I have been a registered nurse working in rural and remote communities since 2005. I have worked in Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut; Red Lake, Ontario; Prince Rupert and Bella Coola, BC; and now Bridgewater, Nova Scotia since 2012. I have worked in perinatal and emergency medicine my whole career and have a passion for improving health equity in rural communities.
I only became aware of the lack of awareness, inadequate screening, and inaccessible treatment of perinatal mental health disorders when I went through IVF, perinatal anxiety, and pregnancy loss. Taking part in training from Postpartum Support International allowed me to see that not only was treatment possible and accessible, but the solution could be provided by the RN.
This led me to create and pilot an RN Perinatal Mental Health Navigator role since 2022 that is paving the way to transform perinatal mental health care. It focuses on early screening, cost effective interventions, and collaboration to provide wholistic evidence-based care that can have widespread positive impacts for parents and infants.