Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Interest Group - 6 MAY 26
The Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Interest Group invites you to their May meeting
Program Overview
This is a free, member only session.
Please join the Perinatal & Infant Mental Health Interest Group Community via OTA Connect here before registering.
OVERVIEW
This special interest group is for Occupational Therapists working in or curious about working in perinatal and infant mental health settings.
The group aims to share information and exchange ideas relating to perinatal and infant mental health experiences occurring within the stages of preconception, pregnancy and infant loss, birth and the postnatal period, parenting, relationships and families within the first three years.
The objectives of these would be to:
- Share knowledge from practitioners, researchers, and educators working in various perinatal contexts.
- Provide opportunities for reflective practice.
- Support exploration of the occupational therapy scope of practice within the perinatal and infant mental health context.
MEETING DETAILS
TOPIC:
Working with parents who received a unexpected news about their unborn baby's health, development or genetics
PRESENTERS:
Dr Pieta Shakes
DATE:
Wednesday 6 May 2026
TIME:
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM | NSW, ACT, VIC, TAS, QLD
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM | SA, NT
10:30 AM – 11:30 AM | WA
MEETING PLATFORM:
Zoom: This session will be run on Zoom. Registrants will be sent separate login details one business day prior to the session. Please check all email folders for this information. This meeting will not be recorded.
Please also ensure you have created a Free Zoom account prior to meeting start time.
If you have questions regarding the Zoom system requirements please visit: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/categories/200101697-Getting-Started
REGISTRATION FEES & INFORMATION
OTA Member: Free
If you are a non member who wishes to attend please contact us via info@otaus.com.au to discuss your options.
Registrations close Monday 4 May 2026 11.59pm AEST
MEETING DOCUMENTS & RESOURCES
Agendas, resources and meeting record form are available for members to download in the Community via OTA Connect, once we have received these from the convenors. This meeting will not be recorded.
You must be logged in to access this page.
DISCLAIMER
Any material, content, advice or resources shared and discussed at interest groups is general in nature and is used to guide peer discussion and support only. Occupational Therapy Australia encourages all participants to think critically and appraise the content for individual circumstances. Occupational Therapy Australia does not necessarily endorse content delivered in these formats and accepts no liability for any consequences resulting from adhering to the content shared at interest groups. All opinions expressed by the convenor or other participants are the opinions of those individuals and do not represent or reflect the views of Occupational Therapy Australia, its affiliates or employees.
Interest Group Participants
By registering to attend, participants agree to actively contribute and show respect to all other participants. We ask you to take personal notes and monitor the Interest Group webpage for meeting resources. Occupational Therapy Australia reserves the right to remove members from an Interest Group at its discretion.
Presented By
Dr Pieta Shakes
Presenter
Through her developing program of research and service, Dr Pieta Shakes aims to address critical gaps in Australia’s evidence base, health policy, and care pathways for parents who receive unexpected news about the health, development, or genetics of their unborn baby. By applying systems thinking and building workforce capability and support, she works to embed timely, skilled psychosocial care as a standard part of practice, recognising the well-documented acute and enduring impacts of fetal diagnosis on parents and families. Pieta's clinical career as a mental health nurse and her lived experience of receiving a third-trimester prenatal diagnosis inspire her vision for a health system where psychosocial support is embedded in care as standard, reducing harm and fostering adaptation for families. Pieta has postgraduate qualifications in mental health nursing, child and adolescent mental health, applied statistics, diagnostic genomics and higher education innovative teaching and learning, and is now studying health policy and planning. She is a Teaching and Research Academic with James Cook University, the founder and Executive Director of Through the Unexpected, and the co-Chair of the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand Perinatal Ethics Committee.