Perinatal Mental Health Care: A Critical Review of Policy in One Australian State

Perinatal mental health conditions in the first year after birth are common and associated with adverse parental and infant outcomes. Parents of infants admitted to hospital during the perinatal period are at increased risk of developing perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. However, the integration of perinatal mental health care within neonatal and paediatric settings remains unclear. This critical review examined Australian national and Victorian policies, clinical guidelines, and professional position statements to determine the extent to which neonatal and paediatric hospital admissions were considered. The Ready, Extract, Analyse, Distil (READ) approach informed document selection and analysis. Eight documents were reviewed. Only one document briefly considered perinatal mental health screening or support during Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) admissions, but broader consideration of neonatal and paediatric admissions was limited. Additional findings included limited consideration of nonbirthing parents, limited guidance regarding workforce roles and responsibilities, and inconsistent currency and alignment across state-based documents. Overall, the findings highlight limited policy guidance for supporting parent perinatal mental health during neonatal and paediatric hospital admissions and opportunities to better integrate care across adult and paediatric healthcare systems. As social workers work across both systems, they are well positioned to contribute to future policy development, advocacy, and integrated, family-centred care. IMPLICATIONSCurrent Australian national and Victorian perinatal mental health policies provide limited consideration of parental mental health during neonatal and paediatric hospital admissions.The reviewed documents provided minimal guidance regarding the role of social workers in responding to parental mental health concerns during infant hospital admissions.Social workers in the acute paediatric setting are well placed to influence policy and practice change.