The promotion of positive mental health for new mothers during Covid-19

ABSTRACT

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused increased hardship for new mothers and their young children. Increased isolation, lack of in-person doctor visits and decreased interaction within the community, has pregnant and postpartum women in need of additional support. Occupational therapists often work with infants and their mothers due to feeding concerns. Difficulty with early feeding adds additional stress on the mother–infant dyad relationship. This case study describes a mother’s traumatic experience giving birth during Covid-19 and the occupational therapy intervention provided to the mother–infant dyad. In order to improve outcomes for the mother and child with feeding concerns, this case study is a call to action for paediatric occupational therapy practitioners to include the promotion of positive mental health of mothers in their practice, particularly during the pandemic.

KEYWORDS:

• Covid-19
• occupational therapy
• infant–mother dyad
• maternal mental health
• infant mental health

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).