World Maternal Mental Health Day
Wednesday, 6 May 2020
Events
6 April – 6 May
#NowMoreThanEver virtual campaign
The Canadian Perinatal Mental Health Collaboration invites everyone who cares about perinatal mental health in Canada to send in a video on why moms, dads and partners need help #nowmorethanever. Watch their video to learn more about our virtual campaign for World Maternal Mental Health Day. Find out more on the CPMHC website.
You can watch the video compilation on YouTube.
Location: Canada
5 May
Seeing babies in a different light – Seeing humans in a different light
Changer de regard sur les bébés – Changer de regard sur l’humain
Presentation with Maya Gratier and Emmanuel Devouche Moderator Oguz Omay Les Toises Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Center, Lausanne. Tuesday 5 May 2020 de 12h30 à 17h00. For more information visit this website.
Location: Lausanne, Switzerland
6 May
DÍA MUNDIAL DE LA SALUD MENTAL MATERNA SE PODRÁ SEGUIR POR YOUTUBE
El I Encuentro de la Red Iberoamericana por el Día Mundial de la Salud Mental Materna, evento que reúne diversos países de habla hispana para apoyar la campaña del Día Mundial de la Salud Mental Materna, también podrá seguirse en directo a través del canal de YouTube de la Sociedad Marcé Española (MARES) a las 15:30h (hora española). En el siguiente enlace se puede encontrar el acceso al canal de YouTube de la MARES haciendo click aquí.
Este acto, coordinado por la MARES y por MATERNA Salud Mental Perinatal (Argentina), incluye la participación de ponentes expertas en el ámbito perinatal y de la mujer de España, Argentina, Chile, México y Paraguay.
You can watch the recording of the meeting on YouTube.
Find all Spanish speaking campaign events here.
Location: Global
Come join us to mark the 5th World Maternal Mental Health Day 2020! Perinatal Psychiatrists Dr. Deirdre Ryan from Vancouver BC and Dr. Vivian Polak from Elora ON will discuss some of the important maternal mental health issues to help raise awareness, decrease stigma, and of course to support those who are currently suffering. For those able to join us, we would like to give you a special gift – your own “Letter of Light” from one of many mothers who has recovered from perinatal depression.
The social program BIRKAT AVIYA, will raise awareness through a mask campaign. Women joining the campaign will put on a mask that will have an encouraging message for pregnant women and mothers who are facing emotional challenges. Each participant in her turn, will take off the mask, say her message and put the mask back on.
The Masks campaign was inspired by the masks everyone now uses as protection against the Coronavirus. When everyone around the world, find themselves under different restrictions and prohibitions ‘ there might be an understanding of the condition of women dealing with postpartum depression and how important it is to unravel the bond of silence.
The campaign’s movie will be released on Wednesday on BIRKAT AVIYA Facebook page and the participant’s personal profiles.
Location: Israel
Üsküdar Üniversity Mother and Baby Mental Health
One-day symposium “Support for Moms in Difficult Times”. Check out this very impressive symposium programme here. will be held online – watch this space for a link to the recording!
Location: Turkey, Istanbul
Radio media tour
Stablemums is organising a media tour to some radio stations in Ibadan to kickstart our awareness campaign about maternal mental health. Keep up-to-date with events in Nigeria via the Stablemums Facebook page.
Location: Nigeria
3-9 May
Maternal mental health in Saskatchewan
We are launching a week-long online campaign to show our support for Maternal Mental Health 2020 and increase awareness about maternal mental health in Saskatoon and all of Saskatchewan.
Community members and mothers will be asked to show their support in 3 ways:
#sharingformaternalMH – Share your stories of maternal mental health to show others they aren’t alone.
#caringformaternalMH – Show a mom you know you care by checking in with her.
#movingformaternalMH – Move anyway you enjoy and tell us how moving helps your mental health.
Along with sharing, caring and moving, we will be collecting resources to create an easy to find list for moms and their supports to access when they are in need.
Location: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
4 – 10 May
Postpartum Support Network (PSN Africa)
Our theme for the activities for Maternal Mental Health Week 2020 is “An Ode to the Resilient Mum”. We will host a series of live chats on our Instagram page (@psnafrica) with maternal mental health advocates, authors and mothers discussing the practicalities of living with perinatal mood disorders. This culminates with an emotional intelligence training for health care workers on zoom.
Location: Nigeria/ global
Changing Attitude, Offering Help and Hope
Perinatal Services, together with our team of trained maternal mental health advocates and healthcare providers, will be having online events from 4th to 8th May. These will be virtual forums: videos, stories of hope, articles, tweet chats. We hope to celebrate in the week the charge of attitude and influence we have had using our parent’s lights initiative at the Westlands Hospital Nairobi, Kenya.
Location: Kenya
Messages for Mothers in South Africa
Understanding that the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) presents mothers in South Africa with a time of great uncertainty, together with its partners the Perinatal Mental Health Project (PMHP) started Messages for Mothers (M4M) to keep mothers informed, connected and encouraged using digital channels.
During the World Maternal Mental Health Week, the M4M messages will focus particularly on the mental wellbeing of mothers.
