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Informing Policy
Women and Children
Services for Women and Children
Particular childhood disorders that need to be considered include emotional and conduct disorders, epilepsy, mental retardation, cerebral malaria and specific learning problems such as dyslexia. Epidemiological studies, demonstrating the high rates of emotional and conduct disorder in children, and their long term sequelae, inform service needs for children and adolescents. Planning should encompass not only services for children and adolescents, but also outreach consultation with schools, and specific programmes for mental health promotion.
Children’s cognitive and emotional development is greatly influenced by the mental health of their parents, especially the mother and particularly when the mother is the main carer. In addition to the relatively higher rates of depression, women also experience higher rates of illness around the time of childbirth. If untreated, these disorders can severely affect the mother’s relationship with her children, thus damaging the child’s cognitive and emotional development. It is important to have information on both the mother’s and the child’s needs.