| Effective Term: | 2025/05 |
| Institute / School : | Institute of Health and Wellbeing |
| Unit Title: | Perinatal and Infant Mental Health 1 |
| Unit ID: | HEALP6201 |
| Credit Points: | 15.00 |
| Prerequisite(s): | Nil |
| Co-requisite(s): | Nil |
| Exclusion(s): | Nil |
| ASCED: | 060303 |
| Other Change: | |
| Brief description of the Unit |
This introductory unit will provide a social determinants approach to maternal and family health and well-being. The content will address broad biosocial issues contributing to or diminishing resilience and normal adjustment to parenting. Normal infant feeding, growth and development are outlined. Factors /strategies, which contribute to or promote maternal well-being, infant growth and development are identified. The unit content will include fundamental legal and ethical issues related to professional practice in mental health care settings |
| Grade Scheme: | Graded (HD, D, C, P, MF, F, XF) |
| Work Experience Indicator: |
| No work experience |
| Placement Component: | |
| Supplementary Assessment:Yes |
| Where supplementary assessment is available a student must have failed overall in the Unit but gained a final mark of 45 per cent or above, has completed all major assessment tasks (including all sub-components where a task has multiple parts) as specified in the Unit Description and is not eligible for any other form of supplementary assessment |
| Course Level: |
| Level of Unit in Course | AQF Level(s) of Course | | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | | Introductory | | | | |  | | | Intermediate | | | | | | | | Advanced | | | | | | |
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| Learning Outcomes: |
| Knowledge: |
| K1. | Describe the enablers and barriers to perinatal mental health and healthy adjustment to parenting |
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| K2. | Outline the role of the perinatal and infant mental health worker in a multi- disciplinary and multi-professional approach to treatment and recovery |
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| K3. | Explore a biopsychosocial approach to perinatal and infant mental health and well being |
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| K4. | Discuss the legal and ethical frameworks surrounding mental health care |
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| K5. | Describe infant nutrition needs and issues, normal infant development in the first 12 months of life and parentcraft |
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| Skills: |
| S1. | Develop and maintain partnerships in care with women and their families/carers focusing on their right to choice and self-determination, and their inherent capacity for recovery |
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| S2. | Demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively as a perinatal and infant mental health worker in a multi-professional approach to treatment and recovery |
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| S3. | Understand the role of postnatal debriefing and demonstrate general counselling skills |
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| Application of knowledge and skills: |
| A1. | Provide woman and family focused care to women and their babies and apply appropriate individualised strategies and care to promote recovery and well-being |
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| A2. | Utilise critical thinking, problem solving and reflective practice skills to provide culturally safe woman/family centred care throughout the childbirth continuum and early parenting period |
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| A3. | Evaluate the role of the perinatal mental health professional with respect to multidisciplinary collaboration and in the broader context of public and primary health care provision |
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| Unit Content: |
The ANMAC National Accreditation Standards for the Midwife (2014); NMBA Midwife Standards for Practice (2018); NMBA Code of Conduct for the Midwife (2018), Code of Ethics for the Midwife (2014), NMBA Registered Nurse Standards for Practice (2016); NMBA Code of Conduct for nurses (2018) and Code of Ethics for nurses (2012) have substantially informed the syllabus/content of this unit. Modules Unit content Overview of mental health, wellness and illness Risk and protective factors relating to parent and infant mental health and illness Strategies useful in promoting positive parent infant relationships / parent infant mental health Cultural perceptions of mental health Legal, ethical and practice standards in perinatal mental health Examination of: The Mental Health Act The Royal Commission into Mental Health Mental Health Practice Standards Ethical decision making framework Strategies to ameliorate risk Principles of cultural safety Woman or family focused care Community resources for maternal and infant mental health Biopsychosocial model: identify barriers and enablers to optimum perinatal mental health Social capital, individual, social and environmental risk Vulnerable groups- Family violence Migrant or refugee health Previous birth trauma Family history Grief and loss Assisted Reproductive Technology Drug and alcohol use Adjustment to parenting Transition and adjustment to parenting Maternal/paternal sensitivity and responsiveness Parent-infant attachment and attachment styles Infant communication Infant communication cues Care of newborn- including feeding, infant and toddler development Infant feeding needs including early feeding, introduction of solids, common issues and allergies Basic parentcraft Sleep/settling Normal infant milestone: development and assessment Age appropriate play/routines Disability – developmental delays Practical skill sessions General stress management strategies Debriefing |
| Graduate Attributes: |
| Federation University recognises that students require key transferable employability skills to prepare them for their future workplace and society. FEDTASKS (Transferable Attributes Skills and Knowledge) provide a targeted focus on five key transferable Attributes, Skills, and Knowledge that are be embedded within curriculum, developed gradually towards successful measures and interlinked with cross-discipline and Co-operative Learning opportunities. One or more FEDTASK, transferable Attributes, Skills or Knowledge must be evident in the specified learning outcomes and assessment for each FedUni Unit, and all must be directly assessed in each Course.
