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Maternal Mental Health: Lessons from Sri Lanka
Suneth Agampodi
Thilini Agampodi
A presentation by Drs. Suneth and Thilini Agampodi, which highlights the status of maternal mental health in Sri Lanka and strategies that can be applied in many settings. Although Sri Lanka is on target to reach MDG 5, with impressive progress in maternal health indicators, maternal mental health remains a neglected aspect of care. This is evidenced by a postpartum depression rate of 27.1% and suicide making up 18% of maternal deaths in a single province. Several studies by Drs. Agampodi are presented in this video, which cover prevalence of prenatal and postpartum depression, successful programs, high rates of pregnancy-related suicide and self-harm, and next steps moving forward.