5 highly successful working mothers share their wisdom

Today we thought we'd provide some inspiration from 5 high profile working mothers (as featured in Women's Agenda) who've managed to raise a family while paving a formidable path in their chosen career.

These women have shared personal stories of the challenges they've faced in making the juggling act work, as well as the lessons they've learned along the way. 

We hope you enjoy!

Imelda Roche



Entrepreneur Imelda Roche AO is a successful businesswoman who founded Nutrimetics in 1968 when three of her children were under the age of five.

Her most valuable advice she picked up from her grandmother (and the person she credits as being her mentor). Her grandmother taught her that she could do whatever she wanted if she was really dedicated and focused enough: "If it's to be, it's up to me. It's not for somebody else to do it for you. You're in charge of your own life."

This mantra was also integral in identifying priorities, and determining which domestic responsibilities really matter and which can be outsourced. Roche also advised that women shouldn't be afraid to pay for help.

"The priority is not doing the cleaning. Just as long as they know that you're there for the events that are important."

Tanya Plibersek



Now deputy leader of the Opposition, Tanya Plibersek's successfully progressed her political career while raising three young children at the same time.

She recently sat down with Women's Agenda to share her thoughts on a number of topics, including how she juggles being a working mum while managing a highly demanding political career.

Although she conceded that she's had some uniquely fortunate circumstances thanks to her capacity to set her own hours and be her "own boss", she believes her children "undoubtedly" benefit from her career because they see evidence that their parents are passionate about what they do.

Tara Moss



Tara Moss has written and published seven crime novels in 17 countries. She's ambassador for the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children, a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and UNICEF Patron for Breastfeeding for the Baby Friendly Heath Initiative and mother of two.

With that kind of jam-packed schedule, her advice for working mothers is simple: Make no apologies.

"You can't be two places at once. Once you (or you and your loved ones, if you have a family) decide what needs to be done, make no apologies, whether that means being an artist or a banker, a stay at home parent or a full time career woman. Follow your passion."

Ann Sherry

When Ann Sherry was inducted into the NAB Women's Agenda leadership hall of fame, we recognised not only the numerous glass ceilings she's cracked throughout her impressive career, but her work in paving the way for paid parental leave to become a reality for working mothers in corporate Australia.

The Carnival CEO became a mother to her now adult son at 21 and understands the reality of being a working mother. She has said that becoming a young parent to a son with special needs did not deter her from seeking out a career, but instead pushed her and her husband to find ways to make it work for them. "I wanted to work so I wasn't going to stay at home. I'm not a stay-at-home kind of mother anyway. So we made it all work around us."

While forging her impressive career trajectory, she credits much of what she's achieved with having a solid home base. "I needed a hug by the time I got home and I got it. I then needed to be alone and they left me alone," she said, regarding a particularly difficult day . "Domestically, it's so important that I have a solid base."

Elizabeth Proust

The Nestle chairman and company director has proudly declared that she doesn't cook.

Sick of hearing the conversation revolve around women's ability to "have it all", Proust has instead advised women to forget the debate, quit trying to do it all and learn to ask for help instead ... or get your partner to learn how to cook.

She's also spoken of the importance of having a supportive partner in helping her career success. "If my husband hadn't helped – more than helped – raise our daughter and do domestic tasks, I would not have been able to do what I have been able to do."

Source: Women's Agenda

First published: 9th May 2014

5 ways my manager makes flexibility work for me

When I returned to my corporate job after maternity leave I learned very quickly that I could not sustain my pre-baby working hours. It has taken me a year to find a work/life/baby balance that works for me and my manager.

For the last few years my corporate job scope has been global and always-urgent. Before baby, I was able to handle being online 24-7 through strategically taking down-time at opportune moments. I did a good job of managing my energy levels and work/life balance, but was essentially always-on and always working with occasional moments of distraction or downtime.

I thought this work/life balance blueprint would work perfectly for a working mum. Not so much. With a full-time job and a beautiful baby to love and adore, I no longer had time for me. And I very quickly fell into a heap of exhaustion, and soon after, depression. This was a good catalyst to seek an alternative arrangement.

