Education systems must begin to normalise discussions around postpartum depression and maternal mental health.
Co-ordinator of the 2nd Dialogue on Postpartum Depression and Teenage Mothers, Margaret Eastgate, said this noting its especially urgent to include topics such as postpartum depression in school curricula to prepare young people, particularly girls, for the realities of pregnancy, childbirth and early motherhood.
“When we do reproductive health in high school and in upper primary school, perhaps these are the times to actually start to normalise these concepts,” Ms Eastgate said.
She pointed out that traditional knowledge-sharing practices around pregnancy and childcare have weakened in modern society due to changing lifestyles and urbanisation.
“We have transited from what was done prior many, many, many years ago.
“We don’t live in our villages primarily. A lot of our culture and a lot of our traditions are not effective today because we are separated.”
Ms Eastgate stressed that young people today often miss out on intergenerational learning that once took place in communal or family settings, and said the classroom must now fill that gap.
She called for a shift in how reproductive health is taught, moving away from textbook-based instruction to more interactive and practical approaches.
“It’s the pragmatics, like how do you do it in the classroom?
“And changing the mindset around our educators also. It can’t be the blackboard and the student and no interaction.
“What does a baby feel like? Hold a baby, look at a baby, yes.”
She said that in a society where reading was not always prioritised, practical experiences and conversations can be more effective in preparing future parents to navigate the emotional and psychological changes that come with childbirth
