Content note: perinatal suicidality

In this episode Sophie speaks with midwife and Research Fellow Dr Laura Biggs, and CEO of PANDA Australia, Julie Borninkhof about the Making Sense of the Unseen partnership between the Stronger Futures CRE and the Murdoch Children’s REsearch Institute, PANDA Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia, and James Cook University.

In the episode you’ll hear discussed key findings from ground-breaking research conducted by the team on experiences of perinatal suicidality, the first study of its kind ever to be carried out. Suicide is the leading cause of maternal death in Australia and other high-income countries and yet so far, we’ve known little about women’s experiences of suicidality at this time in their lives. As discussed in this episode, the research identified that perinatal suicidality is driven by experiences of shame, and feelings of being disconnected and ‘defective’ as a mother.

We talk about how societal pressures and the perfect mother myth narrative profoundly impact women’s mental health, and share stories from the research that demonstrate the profound importance of compassionate care and rehumanising relationships and care experiences for mothers. This episode is an especially important listen for all of those who work in healthcare and/or with mothers.

We want to acknowledge the 139 women who shared their experiences of perinatal suicidality with the research team, as without their generosity, this research and this conversation on the podcast sharing these important findings would not be possible.

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Episode webpage: https://drsophiebrock.com/podcast119

Connect with Laura on Twitter @l_biggs

Follow PANDA on Facebook at facebook.com/pandanational and Instagram @pandanational

Laura Biggs’ email: [email protected]

Learn more about Making Sense of the Unseen: https://www.strongerfutures.org.au/making-sense-of-the-unseen

Read the journal article: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/10497323231164278

Support lines

Australia - www.panda.org.au/ - 1300 726 306

@pandanational @lifelineaustralia @13yarn

UK - pandasfoundation.org.uk/ - 0808 1961 776

USA - www.postpartum.net/ - Text “Help” to 800-944-4773 (EN)

The EU/EEA - Mental health helpline - 116 123