I loved my job and did not want to give it up. So I did something I found really difficult and asked my manager for more formal flexibility in my work schedule. The outcome of our conversations was an agreement that I would find specific chunks of time throughout the week to spend with the baby, and specific chunks of time for my own pursuits. I would block that time in my calendar and manage the expectations of people I worked with as needed. I would remain committed to the same deliverables, receive the same salary, but I would work on a compressed schedule that involved working from home once a week.

Here's how and why that works for me and my manager:

• My manager doesn't care where or when I get my work done. I work from home consistently on Fridays. And when I say work from home, I mean work from home. My manager doesn't even flinch if I dial into a team meeting rather than show up physically. The reality is that I can get more done when I am heads down in my home office.
• My manager is clear on her expectations. If a deliverable is urgent, or if a new deliverable crops up over the weekend or in the evening, she lets me know immediately. This allows me to negotiate my time fairly - if a fire is burning on a project, then I know to drop my other priorities to help put it out. Inversely, if something isn't urgent, but important, she lets me know so that I can prioritize accordingly. She also makes it clear which meetings are optional.
• My manager provides real-time feedback. If I am over-doing something, or under-prioritizing something, she lets me know. It is so refreshing to have a manager tell you to back-off, relax a bit and not get too passionate about a project! I also trust that she will let me know if it is ever a problem that I am not physically present at a meeting, or to let me know if I need to be more visible in the office at any point.
• My manager demonstrates care and concern for me and my baby. When I tell her that I am taking the baby to a music class on Wednesday morning, she smiles and tells me to have a great time. She asks how the baby is doing, and seems genuinely interested in the occasional story I tell on a new development milestone or cute moment. If the baby comes into the office to visit, she will indulge her with cuddles and conversation. The photos I have of them together are beautiful and inspiring.
• My manager trusts me and has high expectations. I often re-visit my work schedule and routine with her to ensure that it is still working for both of us. I am blatantly transparent about the fact that when I am 'off' (doing baby stuff, or mummy stuff) that I am really 'off'. She knows that I am available via phone if anything urgent comes up, and knows I will pick up the phone. She also knows that I don't miss deadlines, and I carry my weight.

All of these things probably seem completely obvious, logical and rational, but for me, the more explicit we can be on these things the less stressed and guilty I feel for going offline for a couple of hours. Needless to say, I am completely loyal to this woman and am incredibly happy. If she needs anything from me, at any time, I will do it for her.

What does your manager do for you to help you achieve work/life/baby balance? 

Does that make you more loyal to your organisation?

By: Blair Fillingham
Originally posted: 29 April 2014
Source: Women's Agenda

Is there such a thing as a fair and viable Paid Parental Leave Scheme?

Paid parental leave is a hot topic this week. Tony Abbott is proposing a new policy. It may look good on the outside to many working parents but what does it really mean?

We’ve put together this blog to collate a few thoughts and collect a few more from those who are affected most – you, our readers. It’s an issue we all need to be aware of because whether you’re a business owner, single worker or stay-at-home parent you will be impacted by the scheme.


What the Coalition’s Selling 

• Based on a replacement wage, rather than the minimum wage.
• Mothers are entitled to six months (26 weeks) leave based on their actual wage or the national minimum wage (whichever is greater).
• Includes superannuation payments.
• Payment amounts are capped (revised this week) at the $100,000 salary level meaning women earning over this amount would receive no more than $50,000 in their 6 month maternity leave. 
• Fathers will be eligible for two out of the 26 weeks for dedicated paternity leave at their actual wage or the national minimum wage (whichever is greater) plus superannuation. 
• Fathers can also be nominated as the primary carers meaning the 26 weeks can be divided by both parents. 
• Employees will be paid directly by the Commonwealth Government (Family Assistance Office) not via their employer. 
• Estimated to cost $5.5 billion.
• It will be funded by a 1.5 per cent levy on companies with taxable incomes in excess of $5 million 
• Commences 1 July 2015

The Risks

The policy has been viewed by some as having an “anti-working-women sentiment”.

