The NSW Government has granted $10,000 to the Gidget Foundation Australia to help develop an innovative training program to assist the health workforce who support expectant and new parents.

Premier Chris Minns will donate from the Premier’s discretionary fund. The funds will be utilised to develop a training program and website to host educational content and modules for specialist perinatal mental health training and professional development.

This training will support the 60,000 parents in New South Wales diagnosed with perinatal depression and anxiety every year.

Perinatal depression and anxiety are serious mental health conditions impacting one in five mothers and one in ten fathers in Australia.

The Gidget Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation supporting the emotional well-being of expectant and new parents to ensure they receive timely, appropriate specialist care. It delivers services to prevent and treat perinatal mental health issues through early detection and intervention.