New perinatal health course for nurses and pregnant women

Exterior view of Madras School Of Social Work, Egmore. File | Image credit: The Hindu

A novel course will soon help nurses, new mothers and pregnant women prepare for the physiological and psychological changes they go through during a very important period of their lives.

The Madras School of Social Work (MSSW), in collaboration with non-governmental organisation Thunai Trust, has proposed to offer a one-year postgraduate diploma course in perinatal health this semester. The course will begin from September 20, said MSSW Dean R. Subashini.

The personal experience of Thunai Trust founder Girish Kumar shaped the idea. “Thunai's core area is mental health. One in four women suffers from perinatal depression,” he said.

“A disturbing part”

The course will also address a little-discussed but distressing aspect of growing up – coping with child abuse. This applies to both men and women, he explained. “We will have faculty and talent from all over the world teaching students, and MSSW faculty will be running interactive classes,” he said.

The course is being offered in hybrid mode and is aimed at community health workers. Thunai is working with Railway Hospital, a private fertility clinic, and the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology, where its volunteers are conducting awareness sessions for mothers. Students will undergo practical training in hospitals, Mr Kumar said.

More about psychology

“The aim is to train professionals even if they do not have a psychology background,” said Smita Rajan, co-founder and in-charge of programs and outreach at the NGO. “The perinatal period begins when the baby is in the womb and continues until the child is two years old. The program is aimed at medical-social workers. A large part of the course is on psychology and those without a psychology background are given a bridging course. The course content combines the physiological and psychological aspects of human development with regard to mental health,” she added.

The course includes 100 hours (about eight days) of theory, with lectures by representatives of the World Health Organization. The course content was developed with the assistance of VD Swaminathan, an emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Madras. Mr Swaminathan said that at one point in time, most of his PhD students were women, and this got him thinking. The opportunity presented itself when he was invited to contribute his expertise in developing the curriculum.

Ms Subashini, the former Head of the Department of Psychology at MSSW, has a special interest in the course as it relates to psychology. The diploma would enrich the learning experience of adults who are pursuing careers and need to enhance their knowledge and skills, she explained. “At the end of the course, the candidate will have knowledge of perinatal stress, risk factors, causes and their wide-ranging impact on the health and well-being of the mother and child.”