Why is this? There are some potential long-term economic risks and social consequences we need to think about. These are:

• It removes employer involvement with paid parental leave.
• Provides incentive for employers to keep female employee income below the $100,000 threshold. 
• Encourages women to stay at home and disengage with the workforce (especially those on salaries just below the threshold). 
• Administering paid parental leave directly from Centrelink sends a message that this is a welfare payment rather than an employee entitlement or business process.

“Many PPL 'dissenters' don't object to paid parental leave in general. They disagree that this particular scheme is the most cost-effective way to meet the objective of helping more women return to work after they have children. The Productivity Commission here, and similar bodies around the world, determined that once a minimum paid parental leave policy is in place, childcare is the real lever in terms of facilitating the return of mothers to the workforce. A more generous PPL, like the Coalition's, will not increase women's participation at work, and thus national productivity, the same way that an investment in childcare would.” Georgina Dent, Editor, Women’s Agenda.

The Latest News (as of May 2, 2014)

Tony Abbott has confirmed he has decided to lower the cap from his preferred $150,000 annual wage to $100,000.

The Federal Government’s Commission of Audit made 86 recommendations to reign in the budget – one of these being to lower the Coalition’s paid parental leave scheme salary cap to average week earnings (currently $57,460) rather than pay the actual or minimum wage (whichever is higher). The idea is to use savings for expanded childcare payments. 

Tell us what you think?

Do you forsee any other fallouts or risks?

What are your suggestions for a fair and viable Paid Parental Leave Scheme?

___________________________________________________________

References:

ABC News, COAG: Premiers, chief ministers meet in Canberra following Commission of Audit release, viewed, 2.5.14 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-02/premiers-to-attend-coag-meeting-in-canberra/5424964?WT.mc_id=newsmail

Liberal Party Website, The Coalition’s Policy for Paid Parental Leave, Payment amounts are capped at the $150,000 salary level, viewed 2.5.14 http://lpaweb-static.s3.amazonaws.com/The%20Coalition’s%20Policy%20for%20Paid%20Parental%20Leave.pdf

Women’s Agenda, Parental leave could become the Liberal's Mining Tax, viewed 2.5.14 http://www.womensagenda.com.au/talking-about/opinions/parental-leave-could-become-the-liberal-s-mining-tax/201405023950#.U2L1c_21wpE

Women’s Agenda, We need to talk about paid parental leave in detail, viewed 2.5.14, http://www.womensagenda.com.au/talking-about/opinions/we-need-to-talk-about-paid-parental-leave-in-detail/201404293938#.U2L2lv21wpE

Looking for benefits? Then stay in work

If ever a reminder was needed of how little society values the women’s work of mothering, there it is.

Buried in a recent New York Times education supplement was a chirpy feature entitled Getting Women Back Into the Game. It reported that big US law firms and banks were offering special programs to women who want to re-enter the workforce after years out of it – years spent mothering. These programs were given the perky moniker of ‘‘ mumternships’’.

It’s hard to think of a more hideous Americanism, or a more patronising term – it defines a woman’s place in the workplace entirely in reference to her status as a ‘‘ mum’’.

But the main problem with the ‘‘ mumternship’ ’ was in the fine print. One of the programs, which four major firms had signed up to, offered women returning to the workplace one-year jobs with a salary of $125,000.

‘‘ While the salary is lower than the typical $160,000 paid to associates just out of law school,’’ the article read, ‘‘ the hope is that fellows will be offered permanent positions at the end of a year.’’

If ever a reminder was needed of how little society values the women’s work of mothering, there it is.

Get a good degree, rise quickly in your profession, take time out to raise the next generation, and when you come back? Sorry, princess. The corner office is taken and you’re now earning less than 80 per cent of the salary of the hipster graduate who just bought his/her first suit. Oh, and you have no job security.

‘‘ Mumternship’ ’ is one answer to a very middle-class problem – highly qualified career women who leave the workforce for several years to devote themselves to mothering and find it difficult to regain a foothold in it.

