Written by: Izabela Bienko, Registered Provisional Psychologist & Clinical Coordinator of Spring Reproductive & Perinatal Wellness Centre
How we connect and function alongside each other is fundamental to mental well-being, and health in general. Taking an ecological perspective is especially important for health care providers during the perinatal period, the time when women and families are planning to get pregnant, during pregnancy and the first year post-partum. It can be a shift to think about our mental health as not just how well we manage on the inside, or internally, but also how well we function with others, in families, and as part of a system.
How do you move through stressful life stages?
Maintaining good health is complex, and a well-connected system is more robust and resilient in withstanding the challenges that inevitably come with moving through a major life transition, i.e. pregnancy and childbirth. The level of accessibility and strength of our lived ecology is often reflected in mental health outcomes.
Do you balance, or organize, yourself with and among others?
Do you ‘go it alone’?
Do you have a close-knit circle of trusted others?
Or, do you tend to rely on the support of others?
Even though our healthcare systems remain largely compartmentalized, there continues to be improvements in accessibility for healthcare services and a growing acceptance that healthcare includes preventative and holistic approaches. Taking a multidisciplinary approach has grown in popularity for women in the perinatal period. A systems approach takes into account the reality of the level of support required during the perinatal period. In the postpartum period, a newborn is completely dependent on their mother, and on health care professionals. The mother and her infant are dependent on partners, parents and close supports to help her maintain both her health and the health of the child. How the ‘me’, ‘you’, and ‘them’, becomes the ‘us’, is integral in recovery, adjustment and mental health as everyone navigates and adapts to a new life.
This ecological and integrative perspective is at the core of Insight’s Spring Reproductive & Perinatal Wellness Centre. Senk (2024) examined how “counselors can provide better support for people during their perinatal experiences from the ecological systems perspective and found that there is a need for collaborative, interdisciplinary communication among providers interacting with the perinatal population and perinatal mental health competency training.”
There has been much work behind the scenes at the Spring Centre to get the right people in place. Professional collaboration and integrative services for perinatal mental health have been found to depend on certain factors such as a shared vision and goals, continuity of care, building relationships and trust, and professional competency (Albokhary (2023; Myors et al., 2013). The Spring Centre offers specialized psychologists, massage therapists, pelvic floor physiotherapists, doulas, lactation consultants, dietitians and therapeutic group services. We will continue to also work with community partners to offer other adjunct services like chiropractic and acupuncture.
Which services do you think are important during the perinatal period?
Which services are you not sure about?
Which services would you likely not access, and why?
During the perinatal time when physical, mental and emotional health destabilizes, depending on a wider ecology of supports is not only natural but necessary. The multidisciplinary approach is important because it sensitively responds to complex health needs during the perinatal period. At the Spring Centre, we do not lose sight of the ecology, and the need for ‘Us’ to move through and adjust to this life-changing stage together.
References
[1] Alberta Health Services: Access Improvement. Improving Alberta’s Referral and Consultation Processes. Retrieved September 2024 from https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/info/page13719.aspx
[2] Albokhary, A. A. (2023). Perinatal care: Integrative healthcare services: A comprehensive review. International Journal of Health Sciences, 6(S8), 6627≤6637. https://doi.org/10.53730/ijhs.v6nS8.13931
[3] Myors, K.A., Schmied, V., Johnson, M. and Cleary, M. (2013), Collaboration and integrated services for perinatal mental health: an integrative review. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 18: 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-3588.2011.00639.x
[4] Senk, C. (2024). “Why Does This Have to be So Hard?”: Perinatal Experiences from an Ecological Systems Approach [Doctoral dissertation, Antioch University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1715352346747554
