The HSE will run a free webinar at 11am on Tuesday next to offer support and guidance to new and expectant parents.
It is also open to grandparents and extended family members or friends that may be supporting someone who is expecting or has just had a baby.
Entitled "Covid-19: Looking after your emotional wellbeing during pregnancy and post-pregnancy", the event will explore common anxieties and sources of stress associated with having a baby during Covid-19.
It is being organised by the HSE West's primary care psychology service and will also offer practical and psychological support strategies to help parents best manage and care for themselves and their newborn.
The webinar will be delivered by two HSE senior clinical psychologists based in Community Healthcare West, Dr Jeananne Garavan and Dr Clare Thynne. Both professionals have extensive experience working with parents and families.
Dr Garavan who is based in the primary care services in Co Mayo acknowledges that Covid-19 has caused additional worry and anxiety for expectant parents as well as for those who have had babies during the pandemic.
“We are all living with changed circumstances due to Covid-19 but these can be particularly challenging for expectant parents and parents of newborns," she says.
"For example, they may not have the usual type of supports that they might have had in normal times and they may be understandably worried about their ability to cope. What we do in the webinar is to name some of these challenges and associated fears that are very common for all expectant and parents of newly born babies irrespective of Covid but which may now be all the more so given this difficult time we find ourselves living in. In response to such, we will describe some key practical and emotional support strategies so as to help the mams and dads and relevant caregivers look after themselves, each other, and their baby."
Prior to the pandemic, Dr Garavan delivered a similar talk for new and expectant parents in-person at various locations around Co Mayo. When social distancing restrictions came into effect, it was decided to move the talks online.
"People haven't stopped having babies because of the pandemic and it is vital that we continue to deliver our services and support in whatever way we can," she says. "We have run the webinar twice this year since the onset of the pandemic and we are delighted with the level of uptake and the feedback we received."
Dr Clare Thynne, a senior clinical psychologist who works in the primary care services in Galway believes that it is vitally important that new and expectant parents practise self-care and look after their psychological and emotional wellbeing.
Places need to be reserved in advance by emailing [email protected] no later than lunchtime on Monday September 28.
