Years ago, U.K. mother and baby psychiatrist Alain Dubois would review case files of new mothers who had died by suicide after their postpartum depression and anxiety went untreated.
“Women who not [only] got bad care but got shocking rejection and disinterest in their so-called care from the health system,” he said.
“I’ve seen a woman who survived by chance because she went to live with her grandparents — where there were some specialists — from her own home, where there was nobody at all. It literally saved her life.”
A similar problem persists in Manitoba and throughout Canada.
Delsie Martin, who has a six-month-old son and a two-year-old daughter, says she had been having recurring thoughts of dying when she went to the Neepawa Health Centre in August.
She says a doctor at the hospital sent her away without any treatment or referrals to other services.
In 2014, the U.K. government made maternal mental health a priority and worked to ensure people who are at high risk of harming themselves or their babies always had good access to care from skilled professionals.
The results have been staggering, he says.
