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Parenting

03rd Jun 2017

At last: a specialist clinic has opened for mums with postnatal depression

Gillian Fitzpatrick

Even for those who recognise early that they’re suffering from postnatal depression – tackling it can be rather more challenging.

After all, it’s unlikely that most mums can just pack up and leave a newborn while they go get appropriate treatment.

Which is why HerFamily reckons that a brand-new, specialist clinic is something of a game-changer.

Opening recently in New York, the Motherhood Center helps women to prioritise their mental health. Programmes run for two or three weeks with mums getting up to five-hours a day of group therapy, mother-infant therapy, meditation, breathing exercises, and medication management.

The clinic’s staff includes psychiatrists, psychologists, an art therapist, a meditation guru, and a sleep specialist.

What’s really great is that there is also a creche on site for the little ones to hang out in.

Australia-native Billy Ingram is the cofounder and CEO of the centre – he recently told The Huffington Post that the scale of postnatal treatment in his native country is, in contrast to the likes of the US, vast.

He also explained how thankfully there is now more and more willingness to “treat perinatal mood and anxiety disorders”.

Mr Ingram’s clinic most commonly treats postpartum depression, but they also help new mums with anxiety, OCD, and psychosis as well as offering services to mums dealing with infertility and pregnancy loss.