Table 2.

Key recommendations for advancing perinatal mental health

Progressive realization and maximum available resources	Move toward a culture of parity for mental and physical health care Increase resources for mental health Establish champions of mental health in antenatal clinics who role model how mental health care policies are implemented in practice
Availability and accessibility	Increase the number of mental health providers, develop stronger referral networks, and focus on training and supporting nonspecialist providers who can promote mental health during antenatal care visits Ensure equitable access to referral resources across provinces Integrate screening for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders into antenatal care through a locally validated and tested ultra-short screening tool Provide mental health screening even in the absence of referral resources to build evidence of the need for further mental health services
Acceptability and quality	Integrate opportunities for identification of and screening for social determinants of health in clinical practice Work more holistically to provide better support systems for mental health throughout the perinatal period Improve mental health education and training for all health professionals, including capacity-building to improve attitudes and practices to address mental health-related stigma and discrimination Provide detailed guidance on engaging women in conversations about their mental health and delivering mental health screening as part of antenatal visits Provide training and a system of support to address the mental health needs of health care providers, and to improve an ethos of care Include mental health courses in nursing school and midwifery curricula, and provide opportunities for critical thinking and empowerment of nurses to address mental health