Dr. Bronwyn Leigh from Australia joins IFWIP Board of Advisers

We are delighted to announce that Dr. Bronwyn Leigh from Australia is joining us as a Member of the Board of Advisers. We would like to warmly welcome Dr. Leigh and her team. We are very grateful to her and all other members of our Board of Advisers for their valuable time in supporting the IFWIP initiative.     Dr. Bronwyn Leigh (Australia) is a renowned clinical psychologist and the Director of the Centre for Perinatal Psychology, an Australia-wide network of psychologists dedicated to mothers, fathers, infants, couples and families during the perinatal period, covering: planning of pregnancy/TTC, pregnancy, postpartum and early parenting...

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Opinion Poll

This is an anonymous survey and your information would not be shared with a Third party. There is only one question on the survey... Create your own user feedback survey   Thank you very much for participating in the Survey, really appreciated! IFWIP Team

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“How well do fathers do during the pregnancy?”

We are delighted to publish the brief review of the two recently published articles on fathers' mental health. The reviews have been done by Dr Pankaj Lamba, a very well-respected psychiatrist from the USA. He has had an outstanding career in academics and published many articles in the peer-reviewed journals. He completed his postgraduate dissertation in reproductive biology and then went on to do a postdoctoral fellowship with Daniel Bernard, PhD at the Population Council, New York and later with the same mentor at McGill University.  Dr. Lamba then transitioned back to clinical sciences pursuing his interest in psychology and currently is a practicing adult...

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Essential Skills in Perinatal Mental Health for Maternity Staff Masterclass

IFWIP is delighted to announce that Dr Raja Gangopadhyay, Founder, would be offering a 3-hour workshop entitled: 'Essential Skills in Perinatal Mental Health for Maternity Staff Masterclass' Brief profile of Dr Gangopadhyay:   "Dr Raja Gangopadhyay is a Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist at the West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, UK, with a special interest in Perinatal Mental Health (PMH). He is a passionate campaigner to provide comprehensive obstetric care for women with all kinds of Perinatal Mental Health illnesses during their pregnancy and after the childbirth. In conjunction with his multidisciplinary team, Raja has been championing joint approaches to perinatal mental health...

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International Forum for Wellbeing In Pregnancy (IFWIP): Who, Why, What & How?

International Forum for Wellbeing In Pregnancy (IFWIP) is a global initiative to create a society where every single mother (and her family) gets the most recent evidence-based scientific information, care and support with regards to health and wellbeing during pregnancy.   This video explains a brief overview of IFWIP. For further enquiries, please email: contact@ifwip.org https://youtu.be/Mn0bzypvdYc   This forum aims to achieve this by bringing together everyone from all across the world who has a passion for promoting the health and the wellbeing in pregnancy. This would help in sharing scientific knowledge, expertise, ideas, and resources from everyone who believes in...

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Gender equality: Call for action from the World Health Organisation (WHO)

On the 2018 International Women’s Day, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called for "a world where every woman and girl has access to quality and affordable health services". In his statement, he acknowledged that "Gender equality must be at the core of 'Health for All'' The WHO theme of 2018 International Women's Day (IWD) was “Time is Now: Rural and urban activists transforming women’s lives”. Each year the IWD is celebrated to highlight the social, cultural, political and economic achievements of women across the world. It is indeed sad to see that gender inequality still exists...

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Prevention of relapse of depression during perinatal period: Can Mindfulness be the solution?

A study published (2016) by the researchers of the University of Colorado Boulder suggests that Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy adapted for Perinatal Depression (MBCT-PD) during pregnancy may reduce the risk of relapse of depression symptoms in mothers with the previous history of depression. This was the first Randomised Control Trial (RCT) to explore the effectiveness of MBCT-PD during the antenatal period.   The authors conclude that: "MBCT-PD is an acceptable and clinically beneficial program for pregnant women with histories of depression; teaching the skills and practices of mindfulness meditation and cognitive-behavioral therapy during pregnancy may help to reduce the risk of...

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