Particularly high rates of depression and anxiety symptoms are reported by mothers in Cyprus and Slovenia, according to research carried out in the two countries, as part of the Mind the Mum project, which focuses on improving mental health during the perinatal period, and which implements from 2024 a European alliance headed by TEPAK, according to a press release of the university.
There is also the need for systematic detection and referral/support programs, the observance of statistical indicators and early intervention/support and the importance of systemic and multi-level support of motherhood with appropriate programs, structures, training and empowerment of professionals, women and their support network. It is noted that the results, identified needs and resulting recommendations will soon be presented at events in Cyprus.
From 2024, according to the press release, a European alliance headed by TEPAK and Scientific Coordinator Dr. Eleni Chatzigeorgiou, Associate Professor of Obstetrics, hopes to change the facts regarding perinatal mental health and make the issue of maternal mental health a priority, with the Mind the Mum project, co-financed by the European Union through the EU4Health program.
It is noted that on June 10-11, at the University of Gdansk, Poland, the intermediate meeting of the project took place, with partners from Cyprus, the Cyprus University of Technology, Department of Nursing and the organization Birth Forward, from Slovenia the Institute Umbilica, from Poland the University of Gdansk and from Spain the European Institute of Perinatal Mental Health. The partners, it says, “are recognized experts in the field of midwifery/nursing, psychiatry, psychology and human rights”.
The meeting discussed the results and findings from a survey carried out with the participation of over 1000 mothers in Cyprus and Slovenia with questionnaires and focus groups, according to the press release.
“The findings raise concerns about the particularly high rates of depression and anxiety symptoms reported by mothers in both countries. In Cyprus specifically, one in two women report symptoms that require further investigation, while also one in two described their childbirth experience as “painful”, it states. “Also arises the need for systematic detection and referral/support programs, the observance of statistical indicators and early intervention/support and the importance of systemic and multi-level support of motherhood with appropriate programs, structures, training and empowerment of professionals, women and their support network,” it added.
As stated, the meeting saw an exchange of best practices such as the actions of the organization Birth with Dignity (Fundacja Rodzić po Ludzku) and the Next Stop Mum program in Poland “which brought significant changes to the data of maternity support in the country”, through campaigns on issues such as consent to medical interventions, support for breastfeeding, ensuring the right to skin-to-skin contact between mother and newborn and achieving the legal guarantee of quality maternity care and women’s rights during maternity care.
A visit to the model hospital Szpital Św. Wojciecha (St. Adalbert’s Hospital), certified by the WHO as baby-friendly and a tour of the natural childbirth areas, where midwives and health professionals shared their experiences and the changes they experienced as a result of the introduction of supportive practices to mothers in recent years, it added.
It is noted that the next period of the project will offer interactive training to healthcare professionals in Cyprus, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the PASYNM Midwives Committee, by project experts, such as members of the Department of Psychology of the University of Gdansk and specialist doctors and breastfeeding consultants from the European Institute of Perinatal Mental Health on October 14-15, 2026.
It will also offer a free empowerment and preparation program for mothers-to-be through a series of six meetings in Cyprus and Slovenia, to be announced soon and offered in at least three cycles until the project is completed.
It is noted that the program was prepared with the input of multidisciplinary experts such as perinatal professionals and mental health professionals as well as the mothers themselves and aims to continue as a sustainable prevention and empowerment tool for expectant mothers by ensuring institutional support and after the completion of the project.
“Through the project, which finds both the Ministry of Health and professional bodies as allies, evidence-based proposals for the reform of health care services will also be submitted, so that perinatal mental health is effectively integrated into primary and secondary care, with an emphasis on interconnection, prevention and interdisciplinary collaboration,” it states.
The Mind the Mum project focuses on improving mental health in the perinatal period and addresses two key gaps: the need to understand the real experiences of the perinatal period and to co-design support tools for mothers.
KYPE
