PAM launches Perinatal Mental Health Training

The PAM Foundation’s aim is for all women across Thailand to have access to quality care and support for their mental health during and in the year after their pregnancy.

We are therefore proud to announce a major step forward in that goal with a new perinatal mental health course at Thailand’s leading teaching hospital for medical professionals who encounter new parents.

The new training program is a first step on a very long journey. Like many countries, Thailand does not yet have well-defined care pathways for the detection and treatment of maternal mental health issues, even though they impact up to one in five mothers.

Non-specialist clinical staff are not trained to recognise and handle maternal mental health cases, and specialist services are practically inaccessible to most of the population. ​There are essentially no multidisciplinary care teams (consisting of psychiatrists, paediatricians, obstetrics) for perinatal mental health​ and no dedicated mother-baby units​, which are essential for severe cases of postpartum depression.

This is why the PAM Foundation has funded the creation of a world class maternal mental health training program, bringing together an international team of expert perinatal psychiatrists and psychologists to create the curriculum.

The first course was delivered via Thailand’s premier teaching hospital, Siriraj Hospital, to 20 Thai medical professionals, with support from Postpartum Support International (PSI) and Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health.