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New funding from the provincial government will provide peer support for new and expecting parents across Saskatchewan.
The Government of Saskatchewan said the $100,000 in annual funding for the Saskatchewan Perinatal Health Network will allow the organization to develop and deliver free peer support services, both in person and virtually.
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The network works to support women and their partners who may be at risk of developing a perinatal mood or anxiety disorder. According to the province, the new funding will let the organization expand its peer support services beyond Regina, introduce an online booking platform and increase the volume of virtual appointments.
“This investment helps ensure that families across Saskatchewan have more access to mental health support during the life-changing experience of pregnancy and the birth of a baby,” Lori Carr, Saskatchewan’s mental health and addictions minister, said in a statement.
“We want expecting and new parents to know that free, compassionate support is available in a safe environment, where they can connect and share with other parents.”
Lin Carr, the network’s program co-ordinator, said the funding will make a big difference to many parents and expecting mothers.
“As a community-based organization, our goal has always been to address the feelings of social isolation many expecting and new parents face, and to connect families with trauma-informed perinatal mental health support,” Carr said in a government statement.
“This funding will help us coordinate care across multiple agencies, ensuring families receive quality mental health support from prenatal stages through the first few years postpartum.”
In May, Saskatchewan’s health minister Jeremy Cockrill said the government still considers it a high priority to recruit in-person therapy professionals, but this is an option for barrier-free therapy that people in the province can access now.
“While we want to make in-person services available, not everybody may feel comfortable with that. It may not be convenient for them,” he said.
The provincial government noted that it also funds a wellbeing course for new and expecting parents offered by the University of Regina Online Therapy Unit, along with resources for non-birthing parents.
— With files from CJME’s Gillian Massie
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