Our Mission
To encourage and support parents who are experiencing a decline in mental wellbeing relating to, or resulting from, pregnancy, childbirth and parenting within the first 2,000 days (pregnancy to 5 years).
Our Vision
To have a community of Mentally Healthy Parents.
Our Purpose
- To provide support services to parents (matua) and their whānau who are experiencing a decline in mental wellbeing relating to, or resulting from, pregnancy, childbirth and parenting during the first 2,000 days
- To foster and encourage the development of services in partnership with Māori working within the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi for the benefit of those parents and their whānau supported by us
- To foster and encourage the development of services in partnership with other ethnic and diverse groups for the benefit of those parents and their whānau supported by us
- To work with the national perinatal network to support the development and delivery of education, advocacy and research in perinatal mental health
Our History
Established in 2007 by a group of concerned medical professionals, our organisation initially operated as the Postnatal Depression Family/Whanau NZ Trust. Our primary focus was on clinical education, research, lobbying, and raising public awareness of perinatal mental illness. Over time, we recognized the importance of community support and expanded our services to include practical wellbeing assistance for parents and whānau affected by anxiety, depression, and other perinatal mental health issues.
In 2011, our clinical education, research, and lobbying responsibilities became part of the national umbrella organisation known as Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Aotearoa (PADA). However, our trust continued its operations under the name Postnatal Depression Canterbury, with a renewed emphasis on providing community-based support.
In 2018, our governance and operations teams underwent changes, leading to increased networking and partnerships with other organisations in the perinatal mental health sector in Canterbury. As a result, we experienced a significant increase in referrals by early 2020, indicating a shift in the needs of our communities. In response, we rebranded as Perinatal Wellbeing Canterbury, updating our mission and purposes to better align with our evolving work. We adopted a Peer Support model and refined our Wellbeing Programme to ensure the highest level of support for our clients. This new service delivery approach proved to be highly successful, resulting in the establishment of several new Wellbeing Groups across Canterbury.
We remain deeply involved in the perinatal mental health sector at both local and national levels. Our organisation actively represents the consumer voice in Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Women’s Health and Maternal Mental Health services.
In 2022, we officially changed our name to Perinatal Wellbeing Canterbury Trust and updated our Trust Deed accordingly. Our Operations and Service Delivery team has expanded to consist of five part-time staff members, enabling our Board to adopt a more strategic planning and oversight approach to governance.