Location: South Africa/ global
Making Over Motherhood
This year more than ever moms are feeling overwhelmed, confused and lonely due to the unprecedented events of COVID-19. Motherhood has felt grey and often it’s treated like it’s black and white -when it’s nothing but. Join us to unpack the complications of life and motherhood together as we push to #makeovermotherhood. Hosted by the Blue Dot Project this years theme will be Motherhood is Not Black and White. Find out how to get involved on their website.
Location: United States/ global
UK Maternal Mental Health Matters Awareness Week
The Perinatal Mental Health Partnership UK‘s theme this year will no longer be ‘Journey to Recovery ‘ but instead will now be ‘Supporting mums during difficult times’ which will enable us to provide a supportive platform where we can reassure families and signpost them to vital resources and safe support which is what people need most at this time. Our energies will focus on ensuring parents feel well informed & supported at this time when anxieties are heightened for so many.
This year, we will have simple daily themes which will enable people to find information easily. We will not be asking for selfies, will run a number of Facebook lives and a #PNDhour will take place on 6th May on Twitter and Facebook. We will not be producing any downloadable materials as gathering and events cannot be held but we will be sharing resources ahead of and during the week. Read more on the PMHP UK Facebook page and follow the #SupportingMumsDuringDifficultTimes hashtag.
Location: UK/ global
Letters of Light
To mark the official global day and the awareness week in the UK, The Every Mum Movement will be sharing stories of the mums behind the letters each day – celebrating the women who have wrote the letters, sharing their MMH stories and how being involved in the project has helped them. We will also be sharing a few stories of the mums who have received a Letter of Light and how this has helped to support them during difficult times. Every day I will be reading out a Letter of Light on Instagram and Facebook to provide light for any mums isolated and feeling more vulnerable than ever before. Read more on their website.
Location: UK/ global
#ShoutieSelfie 2020
This year, with the awful isolation that Covid-19 is forcing on parents across the UK, and across the world, we are making it even bigger. We need to be supporting each other to understand why looking after our mental health is so important, and how to do it.
How to do a #ShoutieSelfie: So, if you love someone who is struggling – or have/are struggling yourself – of even if don’t know of anyone struggling but want to let those around you know that you support and don’t judge them, please:
* Take a selfie of you shouting
* Post it using #ShoutieSelfie & tag @HappityApp from Wednesday 15th April on your social media platforms ideally tagging 5 friends who also understand
Learn more about #ShoutieSelfie on the Happity blog.
Location: UK/ global
9 May
Maternal Mental Health information and food distribution
As the Medical Camp in the Kawangware Slum in Kenya organised by the Calmind Foundation had to be cancelled, the Calmind team has decided to go ahead and distribute maternal mental health information material together with food parcels to most needy mothers and their families.
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Maternal Mental Health Talk
Stablemums is organising a talk session with women and other stakeholders about maternal mental health and why it matters. Keep up-to-date with events in Nigeria via the Stablemums Facebook page.
Location: Nigeria
18 May
Perinatal Maternal and Infant Mental Health: The Role of the Community
The Israel Network of Healthy Cities sponsored a Zoom “Learning Meeting” on the topic of Perinatal Maternal and Infant Mental Health: The Role of the Community. The lectures spoke about early identification and prevention, maternal-infant relationship, parent-infant groups at MCH clinics, Mom-to-Mom program, and preparing public health nurses to support women with perinatal mental health disorders, and raising awareness of PMAD. The meeting, intended for professionals and the public was attended by over 100 participants.
Location: Israel, global
30 May
The BlueDot Virtual Run/ Walk
A national run/walk for maternal mental health
Virtual Means… You get to choose your own course, what time you start, whether you run or walk! Together we can support and uplift each other Create your own Walk Page Add your story and create your own walk page here. You can choose who and how to share your story with, and who you’d like to invite to donate.
Location: United States of America
25-26 September
International Conference on Perinatal Health
This International Conference themed “Perinatal Health – a Psychological, Social and Medical Approach” aims to promote a complex approach to mother’s care and the child, based on scientific evidence and interdisciplinary collaboration.
The conference is organized by the Romanian Association of Maternology, the Franco-Romanian Association Bebebienvenu, in partnership with the International Society for Pre-and Perinatal Psychology and Medicine (ISPPM), Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, and the Romanian Society of Pediatric Society.
Location: Bucharest, Romania
October
Maternal Mental Health and Wellbeing Forum
The Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Aotearoa (PADA) has organised a seminar in support of World Maternal Mental Health Day. This seminar will be of particular value to: Midwives, Social Workers, Psychologists, Nurses, GPs, Family Community Support Workers, Psychotherapists, Counsellors, Childbirth Educators, HR Professionals, Mental Health Clinicians, Early Childhood Educators. The seminar will be held online and the online link will be shared shortly. Here is an announcement of invited speakers.
Location: New Zealand
Maternal and infant emotional regulations conference
The conference planned for World Maternal Mental Health day has been postponed until after the Coronavirus crisis.
A new date will be announced when confirmed.
Location: Israel
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