The Government of Saskatchewan is expanding maternal mental health services across the province with new annual funding of $100,000 for the Saskatchewan Perinatal Health Network.
The investment will help the organization deliver free in-person and virtual peer support programs for new and expecting parents, a move aimed at improving access to care during and after pregnancy.
“This investment helps ensure that families across Saskatchewan have more access to mental health support during the life-changing experience of pregnancy and the birth of a baby,” Mental Health and Addictions Minister Lori Carr said in a release. “We want expecting and new parents to know that free, compassionate support is available in a safe environment, where they can connect and share with other parents.”
The Saskatchewan Perinatal Health Network, formerly the Regina Perinatal Health Network, provides services for women and partners experiencing or at risk of developing perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.
With the new funding, the group will expand its outreach beyond Regina, add an online booking platform and increase virtual appointments to better serve families in rural and remote communities.
“As a community-based organization, our goal has always been to address the feelings of social isolation many expecting and new parents face, and to connect families with trauma-informed perinatal mental health support,” said program coordinator Lin Carr. “This funding will help us coordinate care across multiple agencies, ensuring families receive quality mental health support from prenatal stages through the first few years postpartum.”
Parents in need of support can learn more or book an appointment at www.saskphn.ca.
The initiative is part of a broader provincial approach to maternal mental health.
The government also funds the Wellbeing Course for New and Expecting Parents through the University of Regina’s Online Therapy Unit and offers a Non-Birthing Parents Resource, which will be further developed in 2025-26.
In addition, annual funding for HealthLine 811 has increased by $6.6 million this year.
The province is also working with the Saskatchewan Health Authority to create a maternal mental health coordinator position within the service.
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