Perinatal Wellbeing Canterbury Trust

Welcoming a new child to the family is a wonderful time in a parent's life but it isn’t without its challenges. It comes with a steep learning curve. All parents will, at some point, feel overwhelmed, which can lead to mental illness. Having a mentally unwell parent is recognised as detrimental to children’s healthy emotional development.

1 in 4 women & 1 in 10 men will experience clinically diagnosed depression &/or anxiety during pregnancy or after birth. Suicide is the number one cause of mothers dying during pregnancy or shortly after the birth. NZ is 7 times higher than the UK. This is NOT OK.

We know that the last 10 years Cantabrians have experienced a lot of awful events, leaving our communities with unrecognised trauma and heightened anxiety. The pandemic is stretching into its fourth year, the cost of living is soaring and access to support has huge demand and long wait times. Add a new baby to the mix and the pressure cooker can blow!

Our free community-based support programmes are run by trained peer supporters with lived experience. We give parents a safe place to connect with others, share their feelings and learn tools and techniques to help them survive and thrive. We advocate for them and help educate the public about perinatal mental illness.

Your donation will help us deliver free wellbeing support to parents so that they are emotionally strong and their children feel loved, safe and secure.

Mentally healthy parents raise mentally healthy children. Donate Today!