Another New York Times article, published last year, provided a fascinating study of this phenomenon. A journalist went back and re-interviewed a group of women who, a decade previously, had spoken proudly about how they were leaving their high-powered jobs and empowering themselves as full-time mothers and home-managers .

Nearly a decade and a global financial crisis later, and the results of this social experiment were mixed.

Some women had divorced and were substantially poorer than before. Others had suffered psychologically because of the changed power dynamic in their relationships with their husbands . Some had low self-esteem and were bored. Others had found lower paid jobs. Some had husbands who resented them for not contributing to household finances for so long.

Most women (and a good many men) would kill to have the problems these mothers do. Being able to opt out of work for any extended period is a luxury not many of us have.

But the article exposed a fault-line in the battle for gender equity – despite feminism supposedly being about offering women greater lifestyle choice, the immutable reality is that women must do salaried work well into old age if they want to even broach equality with men.

Age Discrimination Commissioner Susan Ryan says on average women retire with about half the retirement savings men do, and they live longer. Why should we care? Because the less super women have, the more likely they are to rely on the aged pension, and the blow-out in the aged pension is something we need to watch.

Despite pre-budget focus on the Disability Support Pension, and the affordability of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, the old-aged pension costs the taxpayer double what the DSP does, and is growing faster.

When it comes to women and superannuation , Prime Minister Tony Abbott is giving with one hand and taking with the other. While Abbott’s paid parental leave scheme will include superannuation payments, unlike the current Labor-created scheme, the Prime Minister has also pledged to repeal the low income superannuation contribution.

Under this Labor policy, the government tips up to $500 directly into the super accounts of people on incomes of $37,000 or less. These low-paid workers are largely women. The government says the spending was linked to the mining tax, and given the tax’s revenue has fallen catastrophically short of projections , we can no longer afford it.

At the moment, women tend to retire earlier than men, perhaps to keep company with their husbands (who tend to be a little older). But Ryan says that ‘‘ the most important thing that women can do to keep up their super is keep on working’’ .

She welcomes the fact we have a government that is preparing the public for the prospect that future generations will have to work longer. The cultural mood is one of workforce participation – getting women back into the workforce after children, having people work longer, and getting the physically disabled and mentally ill working when and where they can.

Governments are slowly catching up with the cultural change but policy still lags. Childcare is too expensive, super tax breaks are skewed to the rich and not enough is being done to address the gender pay gap. The next battlegrounds are the bias against older workers, and the unpaid work of carers.

It could be that productivity would improve if many of the women who currently work as unpaid carers entered the workforce and paid someone else, someone who specialises in ‘‘ caring’’ , to do their at-home work.

Former prime minister Julia Gillard liked to talk about the ‘‘ benefits and dignity of work’’ . It was a phrase my colleagues and I used to lightly mock (’’Feeling the benefits and dignity of work today, mate?’’ as someone shouts at their crashed computer). But she had a point.

The dignity of one’s work may be questionable at times, but its benefits seldom are.

By: Jacqueline Maley
Originally printed: 5 April 2014
Source: Sydney Morning Herald Digital Edition

Stand up Australia. Our working mums and dads deserve better – 1 in 2 mothers and 1 in 4 fathers experience discrimination in the workplace

An astounding and worrying statistic emerged last week from the National Survey conducted as part of the Pregnancy and Return to Work National Review. 1 in 2 mothers and 1 in 4 fathers experience discrimination in the workplace.

Equally astonishing is the perceived lack of outrage expressed in the media – in fact, there's been barely any follow up after the initial headlines aired in the mainstream news. Why is this?

If we follow recent history of discrimination faced by footballers on the field or other media personalities, the news coverage for the story can last for days until the perpetrator is named and shamed. Shaming here isn't the point (awareness and change are) but it does highlight how inconsistent our values and standards can be. Ordinary mums and dads face discrimination every day – at a stage in their lives when many are vulnerable both emotionally and financially. These parents are expected to juggle it all and suffer in silence as they raise our next economy-boosting generation and future leaders (who will, let's not forget, be tackling our looming aged care crisis).

