Resources for Parents

resources

For parents

Our Local & Regional collection

We assembled the list of resources on this page are for mothers and their partners who are facing mental health stress and challenges during a pregnancy or postpartum period.

We list resources of potential use to parents in the Greater Victoria area of British Columbia, Canada.

Please help us keep the list current and accurate by emailing suggestions, corrections or updates to our resources curator.

For indigenous parents in BC

IndigEnous resources

Through Perinatal Services BC, resources have been developed with and for Indigenous Peoples and health professionals.

These resources support culturally safe care that improves health outcomes and honours Indigenous perspectives and traditions.

Here are some examples.

  • Pregnancy passport: A culturally appropriate health promotion resource empowering women and families through their sacred journey of pregnancy

  • Emotional health: A guide to emotional health in pregnancy and early parenthood for Indigenous people and their families

  • Doula services: Information for communities interested in providing Indigenous doula services, or individuals interested in becoming doulas
FOR LOCAL & BC Moms & Parents

Podcasts

She Found Motherhood

Drs. Alicia Power and Sarah Lea of Grow Health in View Royal host the She Found Motherhood podcast. They do this to help take the anxiety out of peoples’ journeys through pregnancy, childbirth and parenthood.  If you are looking for evidence based, high quality information that can add clarity to the decisions that face you in pregnancy, birthing or the postpartum period, then tune into this podcast! For more from this dynamic duo, look up their She Found Motherhood website.

Making Mama Well

In the Making Mama Well podcast, Dr. Pip Houghton of Campbell River talks to real mamas, pregnant and parenting people about maternal mental health and the “normal hard stuff” that all newly parenting families experience.

This podcast series is part of a perinatal mental health project which is supported with funding from the Shared Care Committee, a partnership of Doctors of BC and the BC government. 

Honest as a Mother

Amanda Gurman invites you and other moms to sit with her for a lot of good, tough conversations on motherhood. Amanda is a full-time, working mom with a passion for discussing the “taboo” topics of motherhood. Listen in to her Honest as a Mother podcast where she faces the feeling and experiences of what motherhood is really like.

Beyond Postpartum

It’s not always about you and your new babe. In the Beyond Postpartum podcast, Jessica Wendi Abel address the challenges and ways you can support the older child in your family, even when PPD makes that harder than it should be. Running from 2020 until 2022, Beyond Postpartum is an official podcast of the Pacific Post Partum Support Society based on Vancouver.

#Our Anxiety Stories

Want to learn more about anxiety and hear people from all walks of life share their experiences with anxiety? Then go to #OurAnxietyStories – The Anxiety Canada Podcast, hosted by John Bateman.

Where we live

Community Groups

Prenatal & Postpartum

Fernwood Community Centre

Best Babies by Fernwood Neighbourhood Resource Group (NRG)

Quadra Village Community Centre

Best Babies (prenatal and postpartum support programs)

Esquimalt Neighbourhood House

Best Babies groups (prenatal) and Best Families groups (postpartum)

Mothering Touch

Pre-natal classes for birthing and parenting in downtown Victoria.

Baby Groups in downtown Victoria

Saanich Neighbourhood Place

Early parenthood support through the in-person Best Babies program (pre-natal) and Babies Group at Saanich Neighbourhood Place.

Royal Oak Neighbourhood

Early parenthood support through the in-person Best Babies program (pre-natal) and Babies Group at Royal Oak Neighbourhood House.

Perinatal LOSS

Perinatal Mindfulness Groups with Instructor Stephanie Curran at Full Circle Perinatal Care with subsidy support of the Pacific Perinatal Foundation.

Active Resource listings

Directories

Use these local and regional directories as a starting place to find the community services that are available to you.

Division of Family Practice

Pathways

HealthLinkBC

HealthLinkBC provides non-emergency information and advice in British Columbia. These links may be useful for parents in their perinatal period.

Local courses & resources

Nearby Courses

HealthLink BC provides reliable non-emergency health information and advice in British Columbia. These links may be useful for parents in their perinatal period.

Fall 2023 Course: Mindfulness for Fertility

  • Dr. Alda Ngo, Whole Family Health
  • Stephanie Curran, Elements of Health Centre

For Organizations: The Art of Dialogue: Mindfulness at Work

  • Patricia Galaczy
  • Mindfulness-based stress reduction instruction
  • Course facilitation combining mindfulness and leadership for organizational health

Interview: by KidCareCanada Dr. Joanna Cheek discusses Anxiety in New Parents

  • Transcript of interview

Courses for Canadians: CBT Skills GROUPS

  • CBT Skills
  • Raising Resilient Kids
  • ADHD Strategies for Adults

BCalm: BC Association for Living Mindfully

About this collection

Resource listings are reviewed and updated periodically. The listing expands and updates a list of local perinatal mental health resources that was developed in June 2021 as a SharedCareBC, initiative.

We strive to list resources which offer benefits to the groups of people they are intended for. However, we are unable to review each resource in detail, and we do not know the needs and circumstances of every visitor to this site.

A listing on this page is not a recommendation or endorsement. Users are responsible for deciding what resources to use, and for getting help and advice of a qualified mental health or health professional.

Corrections and suggested additions are welcome at perinatal@tracimcgee.ca

Reflections

“Postpartum is very real. And there’s so many resources that we just have to help each other find what they are and keep getting the word out there.”

– Reese Witherspoon