Mental Balance Feb 2022 Issue 1

WOMEN’S MENTAL HEALTH
Perinatal Mental Health and Well-being of Mothers
TO STRONG WOMEN
MAY WE KNOW THEM
MAY WE BE THEM
MAY WE RAISE THEM
By Mr. Linos Muvhu
28 Mental Balance Issue 1 Feb 2022
Just because you don’t understand
it doesn’t mean it isn’t so.
Scientific research has
shown that mental health
problems such as mental
distress, and mental
disorders / illnesses are common
during the perinatal period and can
have devastating effects on the
mother, baby and the family in
general. Maternal mental health is a
global public health concern and
also a human rights issue - all women
and their families deserve maternal
mental health and well-being. It is
one of the most undermined issues
the world over, including in countries
such as Zimbabwe. Of note is
the fact that globally every nation is a
“developing country” in terms
mental health care services.
The World Health Organisation
(WHO) defines maternal mental
health as “a state of well-being in
which a mother realizes her own
abilities, can cope with normal
stresses of life, can work productively
and fruitfully and is able to
contribute in her community. Most
people struggle to identify the difference
between mental illness and
mental health. This is attributable to
the fact that the first voice mainly
focuses on mental illnesses but not
taking into consideration the three
components of mental health
namely; mental distress, mental
health problems, and mental disorders
/ illnesses. According to the
Ministry of Health and Child Care,
Maternal Mortality Report, (2019)
Zimbabwe is one of the countries
where women suffer from
depression and yet very little effort
has been directed towards addressing
the issue. This includes antenatal
depression, post-natal depression,
anxiety, perinatal obsessive-compulsive
disorder, postpartum psychosis
and post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD). These illnesses can sometimes
be mild, moderate or severe.
In most countries mental health is
allocated less than 1% of the total
health budget. This has left a huge
gap in the accessibility of mental
health care services. WHO (2020)
notes that “Zimbabwe has a severe
shortage of human resources of
mental health, with an estimated 18
psychiatrists (17 of them in Harare)
or approximately 0.1 per 100000
people. There are 917 psychiatrist
nurses (6.5 per 100 000) and 6 clinical
psychologists (0.4 per 100 000).”
This reinforces the view that
Africans generally perceive mental
health problems as a “white man’s
disease”. Consequently, most mothers
fail to access mental health
services resulting in prenatal and
traumas which again they will not
look for help.
Apparently, some people do not
believe that the mental health of the
mother is directly linked to the fetus’
well-being hence there is need to
note and address the false myths that
people hold on to in relation to
mental disorders in the perinatal and
post-natal period. In addition,
African myths on maternal mental
health are still causing low therapy
seeking behavior as some illnesses
are believed to be spiritual rather
than mental thus people tend to
resort to religious help.