COPE: Centre of Perinatal Excellence has been commissioned by the Commonwealth Government of Australia to review the existing Australian perinatal mental health guideline initially developed by beyondblue (2011).
An Expert Working Group (EWG) formed to develop the Guideline, has included representatives of the professional bodies in primary, maternity, postnatal and mental healthcare. The EWG was convened to guide and inform the development of the new Draft Perinatal Guideline.
Through the work of the EWG together with specialist expert sub-committees, the Guideline has been drafted, been to public consultation and this consultation feedback is now being reviewed in the finalisation for the Guideline prior to submission to the NHMC.
Draft Guideline Title: Effective Mental Health Care in the Perinatal Period: Australian 
Clinical Practice Guideline. (Title prior to consultation)
Guideline Developer: Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE). ABN: 50 203 962 931
Guideline Scope: The scope of the new Guideline now includes the assessment of the high prevalence disorders, and the treatment and management of these together with severe mental illnesses in primary care settings:
Disorders covered in the new draft Guideline include:
Endorsement: The draft Guideline will be submitted to the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for its approval under section 14A of the NHMRC Act.
Consultation Period: June 5th – July 4th, 2017: now closed.
The Draft Guideline and Technical Report that were released for public consultation are available in the links below. Due to the extensive length of the technical report, each section can be downloaded individually.
Draft Guideline: Click on link below to download
Draft Perinatal Mental Health Guideline
Sections of the technical report: Click on links below to download
Part B: Assessment and Screening
Part C: Treatment and Prevention
Part C: Treatment and Prevention (Appendix)
Part D: Harms (treatment safety)
Full technical report: Click on link below to download full Technical Report
Perinatal Mental Health Evidence Review_Full Technical Report
Administrative report: Click on link below to download the Administrative Report
COPE Guideline Administrative Report
Note: All documents will be updated following the review and integration of feedback following public consultation.
Following the submission and proposed endorsement of the Guideline in October, COPE will be developing a series of companion documents for health professionals, consumers and family members, to reflect the latest evidence as per the national Guideline.
In addition, COPE will be developing an free, accredited online training program for health professionals to support guideline implementation for health professionals across primary, maternity and postnatal healthcare settings.
The final Guideline, companion documents and online training program will be available in late October 2017 at the time of the official launch of the new Guideline.
To register your details and receive notification on the release of the Guideline, companion documents and online training program register your details here