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| FED TASK and descriptor | Development and acquisition of FEDTASKS in the Unit | | Level | FEDTASK 1
Interpersonal | Students at this level will demonstrate an advanced ability in a range of contexts to effectively communicate, interact and work with others both individually and in groups. Students will be required to display high level skills in-person and/or online in: • Using and demonstrating a high level of verbal and non-verbal communication • Demonstrating a mastery of listening for meaning and influencing via active listening • Demonstrating and showing empathy for others • High order skills in negotiating and conflict resolution skills\\ • Demonstrating mastery of working respectfully in cross-cultural and diverse teams. | 1 - Yes | FEDTASK 2
Leadership | Students at this level will demonstrate a mastery in professional skills and behaviours in leading others. • Creating and sustaining a collegial environment • Demonstrating a high level of self -awareness and the ability to self-reflect and justify decisions • Inspiring and initiating opportunities to lead others • Making informed professional decisions • Demonstrating initiative in new professional situations. | 1 - Yes | FEDTASK 3
Critical Thinking and Creativity | Students at this level will demonstrate high level skills in working in complexity and ambiguity using the imagination to create new ideas. Students will be required to display skills in: • Reflecting critically to generate and consider complex ideas and concepts at an abstract level • Analysing complex and abstract ideas, concepts and information • Communicate alternative perspectives to justify complex ideas • Demonstrate a mastery of challenging conventional thinking to clarify complex concepts • Forming creative solutions in problem solving to new situations for further learning. | 1 - Yes | FEDTASK 4
Digital Literacy | Students at this level will demonstrate the ability to work competently across a wide range of tools, platforms and applications to achieve a range of tasks. Students will be required to display skills in: • Mastering, exploring, evaluating, managing, curating, organising and sharing digital information professionally • Collating, managing complex data, accessing and using digital data securely • Receiving and responding professionally to messages in a range of professional digital media • Contributing competently and professionally to digital teams and working groups • Participating at a high level in digital learning opportunities. | 1 - Yes | FEDTASK 5
sustainable and Ethical Mindset | Students at this level will demonstrate a mastery of considering and assessing the consequences and impact of ideas and actions in enacting professional ethical and sustainable decisions. Students will be required to display skills in: • Demonstrate informed judgment making that considers the impact of devising complex solutions in ambiguous global economic environmental and societal contexts • Professionally committing to the promulgation of social responsibility • Demonstrate the ability to evaluate ethical, socially responsible and/or sustainable challenges and generating and articulating responses • Communicating lifelong, life-wide and life-deep learning to be open to the diverse professional others • Generating, leading and implementing required actions to foster sustainability in their professional and personal life | 1 - Yes |
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| | Learning Outcomes Assessed | Assessment Tasks | Assessment Type | Weighting | Professional Standards |
| 1. |
K1, K2, K3, K4, S2, S3, A1, A2, A3 |
Collaborative clinical care in an environment of complexity. Reflective case study: Perinatal mental health and emotional wellbeing |
Written assessment- care plan |
40-60% |
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| 2. |
K1, K2, K3, K4, K5, S1, S2, S3, A1, A3 |
Observation of mother and baby interaction and attachment |
Written assessment |
40-60% |
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