Candace wishes for a more supportive screening approach for mental health concerns.
Transcript
I wish that there was some way that the person that’s caring for you, whether that be a midwife, your family doctor, or your OB, when you’re pregnant and after your baby is born, to have better screening for postpartum and to be less focused on, ‘Are you having scary thoughts about hurting your baby?’ and more of ones that might come before you get to the point of having scary thoughts about hurting your baby. And see, I say this be … But my family doctor did an excellent job doing that with me, where she very much focused on supports, you know: ‘Who in the community is your support?’ You know: ‘Can family come?’ etcetera, etcetera. She was – she was excellent at doing that, but I think there’s, there’s got to be a way that we can help women feel safe and not afraid that their baby’s going to be taken, taken away if they admit that they’re having either thoughts or feelings that aren’t normal.
More from: Candace
More content
- Sharing Experiences – CandaceSupporting other women who were struggling with their mental health helped Candace be accountable to herself and her own health.
- Medication and Treatment Approaches – Candace (clip 2)Candace describes how difficult early days gradually got better after starting medications.
- Medication and Treatment Approaches – CandaceCandace says her family doctor came at it from all angles.
- Seeking and Finding Reliable Information – Candace (clip 2)Candace believes it is important to have a mental health module on prenatal classes.
- Seeking and Finding Reliable Information – CandaceCandace describes how her support group helped her to learn tools to take care of herself.
- Communicating with Health Care Providers – Candace (clip 2)Candace wishes for a more supportive screening approach for mental health concerns.
- Communicating with Health Care Providers – CandaceCandace felt comfortable talking to her family doctor.
- Seeking Help and Getting Diagnosis – CandaceAfter visiting her parents while in crisis, Candace contacted her family doctor and immediately received the support she needed.
- Relationships – CandaceCandace and her husband started talking after she experienced non-stop thoughts at night, and she slowly revealed how strong the thoughts were.
- Managing Personal Challenges with Sleeping and Eating – CandaceIf Candace has another baby, she would rely more on her social network for support and getting moments to sleep.