Regina hosts first 'Flora's Walk' in support of perinatal mental health

Loreli Palandri speaks at the first ever Flora's Walk in Regina on May 5, 2024. (Hallee Mandryk/CTV News)

Sunday marked the first time that Regina has taken part in the event that originated out of Ontario following the death of a new mother.

Flora Babakhani was a single mother in Toronto who struggled with postpartum psychosis after giving birth to her daughter, Amber. Flora eventually died by suicide on January 14th, 2022, two months after Amber was born.

Following the tragic event, Flora’s loved ones, along with the Canadian Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative created a walk in her memory to prevent similar tragedies from occurring.

“At the time, we had very little government involvement in maternal mental health. So they started the collaborative in 2022 and the walk soon after that,” event organizer Loreli Palandri told CTV News.

“As an owner of ‘From Seed to Sprout’ and as a registered nurse who works with perinatal mental health and just perinatal people, we really wanted to bring this to Regina because we know that it is something that is super important. It is not talked about enough. The more that we feel comfortable talking about it, the more everyone else will feel comfortable talking about it.”

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Palandri is one of the two nurses who recently founded From Seed to Sprout which is a perinatal clinic that works to provide education and other tools to help new parents, an area which she saw a need for more resources.

“Women’s health or paternal health in general is kind of just not cared about as much, which is crazy because we all came from a mother and we need healthy, thriving parents to raise healthy, thriving children,” she added.

According to the Canadian Perinatal Mental Health Collective, 23 per cent of mothers in Canada reported feelings consistent with postpartum depression or an anxiety disorder.

Additionally, a 2021 survey conducted by the organization, 95 per cent of healthcare providers believe that current perinatal mental health services are insufficient in Canada.