A safe haven under expert care
Consultant Psychiatrist Dr. Suhashini Ratnatunga and Dr. Noorul Ikram look on while Nursing Officer A.G.C.N.K. Jayarathne registers the first patient
Acozy and safe little place all of their own with every facility for vulnerable mothers with mental health issues, and their babies, to recover and recuperate in the heart of the bustling city of Colombo!
It is a ‘first’ for a maternity hospital in Sri Lanka – this dedicated ‘Mother Baby Unit’ down Francis Road, Colombo 8.
The ‘opening’ ceremony on Wednesday (November 22) was simple but the presence of influencers from both the health sector and medical education as well as donors was testament to the ‘special place’ mothers and babies have in the hearts of Sri Lankans.
While the ribbon was cut at the entry into the corridor by the VIPs, the attention to detail in the setting up of the unit was obvious. Within a house donated a while ago to the De Soysa Maternity Home (DMH), the Mother Baby Unit is just across the road from the rear gate of this premier women’s hospital and a stone’s throw from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo.
The wall at the end of the corridor sports a little family – cartoon figures of Mother, Father and Baby Giraffes………and the two spacious rooms with attached bathrooms to the right are either blue or pink, once again with mood-uplifting colourful cartoon sketches of trees and quaint animal figures on the walls.
Dr. Kumara Wickremasinghe flanked by Dr. Pradeep Wijesinghe (on the right) and Prof. Vajira H.W. Dissanayake cut the ribbon to open the Mother Baby Unit. Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
As the very first mother is being registered and a pot of milk boils merrily in the reception area, the live-wire behind the Mother Baby Unit, Dr. Chathurie Suraweera, Head of the Department of Psychiatry, Colombo Medical Faculty, takes a little time off to tell us the need for such a unit. The soothing music of ‘Danno Budunge’ plays in the background.
“Sri Lanka has a very low Maternal Mortality (Death) Rate (MMR) and that is very good. But the Maternal Suicide Rate is high and we need to address that. Mental illness including post-partum depression is surrounded by stigma and myths,” says Dr. Suraweera, explaining that what better place to have a unit than at the DMH. Mothers with substance use disorders can also seek help here.
Paying tribute to the donors who supported them extensively, she says that the unit would be under the DMH’s University Psychiatry Unit (Ward 59) and has the wholehearted cooperation of DMH Director Dr. Pradeep Wijesinghe, doctors, nurses, midwives and other support staff.
This was obvious with matrons, nurses, overseers and others being around at the opening.
Consultant Psychiatrist Dr. Chathurie Suraweera
The Mother Baby Unit would come under Dr. Suhashini Ratnatunga, a Psychiatrist also of the Colombo Medical Faculty’s Department of Psychiatry, with a special interest in perinatal mental health. (The perinatal period is the time from the beginning of a woman’s pregnancy up to a year after giving birth.)
There would be a 24/7 trained nursing and midwifery presence, with staff coming in from the DMH. The nurses are guided by Chief Nursing Officer Punya Jeewandara.
This unit is unique because it would provide a safe haven under expert care to the mother without separating her from her baby, promoting the bonding process. This is while the father or a carer such as a grandmother could also share the room with the mother and baby.
Across the country, there are only a very few dedicated units for such mothers. This is while the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has a unit but sometimes the distance preempts mothers from seeking help there as it is in Angoda.
Mood-uplifting sketches on the wall
Dr. Ratnatunga, meanwhile, reiterated that with the danger of mothers with post-partum depression or post-partum psychosis harming or neglecting their little ones or themselves not because they want to but because of their illness, there needs to be constant care and vigilance.
The Director of the DMH, Dr. Wijesinghe and the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Colombo, Prof. Vajira H.W. Dissanayake also spoke.
Those who graced the opening included the Deputy Director General (NHSL), Dr. Kumara Wickremasinghe; the Director of the Family Health Bureau (FHB), Dr. Chithramalee de Silva; the FHB’s National Programme Manager, Maternal Care Unit, Dr. Sanjeewa Godakandage; the ministry’s Director of Mental Health, Dr. Rohan Ratnayake; the President of the Sri Lanka College of Psychiatrists, Dr. Sajeewana Amarasinghe; Senior Consultant Psychiatrist Dr. Jayan Mendis and the donor family of Lushaka Gunaratne of Young Minds (Pvt) Ltd.
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