Dateline went to Taiwan to meet the new parents spending their post-birth confinement month in a luxury hotel and in a traditional way, with the family. Does this ancient tradition with a modern twist give mum and baby a better start? Watch The Best Place to Have a Baby on Tuesday 20 August at 9.30pm on SBS or on .
The Best Place To Have A Baby?
Antonia (not her real name) prepared herself diligently for the birth of her first child, but she couldn’t anticipate how the experience would impact her mental health.
The 39-year-old of Filipino background wanted to prove to herself she was a great mother, but she felt worried and withdrawn.
“I thought I was physically and environmentally prepared for a baby. I had diligently read everything,” she told Dateline.
“What I didn’t do was prepare for how motherhood would affect my mental health. I became anxious, but no one ever knew. It didn’t feel like the maternal instinct came naturally for me.”
Antonia’s son was born prematurely and spent several weeks in neonatal care. Living in a small Australian country town, Antonia felt isolated.
To make things worse, asking for help didn’t come naturally to her, and her Filipino family had limited English.
“I masked my symptoms. I was scared and embarrassed,” she said.
Parents from multicultural backgrounds are at a higher risk of perinatal depression and anxiety. Source: Supplied
What is perinatal anxiety and depression?
Bec Schafer is the community and engagement manager at Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Australia, or PANDA, which operates a helpline for parents staffed by counsellors and volunteers.
— during pregnancy or within the first 12 months after birth — and these conditions present in several ways, Schafer explained.
A perinatal mental health condition refers to any mental health disorder occurring during pregnancy or within the first 12 months after birth. Source: SBS
“People present lots of different types of responses to depression, but it’s really well known as being about sadness and a lowered mood.”
PANDA says around one in five mothers and experience a form of perinatal depression or anxiety,
A perinatal mental health condition refers to any mental health disorder occurring during pregnancy or within the first 12 months after birth. Source: SBS
Schafer said minority communities face additional risks of perinatal anxiety and depression, and barriers to accessing safe and appropriate services.
This includes LGBTIQ+-parented families, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, and culturally and linguistically diverse families.
“About 8 per cent of our callers identify as culturally diverse. We also see that about 1 per cent of our website traffic is to the translated pages we have on our website,” Schafer told Dateline.
“We are really trying to focus on people who speak no English, or people who prefer to engage in mental health information in a language that they’re more comfortable with.”
A wide range of cultural practices
Parents from multicultural backgrounds are at a higher risk of perinatal mental health conditions, due to and a Western healthcare system that they may not be familiar with.
Some parents experience conflicts in cultural beliefs during their postpartum (the time after the baby is born) care.
Siew Lim, a senior research fellow in Health Systems and Equity at Monash University, said in many societies, childbirth is a sacred event and the postpartum period is characterised by rigid social norms and expectations, which are often shouldered by expectant mothers.
“They will have to make sense of these beliefs and navigate their way through within the local Australian culture and context, both in the community and with the health service,” Lim told Dateline.
“There might also be challenges implementing these practices due to the limited availability of the culture-specific resources such as traditional postpartum foods or a postpartum helper required for these observances.”
According to Lim, families from culturally diverse backgrounds adhere to their traditional postpartum practices to varying degrees in Australia.
“Some cultures such as Chinese and South Asian cultures have specific postpartum practices for the mother.”
In Chinese custom, husbands are not present during childbirth. There is also a period of confinement — known as zuo yue zi or ‘sitting the month’ — when the new mother will typically stay with her mother or mother-in-law for 30 days and must adhere to dietary and behavioural restrictions.
This time is designed to allow the new mother to restore her physical and mental health after childbirth, but even so, conflict can emerge between the new parents and their families on how to manage this period, Lim explained.
Her advice for new parents experiencing cultural conflicts during the perinatal period is to have frank conversations with healthcare providers and include their extended family as much as possible.
“Have an open conversation with your healthcare provider; a culturally responsive health service should be able to carry out such conversation with their patients,” she said.
‘I realised I was not alone’
Antonia eventually found support through PANDA’s mental health network.
“It took time to undo the high expectations I put on myself, but I am more compassionate and forgiving when things don’t go to plan, and I am quicker at recognising when I need support,” she said.
Looking back, Antonia is grateful she sought professional help.
“It made a significant difference to my mental health and my ability to raise the boys,” she said. “Having children was the biggest lifestyle change we’ve ever experienced.”
Antonia’s husband took the majority of the parental leave to reduce her chances of experiencing perinatal anxiety after the birth of their second child. Source: Supplied
When her second son was born, her husband took the majority of the parental leave to .
Antonia says she now realises motherhood is an ongoing learning journey.
“I often joked that I was waiting to birth an instruction manual. Seven years later and I am still waiting.”
Readers seeking support with perinatal mental health can contact Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Australia (PANDA) on 1300 726 306 or visit for more information.
They can also contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 or find resources at .
supports people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
