ABU DHABI // Women suffering with mental health problems such as depression or anxiety are to get more support thanks to a new psychiatry centre.
New and expectant mothers who are at risk of mental health disorders and women suffering from psychological disorders as a result of domestic abuse and sexual assault are among those who will be treated at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City’s Behavioural Science Pavilion.
“People need to understand the difficulties and challenges involved in treating women’s conditions,” said Dr Fatema Al Mansouri, a consultant psychiatrist at SKMC.
“In western countries, you have specialist women’s mental health hospitals, but we were lacking such a facility here, which is why we decided to open the clinic at SKMC.”
One in three women in developing countries and one in 10 in developed countries have significant mental health problems during pregnancy and after childbirth, according to the World Health Organisation.
Women are also twice as likely to experience depression as men, while psychiatric disorders are especially common in women in the antenatal and postnatal period.
“A woman who gives birth to a child and has a husband may feel like she is less of a woman if she has to receive treatment for something like post-partum depression and she may wonder why she can’t cope when friends and family members are able to,” said Dr Al Mansouri. “This can lead to feelings of inadequacy and guilt, which are only going to make the situation worse.”
Dr Al Mansouri said more work was needed to educate the public and physicians about the importance of mental health and to address the social stigma attached to such issues.
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