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Maternal Care Action Group spokesperson Kristina Paterson, of Maungaturoto, is thrilled with the government’s announcement of a promised Mental Health Inquiry. “Our mental health system has been grossly underfunded for some time, while experiencing a 60 per cent increase in demand,” she says. “Our hope is that the inquiry will inform spending so that it’s going where it will make a real difference.”
About 11,000 New Zealand mothers experience depression associated with pregnancy and childbirth every year. Ms Paterson says two-thirds of them experience delayed diagnosis and treatment.
