The Mothers’ Mental Health Toolkit was born out of a novel partnership between the IWK Reproductive Mental Health Service and Family Resource Centres. Mothers’ Mental Health matters to the development of strong children and healthy communities. Coleen Flynn MSW and Joanne MacDonald MD developed a workbook style resource and additional learning tools to increase community service provider maternal mental health knowledge and confidence. This collection of resources is intended to support those who work with vulnerable mothers and families. The materials on this website were created with project funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and in collaboration with representatives from the Community Action Programs for Children (CAPC) and the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Programs (CPNP) who work in Family Resource Programs throughout Canada. The project aimed to enhance mental health literacy for support providers, provide a guide for the promotion of mental wellness for mothers and promote practices that build resiliency and a strong network of community supports.
The Toolkit was not developed for self-help use by mothers. It isn’t comprehensive mental illness education or a treatment manual and is not intended as a replacement for needed mental health assessment or service. However, community support providers can be the first point of contact for a mother struggling with a mental health problem and we hoped to equip them with an approach and some tools specific to their roles in supporting parenting generally at the neighborhood level.
Click on the videos and links below for further Introduction to the Mothers’ Mental Health Toolkit and Maternal Mental Health, and to see the full Toolkit resource.
For more information on the Mothers’ Mental Health Toolkit, contact the Reproductive Mental Health Service at the IWK Health Centre at 902.470.8098 or by email at sylvia.euale@iwk.nshealth.ca
Approximately 375 breast surgeries will be performed annually at the IWK, with approximately 3,000 visits to the Breast Health Clinic.