In 2024, Dr Kate Buchanan was awarded a WIRF Research Acceleration Award to investigate how structured post-birth support could help reduce perinatal mood disorders. The project has now been completed, with findings already shaping clinical practice and policy in Western Australia.
Perinatal depression and anxiety affect many Australian women, with complex and interrelated causes. Research shows that a woman’s birth experience can play a significant role in the development of these conditions, and that opportunities to debrief and process the birth may help reduce their impact.
Dr Buchanan’s WIRF-funded research examined the accessibility, appropriateness, and feasibility of a midwife-led post-birth debriefing tool, designed to support women’s emotional recovery after birth and reduce the risk of perinatal depression and anxiety. By evaluating how the tool worked in practice, the project aimed to strengthen maternal mental health outcomes through evidence-based, midwife-led care.
During the grant period, the debriefing intervention was successfully implemented at Fiona Stanley Hospital (FSH), where it has already made a difference to perinatal mental health care.
Project impact
The project has had a significant impact across multiple areas of care at FSH:
- Clinical impact: Introduced a structured, evidence-based approach enabling midwives to support women post-birth, helping to reduce psychological birth trauma and the risk of perinatal depression and anxiety.
- Policy alignment: Informed the development of a Psychological Birth Trauma policy, prioritising trauma-informed care, early screening, and prevention in perinatal mental health.
- Workforce development: Expanded midwives’ scope of practice through targeted training and standardised debriefing protocols.
- Consumer benefit: Improved maternal emotional wellbeing and strengthened mother–infant bonding.
- Economic impact: Demonstrated a cost-effective intervention that leverages the existing midwifery workforce.
Together, these outcomes contribute to reducing the burden of maternal mental health conditions and improving long-term health for mothers and their babies.
The project has also provided both a theoretical and practical foundation for midwife-led birth debriefing, addressing a critical gap in postnatal care. Findings have informed clinical guidelines and generated interest across health networks, helping to lift professional practice standards and improve maternal wellbeing.
Building on this success, the findings will be applied to future research collaborations at other Western Australian maternity sites. The work will also support applications for further funding, with the goal of scaling the approach into a statewide project.
