Johannesburg - A national campaign, called #YouAreTheReason, in support of mental health for mothers and their infants, by the Gauteng Association for Infant Mental Health has been launched.
The campaign is the brainchild of the organisation’s chairperson, Nicole Canin.
“We are an NGO (non-governmental organisation) that focuses on infant mental health. It’s a strange term when you first come across it, but it speaks to what happens in the first 1 000 days between mom and baby,” said Canin.
Learning to take care of a newborn means adjusting to a new lifestyle and learning a completely new set of skills. Sometimes it takes time for mothers to connect with their babies.
She said the organisation has historically catered to professionals, helping moms and babies through podcasts with experts globally, and putting out newsletters with interesting articles.
It was 18 months ago when Canin was at a conference and the organisation decided to become more innovative to get through to parents in ways that weren’t “threatening”.
“We had this crazy idea to get the rights to the Calum Scott song, You are the Reason, because it so accurately describes what moms go through in a very non-threatening way.
“We thought, what if we could use that as a campaign for moms to show that maternal mental health is important and many moms struggle. We started the journey of how do we bring that to life …”
The popular Scott hit was re-arranged and produced by Dan Selsick, vocal arrangements by RJ Benjamin, with performances by Chantal Stanfield, Ziyanda Yako and Canin herself.
“I approached RJ Benjamin who has been coaching me privately, we brought his wife on and Ziyanda. They are so talented and it was rewarding and exciting to work with people who just wanted to be part of it.”
The drive was launched this month and coincides with the 16 Days of Activism campaign.
“The most important thing is for people who are watching to be moved by it. We are about to launch on the mother and baby platforms. Over time we want to put together a really great campaign, whether it is a mom in Bryanston or Alex. We want them to know where they can get help.
“Maternal mental health doesn’t discriminate, so we wanted to make sure the campaign was embracing.
“There is something universal about a mom that is struggling.”
The Star