Tina Chapman has helped hundreds of women get their lives back on track and cope with the stress of having a baby.
A clinical nurse specialist, Ms Chapman works in Werribee Mercy Hospital’s mother-baby unit, helping new and expecting mums who are battling mental health problems.
The eight-bed, eight-cot service helps women and babies aged up to 12 months who live in the western suburbs and western Victoria, providing them with antenatal and postnatal psychiatry, infant mental health assessment and management of psychiatric disorders during pregnancy.
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Mothers admitted to the unit are often treated for depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and postpartum psychosis.
Ms Chapman said that while her job was unpredictable, there was “real satisfaction” in seeing patients make improvement.
“There is real satisfaction watching mums who are unwell on admission get their lives back on track and resume their family life,” she said.
“It can be really confronting, but there are real rewards watching them achieve positive results.”
Ms Chapman began working in the field after leaving a finance job in the mid-1990s.
“I wanted to continue working, but I didn’t want a boring job,” she said. “So I started reading books on psychiatry and I found that I was attracted to women’s health.”
After completing a bachelor of nursing degree and post-graduate qualifications in psychiatric nursing, Ms Chapman got her first shift at Monash Hospital’s mother-baby unit in 1997. A year later she joined Mercy Health.
“Probably the most important thing I’ve learnt is that your child’s self-esteem is the most important thing,” she said.
