Twelve months after suffering a traumatic birth experience, Melinda McLennan is picking up the pieces broken by post-natal depression and ensuing psychosis.
At one point, the new mum was unable to get any sleep for several days and presented to hospital five times over the course of a week but was not admitted.
This was after she had tried seeking help from her GP, her psychologist, the Australian Breastfeeding Association, Tresillian, and Beyond Blue.
"It wasn't their fault; it's just that the needs I had were working beyond that and I needed some critical care where all those services were in one place."
The Casino-based woman is now lobbying for a dedicated service within the Northern New South Wales Local Health District to support other new mums to ensure they do not fall through the same cracks that she did.
Petition launched online
She has launched an e-petition via the New South Wales parliamentary web page, which has already attracted close to 6,000 signatures.
Member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis said he would sponsor Ms McLennan's petition if it got the 20,000 signatures required for it to be debated in parliament.
"I think a mothers' and babies' unit is really essential in a lot of regional communities where we don't have the same level of health service that the city has," Mr Gulaptis said.
The MP said he also wanted a state government's commitment to expand the Tresillian centres in regional areas.
"And I'm hopeful and optimistic that we'll get one in the electorate of Clarence and I hope that will certainly go a long way to alleviate Melinda's concerns and certainly provide assistance to new mothers."
Services needed in regional areas
Acting chief executive of the Northern New South Wales Local Health District, Lynne Weir, said there were a range of options in the public health system and through non-government organisations for new mums experiencing mental health issues.
Ms Weir said women from the region would be eligible for care at the dedicated Mother and Baby Units planned for Westmead and Royal Prince Alfred Hospitals in Sydney, with the later due to be completed by mid-2022.
Ms McLennan said new mothers would generally not be in a position to travel to the city to access these services.
"It's not a sufficient solution because the distance to travel, I mean, I was sitting on 72 hours no sleep," she said.
"I thought if I can somehow get down there, that's going to be amazing, but my big concern was, 'How am I actually going to manage this big trip?'"
Ms McLennan said she had been inundated with messages from other women since launching her campaign.
"There is a resounding call from women, we need these services, they are absolutely crucial, and it is remiss of the government and local health services to say that the services we have are OK because they simply aren't."
