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AFTER Alana Nalder had her second child Sophie in 2007, she found herself suffering a persistent low mood – some days so low she couldn’t get out of bed – and struggling to bond with her daughter.
After seeing her GP, Ms Nalder was admitted, with her daughter, to the mother-baby mental health unit at Werribee Mercy Hospital to receive treatment for postnatal depression.
It is from this experience that Ms Nalder knows how valuable the new parent-infant unit at Bendigo Health could be for parents experiencing mental illness.
In 2008, she said, she and some friends organised a petition to have such a service introduced locally and while they collected some 7000 signatures, it failed to gain traction with decision-makers.
Ms Nalder said she was excited to see that the service she wanted had finally been realised and parents would be able to seek help locally.
She said that while it was necessary for her to receive treatment in Werribee, it was also an isolating experience: her then-husband remained home with their young son to run their business, and she was separated from family and friends.
She spent three weeks in the unit, and believes her recovery would have been hastened closer to home.
“It still took a long time to recover after hospital, but having family and friends around would have helped me to recover quicker,” Ms Nalder said.
Up till now, parents of young children in this region have either had to separate from their babies and seek help in hospital locally, or take themselves and their children to Melbourne.
Ms Nalder had to stay with her daughter because she was breastfeeding, but having her close by was also important for her own health and their relationship.
“I think the thing with postnatal depression is that you’re not getting to bond with your baby because of your symptoms, so being with her, as my symptoms got better… I was able to re-establish that bond,” she said.
Ms Nalder urged anyone experiencing distress to speak up and seek help.
Service provides another option
WHEN the parent-infant unit in Bendigo Health’s psychiatry service opens on Monday, it will be the first time regional Victorians will be able to stay with their babies while receiving round-the-clock mental health treatment.
The five-bed unit is expected to treat up to 40 patients in its first year, who previously would have had to go to Melbourne or be admitted without their babies.
About 9 per cent of women in Australia will experience depression during pregnancy, and one in seven will experience postnatal depression.
But the unit is open to not only mothers, but also fathers experiencing mental illness.
The unit will be able to accommodate children up to the age of one.
Executive and clinical director of psychiatric services, Phillip Tune, said the unit would help maintain the bond between the parents and their child, while ensuring the parent received the help they needed.
Psychiatric services in the new hospital have nearly doubled in capacity overall.