Addressing Perinatal Mental Health Disorders in LMICs: A Technical Brief

The brief discusses the prevalence and impact of common perinatal mental health disorders (CPMDs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where nearly one billion people live with some form of mental illness, and 80% of them reside in LMICs. The brief highlights the need to address CPMDs, which have significant and lasting implications for women's health and quality of life, and are associated with adverse development in newborns and children. It presents findings from a landscape analysis, a technical consultation, and a co-creation process to develop a perinatal mental health theory and a set of prioritized implementation research questions. The brief also discusses the establishment of a country-led perinatal mental health community of practice, which serves as a global collaborative platform for experts and practitioners working in maternal health, newborn health, mental health, and related fields.