The study also found that while primary care doctors are confident in managing mild postnatal mental health issues, they need better access to resources such as psychological services, better coordination with specialists, and greater public awareness to encourage mothers to seek help.
To address these gaps, nurses at National University Polyclinics, which primarily serves the western parts of Singapore, proactively assess mothers’ mental health during childhood developmental visits. The nurses also provide breastfeeding advice, perform cervical cancer screening, and follow up with patients on their gestational diabetes.
Mothers who exhibit severe postnatal mental health issues, such as unusual irritability and intense anxiety about parenting, during polyclinic visits, will be referred to specialist services at the NUH Women’s Emotional Health Service or KKH Women’s Mental Wellness Service. These offer education on parenting, couple counselling, and psychiatric and psychological consultations.
One mum found help for her worsening PPD symptoms after an appointment with her GP at Queenstown Polyclinic.
Wong Sheau Tyan, a 41-year-old mother of three, had given birth to her youngest son just a few months ago.
“The stressors added up and multiplied after having my third child,” Wong said. “Although I wasn’t doing well physically or mentally, as a mother, I was used to putting my needs last – it didn’t occur to me to seek psychiatric help, like counselling or therapy.”
During a follow-up visit for her gestational diabetes, Wong’s GP was concerned about her well-being. He asked her: “How is Mummy doing? How are you?”, which allowed Wong to share the stress she had been experiencing.
Her GP, Dr Cheng Wen Li, uncovered that Wong had been struggling with low mood, hopelessness, and fatigue. Dr Cheng diagnosed her with adjustment disorder, a condition where mothers struggle to cope with the emotional and physical changes of childbirth, and referred her to the polyclinic’s in-house psychotherapist.
Through cognitive behavioural therapy and emotional support, Wong’s symptoms improved, and after four months of therapy, she was discharged.
