Canterbury mothers with postnatal depression are being turned away from vital support, because the service is fully booked for the rest of the year.

One mother told Chris Lynch she was gobsmacked to receive an email saying the waiting list was full.

A Plunket spokeswoman confirmed the news saying they’ve received more requests to join the Canterbury-based Post-Natal Adjustment Programme (PNAP) than currently have capacity to deliver.

The programme was introduced in 1999, and provides mums with additional support, particularly on their mental health.

The support programme is funded by the Canterbury District Health Board, which provides around 700 mums with maternal mental health support each year.

The spokeswoman said “this highlights the importance of maternal mental health support and need for more funding for services to support mothers around the country. “

“We know around 10-15% of mums are affected by maternal mental health issues, but this only includes those diagnosed and is likely just the tip of the iceburg.

”Depression and anxiety can affect women at any time in their life, but there is an increased chance during pregnacy and the first year following the birth of a baby.”

 “Early identification and treatment of perinatal depression is intuitive and important. It leads to better outcomes for women and their children and whānau, and is more cost-effective than picking up the pieces later on.”

Whānau Āwhina Plunket’s services (apart from two Early Childhood Centres) did not qualify for any Government COVID-19 subsidies as our overall organisational financial position did not meet the 30% decline threshold.

In July, the Government announced a further $180m would go into the maternity sector, taking the total investment to $242m over four years.

A $1.9b mental health package was announced as part of Labour’s well-being budget last year.