“Increased visit rates began in March 2020, although the state of emergency was declared only midway through the month, suggesting that distress related to the pandemic translated into an increased need for care very quickly,” writes Dr. Simone Vigod, chief of psychiatry, senior scientist and interim vice president of academics at Women’s College Hospital (WCH), and senior adjunct scientist at ICES in Toronto, Ontario, with coauthors.
Researchers looked at mental health visits by 137,609 people in Ontario during the postpartum period (from date of birth to 365 days after) from March through November 2020 and collected data on age, number of children, neighbourhood income based on postal codes, neighbourhood ethnic diversity and region of residence based on the province’s 34 public health units.
84.8% of postpartum mental health visits were conducted virtually during the pandemic period removes health support barriers like the need to travel, find childcare for older children, or manage erratic schedules enables more people to seek care.
Generally, postpartum women are more vulnerable to mental disorders compared with other population groups is worsened under pandemic conditions so they need additional screening with focus on high-risk groups, monitor waiting lists for care and creative solutions to expand system capacity for healthy mental well-being.
Source: Medindia
