 or via email
Location: Canada

“Mums Matter” – 3rd Maternal Mental Health Week in the United Kingdom 

We will be focusing on advocating for mums affected by Maternal MentalIllness, to access the information and help they require to support recovery.

We will be running themed days and each will have its own unique hashtag, adding to the global #maternalMHmatters hashtag

Monday 29th April
The focus of the first day of the campaign will be ‘What is Perinatal Mental Health’? We will provide an overview of the different strands of perinatal mental illness and will be running interactive Facebook Live sessions so individuals can be involved and ask questions. The hashtag for the day will be #pmhpwhatispmh

Tuesday 30th April
We will be focusing on what good support looks like. Support can be wide ranging from advice and help from health care professionals, medication, therapy and safe peer support to name a few. We will also encourage charities, local peer support groups and services to share their details on social media so families know what support is available across the UK. This could include details of the service, contact information, the areas they cover, information on safeguarding policies, training and supervision they have in place for staff and volunteers. The hashtag for the day will be #pmhpsupport

Wednesday 1st May
This is World Maternal Mental Health Day and the Partnership has been liasing with Postpartum Support International and member organisations to ensure we work collaboratively.
Our theme for the day will be ‘The Village’, focusing on how we work together to remove barriers to services so all mums who need services can access them. The Hashtag for the day will be #pmhpthevillage

Thursday 2nd May
We will focus on recovery- how this can begin and how it can look different for different people. With the  message of hope that recovery is possible. The Hashtag for the day will be #pmhprecovery

Friday 3rd May
To end the week, we will be encouraging the creation of a virtual ‘ Positivity Pot’ , publishing and sharing articles and blogs about recovery, looking ahead to the future and self care.
The Hashtag for the day will be #pmhppositivitypot

#PNDHOUR
Following on from the success of the last two years, Rosey from PNDandMe will be running #PNDHOUR every night during the week at 8pm on Twitter. Details of subjects will be announced shortly.

Facebook Lives
As ever and due to their popularity, we will have a full series of interactive Facebook Live sessions focusing on maternal mental health. Details of these sessions will be released shortly and detailed in the press release.

What can you do to get involved ?
– Highlight what your organization/charity/support group does to support families affected by perinatal mental illness. Join in with the activities listed above.
– Use the #maternalmhmatters hashtag on social media when referring to the week and the daily specific hashtags if relating to the daily theme.
– Come up with your own ideas to highlight maternal mental health.
– Encourage people to follow the Perinatal Mental Health Partnership so they can keep up to date with the information provided during the week.

Do follow us on our social media channels for information and updates:
Facebook  – https://www.facebook.com/PerinatalMHPartnershipUK
Twitter – @PMHPUK
Instagram – @perinatalmhpartnership

The Blue Dot Project – Maternal Mental Health Social Media Awareness Week Campaign

The campaign was launched in 2014 to reach mothers, families and the general public to raise awareness about maternal mental health disorders, like postpartum depression, which impacts up to one in five women in the U.S.

Each year the theme changes, however the blue dot, the international symbol for MMH, is shared on memes used during the campaign to bring continuity to the images and raise awareness of the symbol. The aim is to combat stigma and shame through mass social media reach, with you, our larger community.

For moms:
– we would like them to sign up for the #MakingOverMotherhood Challenge, which is a challenge for them to share their own photos during MMH week about what real motherhood looks like.  We are trying to drive sign-ups right now and would appreciate any help you could give us.
– we ask that they share our official memes during MMH week from our social media channels.

For organizational and promotional partners:
– we ask they share the #MakingOverMotherhood Challenge with their network and sign up to be a promotional partner to receive our toolkit (should be available next week)

The campaign page is www.thebluedotproject.org/mmhweek2019
Mom Sign-ups: https://www.thebluedotproject.org/mmh-week-signup
Org/Promotional Partner Signup:  https://www.thebluedotproject.org/promotional-partner-sign-up

Location: Global, USA