PANDA Knowledge

Position Statements

PANDA’s Position Statements articulate PANDA’s views and values around specific topics, issues and policies directly related to supporting the mental health of expecting and new parents and their families across Australia. Please note that our Position Statements are living, breathing documents that may be revised from time to time to reflect advances in knowledge, fresh understandings and new contexts.

• Perinatal Mental Health: Consumer Engagement
• Prevalence of Perinatal Mental Illness

Specialist Expertise

PANDA operates Australia’s only National Helpline that supports families affected by perinatal anxiety and depression and postnatal psychosis. Our daily contact with women, men and families affected by these illnesses gives us extraordinary insight into the complex rollercoaster journey experienced by many expecting and new many parents. We have developed a unique understanding of perinatal mental illness across the country and are committed to sharing this expertise to improve emotional and mental health outcomes for expecting and new parents and their children.

Submissions

PANDA takes seriously our commitment to amplify the voices of those who have experienced perinatal mental illness to influence government policy to effectively support people experiencing perinatal mental illness. We have made formal submissions to a number of Government inquiries including those below, with our submissions including direct input from our Community Champions and Community Education Volunteers.

• PANDA’s Submission to the Victorian Royal Commission into Mental Health
• PANDA’s Submission to the Productivity Commission Mental Health Inquiry

Reports

PANDA’s National Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Helpline has been operating since 2010. From the consistent and generous feedback from our callers we know we are making a difference every day to families. In 2018 with support from our fabulous partner Priceline Sisterhood Foundation we were able to work with SPP to put a financial value against this work. The Impact Assessment looked at the wide range of costs related to perinatal mental illness for both parents and babies to calculate the financial impact of PANDA’s work.

Impact Assessment Report for PANDA National