Advocating for a National Perinatal Mental Health Strategy

In this episode, Rebecca sits down with Jaime Charlebois and Patricia Tomasi, co-Founders of the Canadian Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative, which advocates for the treatment of all individuals during preconception, pregnancy, and the postpartum periods. We get into the topic of perinatal mental health and how advocacy platforms can be used to inform policy and to improve perinatal mental health care.

Links to resources mentioned in this episode:

Canadian Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative (CPMHC): https://cpmhc.ca/

You Are Not Alone: An anthology of perinatal mental health stories from conception to postpartum

• Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/You-Are-Not-Alone-conception/dp/1989664083
• Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/you-are-not-alone-an/9781989664087-item.html

Biographies:

Jaime Charlebois is the Perinatal Mood Disorder Coordinator at Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital and Regional Volunteer Coordinator for Postpartum Support International. She is also the Co-Founder & Research Director of the Canadian Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative, non-profit lobbying the federal government to create a perinatal mental health strategy. Ms. Charlebois holds a Master of Science in Nursing, a Perinatal Nursing Certification from the Canadian Nurses Association, and a Perinatal Mental Health certification from Postpartum Support International. Her work experience includes 16 years of clinical nursing, seven years in higher education, and seven years in clinical leadership positions. She collaborates at the local, provincial, and national levels with multiple organizations and committees

Patricia Tomasi is a mom of two who struggled to find help for perinatal mental illness. She is a former journalist, turned fierce advocate, who went from writing about the state of maternal mental health in Canada as a reporter for HuffPost Canada to lobbying the federal government for a national perinatal mental health strategy. She is the Co-founder and Communications Director for the Canadian Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative and the Founder of the cheeky Maternal Mental Health Matters Blog. She started the private Facebook Postpartum Depression & Anxiety Support Group in 2017 where thousands of women from around the world support each other 24/7. Prior to her advocacy work, Patricia spent a decade providing communications and media relations expertise for the Ontario government, and in addition to HuffPost Canada, she worked as a reporter for CTV and CBC News in Vancouver, Toronto, Timmins, and Thunder Bay.