Posted: Jul 23, 2021 8:54 PM PT | Last Updated: July 24
Jasmine Evanson holds her 10-month-old son, Kai. the of Maple Ridge mother says the isolation of early lockdown caused severe anxiety from the first trimester of her pregnancy onward.(Submitted by Jasmine Evanson)
Demand for mental health support for new parents has risen significantly in B.C. since pandemic restrictions began.
The Pacific Post Partum Support Society (PPPSS) logged around 6,000 calls in the first 12 months of the pandemic, an increase of fifty per cent on the previous year, and demand remains high.
Clare Zeschky, the volunteer coordinator at the PPPSS, says summer would normally be a quieter period for the non-profit. Instead, a steady stream of calls has meant the addition of eight new support groups to accommodate the growing need.
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Amanda Malul had a baby in January 2020 and two months later, COVID hit B.C. with a vengeance.
Gone were the opportunities for the Richmond mother of six to go the libraries and community centres for story time, the Strong Start program for newborns or play groups with other moms.
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The isolation of that coupled with the uncertainty of the pandemic and taking care of her and her husband’s four other children Chaya, 13, Sarah, 12, Shmaya, eight, and Amalia, seven (Shmuel, 19, is a U.S. Marine stationed in Hawaii), still at home took its toll by the fall.