This issue is far too important to be dropped – the silence must be lifted which is why it's imperative we make the statistics count while they are fresh.

So, to reiterate – 50% of today’s mothers are experiencing workplace discrimination. These aren't mothers from two generations ago, when awareness was low and laws were non-existent. This is happening right now. For fathers the figure sits at 27% (also astounding considering the majority take less than 4 weeks for parental leave).

The survey

The Review included an Australia-wide national consultation process and two national surveys. One survey looks at women's perceived experiences of discrimination in the workplace as a result of their pregnancy, request for or taking of parental leave, and their return to work following parental leave. The second survey looked at experiences of fathers and partners that have taken time off work to care for their child under the 'Dad and Partner Pay' scheme

Findings

The most commonly reported discrimination for mothers occurred during:

• Return to work (35%)
• Requesting or on parental leave (32%)
• During pregnancy (27%)

For fathers:

• During parental leave (20%)
• Return to work (17%)

The Review found the following forms of discrimination most prevalent:

• Negative attitudes and comments about breastfeeding or working part-time or flexibly
• Being denied requests to work flexibly
• Threatened with or experienced dismissal or redundancy 
• Reductions in salary
• Missing out on training and professional development
• Missed promotional opportunities 
• Health and safety related discrimination

The impact on parents

The Review found that 84% of mothers experienced a significant negative impact on one or more of the following:

• Mental health (increased stress, reduced confidence and self-esteem)
• Physical health
• Career and job opportunities
• Financial stability 
• Families

Specifically 42% of women reported that the discrimination had a financial impact on them and 41% felt it impacted on their career and job opportunities. Many women either left the workforce altogether or changed employer due to the discrimination.

For fathers 61% reported a negative impact on their mental health, 42% reported that it had a negative impact on their families and 37% said that this had a negative financial impact.

The impact on organisations

Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Elizabeth Broderick comments: "The major conclusion we can draw from this data, is that discrimination has a cost – to women, their families, to business and to the Australian economy and society as a whole."

The sad fact is the majority of women who experience discrimination do not make a formal complaint (only 8% made a formal complaint within their organisation) resulting in a third of women looking for another job or resigning.

This doesn’t just impact on families but also employers who lose valuable talent, sometimes without a full understanding of why. If productivity efficiency and employee retention are primary goals it makes good business sense for organisations to get on board early with addressing parent related discrimination.

Though the evidence may point out how far we have to go on this issue Commissioner Broderick also emphasized that during the consultations there were a number of employers already implementing ‘dynamic and leading strategies to overcome the challenges and support employees’.

Whilst it's crucial to recognise the costs and inefficiencies of discrimination it's also important to learn from those organisations doing the right thing.

Lochiel Crafter, Senior Managing Director, State Street Global Advisors comments: "State Street is committed to supporting women and working parents in the workplace; we believe that maintaining a culture of diversity and inclusion is key to helping our employees feel valued and our business succeed. This training demonstrates our commitment to retaining and developing our people by providing parents returning to work with all of the information and support they need to excel in their roles." 

The good news is, now that we have the evidence to support what’s happening in Australian workplaces, employers can create tighter strategies and lead the way with more enlightened practices to help reduce the occurrence and impact of discrimination. What’s more, we can use these findings to hone in on the organisations doing the right thing and hold them up as an example of best practice to help guide and inspire others to do the same.

What can be done? 

Best practice organisations are talking, they are implementing family friendly policies and practices, and they are conscientiously starting to shift the negative cultural influences around the issue.

It’s those proactive organisations we celebrate at Parents@Work (sister organisation to Mums@Work) and we’d love to hear more about those doing their best to reduce discrimination – send us a comment and we’ll share your brilliance here.

