For the most up to date information on COVID-19 please visit the Department of Health website. Learn more about how the AIHW is assisting the COVID-19 response and how our other work is affected. Our Covid-19 related resources page includes a list of some existing resources which may be useful when researching issues related to COVID-19.
This web page provides links to information and tools for midwives and other maternity clinicians on mental health issues during pregnancy and links to support services that may be beneficial for their clients. Resources are listed in alphabetical order of the publishing organisation.
Clinical Practice Guidelines - Pregnancy Care
Using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale as a screening tool
Note: Links will open in a new window/tab.
Organisation
Resource
Description
Australian College of Midwives
National Midwifery Guidelines for consultation and referral
These guidelines are an evidence-based framework for midwives to assist in decision-making and the provision of high quality care to women.
Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE)
2017 National Perinatal Mental Health Guideline
Australian clinical practice guidelines for mental health care in the perinatal period. The purpose of these guidelines is to support health professionals in providing evidence based care.
Online training to support best practice in perinatal mental health
Online courses for health professionals to support best practice in perinatal mental health.
Information Hub for Midwives
This site provides midwives with links to training tools, guidelines, screening tools and fact sheets related to mental health in pregnancy.
Department of Education - Victoria
Perinatal mental health and psychosocial assessment: a practice resource manual for Victorian maternal and child health nurses
The practice resource manual is aimed at providing Maternal and Child Health Nurses information about clinical guidelines, pathways to care and women centred communication.
Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Australia (PANDA)
Presentations & Training for Health Professionals
A series of workshops for health professionals provided by PANDA around Australia.
Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG)
Mental health care in the perinatal period
This resource provides advice on Perinatal anxiety and depression, serious mental illness and bipolar disorder for health professionals providing maternity and mental health care to patients.
SA Health
South Australian Perinatal Practice Guideline: Screening for perinatal anxiety and depression
Clinical practice guidelines for health providers on screening pregnant women for perinatal anxiety and depression.
What were We Thinking!
What Were We Thinking! For Professionals
Training program designed to help health professionals integrate the What Were We Thinking! Program into mother's groups and seminars.
World Health Organization (WHO)
mhGAP Intervention Guide 2.0 for mental, neurological and substance use disorders in non-specialized health settings
This intervention guide provides guidance on what to do when identifying and managing mental health conditions to healthcare providers in primary and secondary care.
Using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) as a screening tool
The EPDS is a screening tool that is used to assess pregnant women and new mothers for follow up mental health care. This website provides information about assessment and calculating risk scores.
Perinatal screening and assessment tools - ANRQ/PNRQ
This webpage provides links to the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and the Antenatal Risk Questionnaire. It includes information on how to score responses to these screening tools and instructions for administration.
Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services
Kimberley Mum's mood scale
This screening tool is a validated version of the EPDS that is culturally appropriate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women that explores psychosocial protective and risk factors.
NSW Health
Resources
This link provides validated versions of the EPDS available in languages other than English.
Transcultural Mental Health Centre
Multilingual Mental Health Assessment Tools
This website provides a number of validated tools for mental health assessment in languages other than English.
Australian Government Department of Health
Head to Health
Head to health is a collection of Australian online resources and information regarding mental health. Resources included in the resource are funded by the Australian Government.
Better Health Channel, Government of Victoria
Pregnancy and your mental health
This website provides information about mental health during pregnancy, offers advice to pregnant women about symptoms and where to get help.
Beyond Blue
Pregnancy and New Parents
This website provides a range of resources on mental health during pregnancy and parenthood for pregnant women and their families.
Brave Foundation
Support for girls
This page provides links to a range of resources target at teenagers who are expecting or new mums. It includes personal stories from girls who have been through a teenage pregnancy, information on support services and a program for supporting mental health during pregnancy.
Antenatal mental health fact sheets for women and their families
This website provides a series of information sheets and resources on antenatal mental health for women and their families on specific mental health issues.
Headspace
Welcome to the Pregnancy pack
Headspace has designed a 30 day meditation to support expecting parents manage some of the stressful thoughts that may come with the changes associated with pregnancy. This link allows users to sign up to try Headspace for free and to access online resources.
Healthtalk Australia
Emotional Experiences of Early Parenthood
This website is a resource aimed at supporting people experiencing mental health issues in early parenthood by featuring videos of people from different backgrounds speaking of their experiences with their health conditions.
Mind the Bump
Mind The Bump app
This free, evidence-based pregnancy app is aimed at reducing stress during and after pregnancy with mindfulness meditation.
National Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Helpline
A comprehensive online resource on perinatal anxiety and depression, the PANDA website and national helpline provides support, information and services to women and their families.
Perinatal Depression e-Consortium
Mum Space
This website is designed to support the mental health of pregnant women, new mums and their families by connecting them quickly with the different levels of support. The website also provides access to evidence-based online treatments that are based on best practice psychological treatment.
Pregnancy Birth & Baby
Mental wellbeing during pregnancy
Pregnancy, Birth & Baby provides advice, support and access to a Maternal Child Health Nurse through a phone and video call line.
Queensland University of Technology
Mind Mum app
This free app is designed to help with the emotional challenges that pregnant women and new mothers often experience by providing ideas and activities to help them feel their best.
WayAhead
Mental Health During Pregnancy and Early Parenthood
This website provides information about mental health during pregnancy as well as information about treatment and local NSW mental health resources.
What were we thinking!
This website provides activities and information about effectively managing common experiences in the early months of parenthood.
Beyond Blue provides information and support through a helpline, online forums and extensive online resources about mental health.
COPE
Pregnancy support counselling
This website provides advice about accessing Medicare-funded pregnancy support counselling.
Department of Health
Better Access to Psychiatrists, Psychologists and General Practitioners through the MBS (Better Access) initiative
BetterAccess is an initiative by the Department of Health to more effectively link GP and psychological services. This site provides information for clinicians and patients on the Better Access initiative including how to access telehealth services.
Lifeline
Lifeline provides 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention services online, on the phone and face to face.
Welcome to PANDA
PANDA is a national helpline supporting expecting and new parents to recover from perinatal depression and anxiety. This website includes contact information, factsheets and resources tailored to the stage of the parenting journey individuals and their families are in.
Raising children
Multicultural services
This resource provides links to national and state support services for multicultural communities.
Post and Antenatal Depression Support and Information (PANDSI)
PANDSI in an ACT-based organisation providing support for families in Canberra. This website provides contact information for support services, details on support groups and guidance on identifying signs of mental health issues.
Gidget Foundation Australia
Other support services for those suffering from Perinatal Depression and Anxiety
This website links to services that pregnant women can access in NSW for mental health support, including residential care, and support services.
Perinatal Mental Health Services
This website lists mental health services available for women in Western Sydney
Northern Territory Council of Social Services
Pregnancy and Birth
This page provides links and contact information for health and pregnancy care services located in the Northern Territory.
Peach Tree
Peach Tree - Perinatal Wellness
Peach Tree is a Queensland-based peer-led organisation supporting parents' emotional wellbeing. The site provides information on programs, activities and locations within Queensland.
SA health
Perinatal Depression
This website links to services that pregnant women can access in South Australia for mental health support.
Department of Health and Human Services (Tas)
Child and adolescent mental health services
This website provides information on accessing mental health services during pregnancy and following birth in Tasmania
State Government of Victoria, Department of Health & Human Services
Mother and baby mental health services
This resource lists services in Victoria that provide targeted perinatal mental health programs
WA Health
Perinatal mental health clinical toolbox
Provides information about screening and assessment, and referral pathways for pregnant women and mothers in Western Australia
BeyondBlue
Dadvice
BeyondBlue has developed resources for men who may be experiencing stress or mental health issues related to entering fatherhood. This site provides a series of videos, assessment tools and information for men.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perinatal Mental health mapping project
Resource that provides information about current practices in screening, assessing and management of perinatal mental health in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development - Victoria
Mental Health Resources
This webpage provides links to information regarding perinatal mental health disorders, screening and psychosocial assessment, pathways to care and women cantered communication.
SMS4dads
This site provides information on the SMS4dads program and the ability to sign up to it. The SM4dads program is targets at expecting and new fathers to provide support and advice on fatherhood. It also includes regular check-ins on men's mental health.
Victorian Transcultural Mental Health
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CaLD) Perinatal Mental health Resource Portal for Health Professionals
This website provides resources for health professionals working with women from CaLD backgrounds experiencing mental health issues during the perinatal period.
Aboriginal Health and Health Promotion
A resource package that features Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women's experiences to address perinatal mental health issues.
This website needs JavaScript enabled in order to work correctly; currently it looks like it is disabled. Please enable JavaScript to use this website as intended.
We'd love to know any feedback that you have about the AIHW website, its contents or reports.
The browser you are using to browse this website is outdated and some features may not display properly or be accessible to you. Please use a more recent browser for the best user experience.