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Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE)

@cope.org.au

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COPE is dedicated to supporting the emotional & mental health of hopeful, expectant & new parents.

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COPE would like to invite you to share your experience of parenthood 💜

Your voice could help another parent feel less alone, contribute to media, policy and advocacy, or help health leaders and decisionmakers better understand what parents and families need.

Experiences take many forms: anxiety or low mood, overwhelm, intrusive thoughts, a difficult or traumatic birth, pregnancy or baby loss, body image concerns, loneliness, or simply a period when you knew you weren't quite yourself. You don't need a formal diagnosis or to have accessed support.

We'd particularly love to hear from people who:
-completed a digital screening tool during pregnancy or after birth, such as iCOPE;
-used Ready to COPE for information and support; or
-used the COPE Directory to find a health professional or service.

Your experience doesn’t need to be one where everything worked. What was missed, what was difficult to access, or what you wish had happened differently can be just as valuable.

You can contribute in many ways, from policy and advocacy to media, events or written content. There's never any obligation to take part, and you stay in control of what you share.

Register your interest - Link is in our bio and stories. by @cope.org.au

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16 days ago

COPE is dedicated to supporting the emotional wellbeing and mental health of hopeful, expectant and new parents.

The National Guideline for Mental Health Care in the Perinatal Period was commissioned by the Commonwealth Government of Australia and developed by an Expert Working Group with representatives from professional bodies in primary, maternity, postnatal and mental health care.

Learn more: 🔗https://www.cope.org.au/health-professionals/national-perinatal-mental-health-guideline

Perinatal mental health screening for parents during pregnancy and after having a baby is vital to help identify mental and emotional health risks and ensure early intervention.

COPE developed iCOPE 2.0 – a world first digital screening platform to assess for symptoms of depression and anxiety and gauges psychosocial risk factors, ensuring every expectant and new parent is provided with the right information and access to support for their mental health at this vulnerable life-stage.

iCOPE ensures 100% accuracy in scoring, provides automated tailored clinician and patient reports and resources, and facilitates efficient and cost-effective private screening. Referral pathways are also built-in to ensure clients have ongoing access to information and support.

Learn more about best practice in digital screening: 🔗icope.org.au

Ready to COPE offers every expectant and new parent free evidence-based information on their emotional and mental wellbeing throughout pregnancy and the first year following birth.

Delivered as a free weekly update and underpinned by best practice, each edition is tailored to the individual’s unique stage - with links to further resources, wellbeing self-checks, fact sheets, and pathways to additional support.

Curated versions are available for mothers and fathers with special editions for First Nations parents, those expecting multiples, experiencing Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG), and for solo parents.

Learn more: 🔗readytocope.org.au

The COPE Directory helps parents and referring health professionals identify timely, appropriately qualified professionals throughout Australia, with experience in perinatal mental health (pregnancy, postpartum, by @cope.org.au

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a month ago

We love receiving feedback from parents about Ready to COPE. 🤍

COPE created this free weekly guide to help support and reassure every parent through the changes and challenges of pregnancy and early parenthood.

Enter your baby’s due date or date of birth, and the Ready to COPE guide will follow you throughout your journey - delivering helpful insights, information and resources when you need it most.

Feel prepared and reassured at every stage of pregnancy and your first year of parenting with Ready to COPE.

🔗 Sign up free at readytocope.org.au - or via the link in our bio. by @cope.org.au

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5 months ago

Adjusting to life as a new parent is a huge shift, and nothing quite prepares you for it. So, these are your everyday reminders for early parenthood.

Swipe through, save them for the hard days, or send them to a friend who needs them today. 💜 by @cope.org.au

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3 days ago

🤍

For support with grief and loss, search the COPE Directory to locate trusted help near you 🔗http://directory.cope.org.au (link is in our bio).

Beautiful words by Jamie Anderson. by @cope.org.au

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4 days ago

Tonight at 7pm, wherever you are, light a candle 🕯️

Today is International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day.

As 7pm arrives in each time zone, candles are lit around the world in memory of babies gone too soon. This wave of light travels across the world, and for 24 hours, that light never goes out. ✨

To every parent, family member and friend carrying loss, whatever form it took: we remember with you, today and always.

If you need support, the @rednoseaustralia Grief and Loss support line is available 24/7 on 1300 308 307, or search for support via the COPE Directory (link is in our bio). by @cope.org.au

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4 days ago

“Everything happens for a reason” is often said with good intentions. But when you’re grieving, it can leave you feeling unseen. 🤍

Each year in Australia, approximately 150,000 women experience the loss of a developing or new baby. Often termed ‘reproductive loss’, most of these are due to miscarriage (147,000).

The impact can be profound: deep sadness, grief and real effects on mental and emotional health. Yet these feelings are often minimised or misunderstood by the people around us.

If you’re struggling with grief and loss, you are not alone. Support is available through the COPE Directory. Link in bio. by @cope.org.au

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5 days ago

Motherhood is…

Words by Chelsea Maras by @cope.org.au

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6 days ago

This World Mental Health Day, we’re shining a light on parents in the perinatal period: that’s from conception through the first year after birth.

Becoming a parent is one of the biggest emotional transitions a person can experience, and a time when 1 in 4 mothers and 1 in 10 fathers will face a mental health condition, many without timely or adequate support.

At COPE, we are passionate about supporting all parents through this journey. From the hopeful who are trying to conceive, to the expectant parents carrying joy and anxiety in equal measure, and the new parents adjusting to life and finding a new normal.

COPE is dedicated to supporting every parent by:

💜Empowering and reassuring through evidence-based resources – so no parent navigates this journey without the right information.

💌Delivering free weekly psycho education through our Ready to COPE guide - so every expectant and new parent feels supported and reassured.

🔗 Providing accessible pathways to support for every parent through the COPE Directory - so they can access the help they need.

✔️Free health and wellbeing self-checks to help parents identify symptoms of stress, depression, anxiety or PTSD after a traumatic birth, and if they may benefit from further information and/or support.

To every organisation, clinician and advocate working in the mental health space: thank you. Every conversation, referral and policy change brings us closer to a system where no one goes without support. ❤️

Find the links to our resources in our bio

#worldmentalhealthday #perinatalmentalhealth by @cope.org.au

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9 days ago

Your experience of parenthood matters 💜

Thank you to those who have registered their interest in being part of COPE’s lived experience community. Every path to parenthood is different, and we’re so grateful you’ve shared yours with us.

By sharing your story, you can help other parents feel less alone, and help shape the media, policy and advocacy that influences how families are supported.

You don’t need a formal diagnosis or to have accessed mental health support. Maybe you’ve experienced anxiety or low mood, a difficult birth, stress, body image concerns, loneliness, or a time when you knew you weren’t quite yourself.

We want to hear what helped. And what didn’t. What was missed, what was hard to access, or what you wish had been different is just as valuable.

One person’s story can’t represent every family. But yours can help decisionmakers understand why getting this right matters.

If you would like to be included, it's not too late to register your interest - find the link in our bio and stories. by @cope.org.au

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10 days ago

Exactly 🤍

@jasminnemendez 🙏 by @cope.org.au

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11 days ago

The six words Megan would never forget.

“Societal expectations, along with the inevitable response to my subtle shout for help – “you’re a midwife, you’ll be fine!”, sadly led me to believe I had to be okay”.

Megan had cared for the sickest newborns in NICU. She’d held the hands of parents saying goodbye. She’d educated hundreds of new mums on the baby blues. Never did she imagine she would be the one needing extra support.

Read Megan’s story in full in COPE’s Real Stories - via the link in our bio & stories. by @cope.org.au

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14 days ago