In the meantime here are our top tips on how to create a family friendly workplace free from discrimination:

• Get your WGEA Gender Equality Indicators right 
• Audit your family friendly and flexible work practices 
• Embrace flexible work
• Provide access to career and work-life balance coaching
• Create a parents program

For another 5 tips - get your free e-book ‘10 Tips to Creating a Family Friendly Flexible Workplace’ (click on the red button ‘Subscribe + Free E-book’)

The Review’s findings highlight why Parents@Work do what we do. Balancing a career with starting a family can be one of, if not, the most challenging balancing acts a working parent faces. To make it work parents need the support of their employer and colleagues. Thankfully, there are resources – like the Parents@Work Portal™ – and educational sessions – like the Career After Kids Forum – that can help organisations, managers and parents prepare and navigate the most challenging transitions.

Click on the relevant link for more information on the Parents@Work Program, Parents@Work Portal™ or Career After Kids Forum.

For the initial report visit the Human Rights Commission website.

A final report and recommendations of the National Review will be released by mid 2014.

We hope you'll join us in our endeavour to advocate and push for change to create more family friendly and discrimination free workplaces.

How to be an executive director in your thirties

Taking on a senior position as a young woman can be a daunting experience, especially when you are in a male dominated industry. To be successful, young executives need to be confident in their abilities, not worry if they say the wrong thing and learn from mistakes along the way.

Speaking from experience, I wouldn't be the executive director of three companies at age 36 without having jumped in head first and not worrying about my age or gender as a barrier.

Below's what I've learnt about being a young female executive.

Speak up when you know the answer

Often younger women don't have the confidence to speak up in a meeting and voice their opinions. I remember all too well being in my early twenties, sitting in meetings too scared to take a sip of my coffee, let alone contribute to a conversation! So many times I would listen to observations made by the senior executives in the room that matched my own thinking, yet I was too scared to speak up and have a role.

All you need is two ears and one mouth

What holds most women back is confidence. When you're young, you can fall into the trap of feeling like you need to prove yourself all the time. You don't. You've been put into the position you're in because you have talent and experience – people believe you can fulfil the requirements of the position. While you make your thoughts and perspective known, always remember to take on board advice from those around you. A famous quote from the Dalai Lama is: "To only talk and not listen means you'll only ever know what you already know".

When forging a career, it's important to stick to your own path, not take things personally and find someone you trust in your workplace. That someone can help when you're frustrated and need to vent without having to gossip. One of the worst things, male or female, is to get caught up in gossip. It destroys your confidence, ideas and opportunities.

Knowledge grows confidence

It's certainly not easy wearing multiple hats and working in different organisations. However, I enjoy the diversity within each of my roles and recommend all young women review where they can take their knowledge and enthusiasm, and apply it to multiple professional opportunities.

This may sound obvious, but knowledge grows confidence. By building your knowledge, expertise and experience, confidence naturally follows. Don't let a knowledge gap hold you back. Identify what the knowledge gap is and work on it.

Another way to grow your professional career is to enlist the help of a mentor. I have been very privileged to work with some amazing people in my life and I have had several mentors throughout my career. Some have been clients, line managers, CEOs, COOs and suppliers but all have been inspiring and taught me many useful things. I see myself as a sponge and when I see someone I respect; I watch and learn as much as I can while I have the chance to work with them.

As for famous mentors, people I have read and learnt from include Ita Buttrose – a lady in every sense of the word with a determination to succeed that is inspiring – and Sydney Poitier, whose journey before he got into film is incredible and whose calm, considered approach to adversity is admirable.

Having mentors and learning from them really helped me throughout my career. I urge every woman to have a mentor, regardless of their life stage because they can give you that confidence boost to get to the next level.

By: Kellie Northwood 

4 April 2014

Source: Women's Agenda

$535 million/year is how much Australia could pay if we let perinatal depression go untreated

Perinatal depression is a silent killer and is the greatest single cause of maternal death, yet it is rarely spoken of in anything other than hushed tones.

As many as one in seven new mothers in Australia develops depression during the perinatal period, which takes in the five months before a baby is born, and one month after.

On top of the emotional toll, the illness also comes with an economic cost.

A new report obtained by ABC's 7.30 estimates the cost of leaving the perinatal illness untreated at $535 million a year - and that funding is in jeopardy.

Dean Litis knows only too well about the devastating effect of perinatal depression.

