Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Department of Psychiatry, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland.
Ir J Psychol Med. 2023 Dec;40(4):601-606. doi: 10.1017/ipm.2021.71. Epub 2021 Nov 29.
Perinatal mental health is a vital component of public mental health. The perinatal period represents the time in a woman's life when she is at the highest risk of developing new-onset psychiatric disorders or relapse of an existing mental illness. Optimisation of maternal mental health in the perinatal period is associated with both short- and long-term benefits not only for the mother, but also for her infant and family. However, perinatal mental health service provision remains variable across the world. At present in Northern Ireland, 80% of women do not have access to specialist community perinatal mental health services, and without access to a mother and baby unit, mothers who require a psychiatric admission in the postnatal period are separated from their baby. However, following successful campaigns, funding for development of specialist perinatal mental health community teams has recently been approved. In this article, we discuss the importance of perinatal mental health from a public health perspective and explore challenges and opportunities in the ongoing journey of specialist service development in Northern Ireland.
围产期心理健康是公共心理健康的重要组成部分。围产期是女性一生中最容易患上新发精神障碍或原有精神疾病复发的时期。围产期内孕产妇心理健康状况的优化不仅对母亲，而且对其婴儿和家庭都有短期和长期的益处。然而，围产期心理健康服务的提供在全球范围内仍然存在差异。目前，在北爱尔兰，80%的妇女无法获得专门的社区围产期心理健康服务，而且由于没有母婴单位，如果在产后期间需要精神病住院治疗，母亲就会与婴儿分开。然而，在成功开展宣传活动之后，最近已批准为发展专门的围产期精神健康社区团队提供资金。本文从公共卫生的角度讨论了围产期心理健康的重要性，并探讨了北爱尔兰在发展专门服务的持续进程中面临的挑战和机遇。
