Advocacy Messages

As a parent, I know the immense joy a baby brings to a family. I also know the many challenges faced, big and small, navigating the newborn world. That's why I want parents to know they're not alone in these challenges and that it's OK not to feel OK during perinatal mental health week.

Anyone who knows that life changing miracle of becoming a parent knows it's nothing short of miraculous. But it can also be incredibly tough too.

Having a child is a magical time, but it's not always easy. There's always a lot on your plate and for many, depression and anxiety can affect mums and dads across Australia. In fact, 100,000 reported each year.

This year's theme is Hold the Parent and together more than 70 organizations are coming together to raise awareness, to help connect people and bring them the support they need.

This Perinatal Mental Health Week, I want parents to know that it's okay to not be okay and that you don't have to struggle alone.

I'm so happy to support Perinatal Mental Health Week this week to raise awareness for what's is a really big and growing issue in Australia.

The pregnancy journey can be a lonely place. For the 1st 12 weeks you are the sickest and tired-est you've been in your life, but you're told not to tell anyone, not to say a word, just in case. y

This year's theme is a reminder of our shared responsibility to care for new parents with the exact same tenderness that we show a newborn.

I've seen in my own family how important love, resilience and support can be during difficult times. For new and expecting parents, that support can make all the difference.

I'm really pleased to be supporting the Perinatal Mental Health Week in 2026 to support all of those parents who've been suffering and those who might suffer in the future.

As a mom, this hits close to home. Pregnancy in those first few years with a young baby can be so special, but they're also really, really hard.

Just as we surround a newborn with care and tenderness, we must also support parents and care for them. That means checking in, listening without judgement, and offering practical help rather than waiting for someone who is struggling to ask for help.

It's perinatal mental health week this week. Perinatal anxiety effects one in five mothers and one in 10 fathers. So you're not alone. Please make sure that you get help if you suffer from that anxiety or depression after having a baby.

As a mom, I know how much love and care goes into a newborn, but this year's theme for Perinatal Mental Health Week is Hold the Parent. And it's a really important reminder to give mums and dads the care that they need when they have a newborn.

If you haven't personally experienced it, one of your friends will have because perinatal depression and anxiety effects one in five mums and one in 10 dads. That's around 100,000 Australian parents each year.

Perinatal mental health work is incredibly important. It's sadly it remains one of the most under recognised events on the health calendar each year.

Perinatal mental health is a really important issue. One in five women and one in 10 men will find what should be the happiest time in their life very challenging and they can struggle with dealing with the conception having a new baby or early childhood.

Well, we've heard the saying that it takes a village to raise a child, but it can also take a village to hold a parent. This year's theme, Hold a Parent, reminds us that this can be a challenging time for people when they become a new parent and there is a role for community to play in that.

As a father of three, I know how exciting and rewarding becoming a parent can be. I also know that it can be challenging and no one should feel like they have to navigate all those challenges by themselves.

Having a child can be a joyous and celebratory event. We see the happy videos and photos posted on social media and for many parents it is. But for one in five mothers and one in 10 fathers, that happiness is tinged with anxiety, depression and other challenges. I know this from personal experience. They can feel alone in their struggle or misunderstood, and we need to show them that they're not alone.

I'm Rose Jackson, NSW Minister for Mental Health and as well as being a minister responsible for the mental health and well-being of everyone in our community, I'm also a mum who knows first hand just how challenging it can be when you've got that newborn baby in your arms.

Perinatal mental health is really so important. It affects mums, it affects bubs, it can affect the whole family and it can have intergenerational impacts.

Well, having a baby can be one of life's greatest joys, but for some parents, pregnancy and early parenthood can also be incredibly challenging.

Supporting new parents means recognising that when a baby is born, a parent is born too. It's about making sure parents feel seen, heard and supported through one of life's biggest transitions.

This week is about letting the new or expecting parents in our community know that they have the support and that they deserve to be looked after too.

Just as a parent nurtures and responds to the needs of their newborn, the theme reminds us that supporting parents is a shared responsibility and an essential part of promoting family well-being.

Perinatal Mental Health Week gives us all that opportunity to really shine a light on the experiences that many new parents have, both mums and dads, during those months of pregnancy, as well as in those first couple of weeks welcoming a newborn into the world.

Having a baby is a wonderful, wonderful thing. But isn't it just a roller coaster? There are downs as well as ups and if you're in a down, you're not alone.

Supporting new parents means making sure that every parent knows they're not doing this alone, they know where help is. And it means showing up in a non judge mental way and letting people know they're doing a good job.

Being a new parent or experiencing pregnancy loss or birth trauma can be a really challenging time and it's so common to need extra help or support during that time of your life. If that's you, know that you're not alone.

Across NSW, we've heard a similar message: connection and support matter. Whether it's a practical help, a conversation, checking in or simply being there or small acts of support can make a world of difference.

Perinatal Mental Health Week reminds us that while we all care deeply for newborn babies, we also need to hold the parent.

Supporting new parents to me means wrapping your arms around new parents and their families and little ones and making sure they have everything they need to thrive.

Before I became a member of Parliament, I was a midwife and I know that one in five mums and one in ten dads can experience anxiety and depression during pregnancy and after the birth of their baby.

I have a lifelong commitment to women's and Children's Health care. As a previous obstetrician and gynaecologist, I've seen that experience. I have a personal and family experience.

As a mum of a toddler expecting my second baby, I really do understand the importance of taking care of your mental health, particularly when you're in the thick of it with little ones and it's experiencing perinatal depression is actually a lot more common than what you think.

I'm pleased to lend my voice and support for Perinatal Mental Health Week, a course close to my heart and for so many people across our community.

Becoming a parent comes with a range of mixed emotions and sometimes we need support to navigate this Perinatal depression and anxiety effects one in five mothers and one in 10 fathers. That's around 100,000 Australian parents each year.

As a parent, I know that what was simultaneously the best time of my life was also one of the hardest things I've ever been through.

On Perinatal Mental Health Week, I want you to know that support is there. It's about family and friends, community support organizations and government agencies making sure that they're doing everything that they can to support new parents.

Having a baby is one of the most incredible things that you can experience, but it can also be really hard and that's why Perinatal Mental Health Week is so important, so that we can remind all new parents that they're not alone.

The truth is, nothing can really prepare you for parenthood. There are not enough books in the world that can prepare you for being in the trenches and raising a child.

This year's theme for Perinatal Mental Health Week, Hold the Parent, invites our whole community to care for parents with the same attention and tenderness they gave a newborn. Moving the responsibility from parents seeking help to people around them choosing to act and show them support.

Supporting new parents means really being there to hold them up, to hold them close, and to let them know that it's OK not to be OK.

When a newborn arrives, we've become very good at looking after the baby, but not as good at looking after the parents."

This year's theme for Perinatal Mental Health Week is to hold the parent. We need to check in on new parents and make it easier for them to access the support that they really need. Our new parents are just as precious as their babies. Well, I like to think so anyway. They bring them into the world, hold them in their hands, but we need to look after them too.

Bringing a child into the world is a wonderful thing, but it can also be really tough. We know that one in five moms and one in 10 dads can experience perinatal depression or anxiety on that journey.

Perinatal Depression affect over 100,000 Australians each year. It's the time from when you get pregnant to well after your baby is born, and it's a time when things stress you in a different way.

We can better hold and support parents by really wrapping around all families. That means we support dads to help new mums, we support grandparents to help their daughters in law or their daughters, and we just really help families manage that transition either into becoming first time parents or parents again.