His wife Louise struggled with post-natal depression after the birth of their first son, Sam. She got through it, and three years later, they had another boy, Charlie, but the illness soon struck again.

"She was really hard on herself. She thought she should be better," Mr Litis said.

"That [as] a mum she should be able to cope with two children, but she simply couldn't at that stage."

Ms Litis became so ill she was admitted to hospital.

"Charlie was five months old. She was only there for about four days, I think, before she took her own life."

The Litis' experience is shockingly common.

Depression affects one in seven new mothers in Australia

Suicide linked to depression and anxiety takes the lives of more new mothers in Australia than anything else.

Psychologist Shikkiah de Quadros-Wander works at the Tweddle Clinic for mothers and babies in suburban Melbourne, trying to catch new mums and dads before they become seriously ill.

She often wishes that people would come and see her sooner.

"There will be families who come here and they don't have babies, they have toddlers, and they have been experiencing these things for 18 months plus," she said.

"The word failure comes up a lot.

"Crying a lot, crying at anything and withdrawing socially and hiding. There's a lot that's hidden.

"Hiding how they're feeling from people around them who seem to be doing really well or enjoying every minute.

"And then, of course, there are the siblings as well, who are already in that family and feeling like they don't really have the room or the emotional energy to manage."

Federal funding of mental health services in review

The Tweddle Clinic assesses 1,000 parents for perinatal mental illness each year and, crucially, links them to treatment.

That screening service along with many others is in jeopardy.

Until June last year, state and federal governments funded the National Perinatal Depression Initiative.

The $85 million, five-year program helped screen tens of thousands of new mums and dads for depression and anxiety, and fund treatment and education for medical professionals.

However, wrangling between the states and the Commonwealth over a new round of funding has cast doubt over the program.

Now they are waiting for the results of a review into federal funding of mental health services to learn whether the initiative will continue.

"It's a crying shame that the momentum that we had harnessed over five years is slowly dwindling away," said Nicole Highet, the executive director of the Centre of Perinatal Excellence.

"It's slowly dissipating, in some states more than others.

"It potentially means that women won't be screened, so they won't be assessed and identified.

"It can potentially mean that women won't have access to available treatments, and it could mean that the level of death and disability increases as a result."

The Centre of Perinatal Excellence commissioned an analysis from Price Waterhouse Coopers of the economic costs of not identifying and treating maternal mental illness.

It estimates that if all treatment for perinatal depression and anxiety stopped, it would cost Australia $535 million a year in projected health costs for parents and babies and lost productivity.

Maternal depression affects future mental health of children 

Professor Pat McGorry, a former Australian of the year, says his work with mentally ill teenagers would be vastly reduced if maternal depression was better identified and treated earlier.

"Mental health is underfunded across the board so we've got to spend the money wisely, so this is a great preventative opportunity," he said.

"It affects two people, not one. It interferes with the attachment and the future mental health of that child.

"So it's a vital area that we must screen for and invest in proper care around this period."

Stacey Noble knows first-hand how easy it is to slip through the cracks of the maternal health system.

"I saw the maternal and child health care nurse three times; I had a home visit and two centre visit," she said.

"The nurses were very good with the baby, they'd check the baby's weight, how it was feeding and sleeping and those things.

"The focus was very much on the baby and nothing about how I was doing."

After months of crippling depression and anxiety she eventually admitted herself to hospital where medication helped her recover.

For Mr Litis and his boys, even though life has moved on to happier times, there can never be a full recovery from losing their wife and mother, Louise.

"It's still a struggle some days but there's nothing like two young children to keep you going," Dean said.

"They bring me so much happiness and joy. They're just beautiful kids, and I'm sure Lou would be so proud of them.

"She had a really strong sense of family, and I thought she'd be a really great mum. And she was. She just didn't realise that herself."

By Madeleine Morris
2 April 2014

Source: ABC News Online

If you, or anyone you know, feels they are at risk of perinatal depression please visit your GP as soon as possible. The Gidget Foundation is also an excellent source of information and advocate for perinatal anxiety and depression so please visit their website for an extensive list of resources.