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A perinatal and infant mental health student story
Perinatal and infant mental health attracts students who often arrive with a strong personal connection to the field. The learning sits close to family life, identity and early relationships, making it both academically rich and personally meaningful.
For Kelly, this link is lived every day. While raising two young children, she completed her HETI Higher Education Masters of Perinatal and Infant Mental Health in 2025 and actively contributed to research in the field.
Despite studying online, she describes a strong sense of humanness throughout her learning experience. This included regular, honest conversations around assessments, genuine collegiality and teaching staff who created space for reflection.
The course content gave me frameworks that deepened my understanding of what I was learning and helped me reflect on my own experiences with my children. My focus was always on the iterative nature of the learning process itself, not just the marks," Kelly says.
Kelly’s experience reflects a broader shift in mental health education, with many students simultaneously studying and living the perinatal period. This proximity brings depth to their work, particularly in a landscape where parental mental health continues to face sustained pressure from shifting social, economic and family demands.
Kelly moved into perinatal and infant mental health from a different professional field. Like many students who pivot after becoming parents, she sought a discipline that aligned more closely with her values and interests.
Managing postgraduate study while raising two children required flexibility, persistence and careful planning. Along with these attributes and processes, this experience also provided Kelly the opportunity to learn more self-compassion and vulnerability when those systems failed.
Coursework was completed around family routines and the unpredictability of everyday life with young kids. Even with these demands, Kelly maintained consistently strong academic results, reflecting her motivation and commitment.
Keen to apply her learning in a real-world setting, Kelly approached the Parent–Infant Research Institute (PIRI) to gain experience and establish a foothold in the field. PIRI is a leading Australian research institute dedicated to improving the emotional wellbeing of parents and supporting healthy infant development.
This initiative allowed her to complete her Capstone project within an established research team. Her project, which was part of the Beating the Blues before Birth study, examined the relationship between postnatal anxiety, depression and the mother–infant relationship, an area of increasing significance within both research and clinical practice. She hopes to publish her findings at a later stage.
Her learning in the unit Observation Theory and Practice in PIMH provided essential grounding for her work at PIRI, helping her observe, interpret and understand relational dynamics in parent–infant settings with nuance and care.
Kelly’s lived experience as a parent shapes her research in meaningful ways. The contemporary perinatal landscape is complex. Parents navigate fragmented information, heightened expectations, workforce pressures and, at times, limited informal support.
Like many first-time parents, Kelly experienced postnatal anxiety challenges when her first baby arrived. Whilst this issue is common in perinatal mental health, the experience motivated her to seek more answers and consider how we can provide more support for new parents.
For student researchers who are also parents, these realities sharpen awareness and encourage careful thinking about how research questions are framed and how participants are approached.
At PIRI, Kelly has continued to build on this understanding. After completing her Capstone, she was offered a research officer position and is now part of a team adapting and evaluating a novel e‑intervention designed to support mother-infant relationships following postnatal depression.
This work allows her to apply her academic learning while contributing to new models of support for families.
Research in perinatal and infant mental health aims to strengthen outcomes across healthcare, community and policy settings. Students often begin with personal motivation, but the contribution quickly extends outward.
Kelly’s work, completed alongside parenting, represents a quiet, steady form of intergenerational contribution. The knowledge she helps generate has the potential to shape more supportive pathways for families in the future.
After completing her Masters, Kelly is taking time to focus on her family while continuing her role with PIRI.
Her journey shows how students in this field often grow academically and personally at the same time. For Kelly, raising children while researching how to support parents and infants has brought perspective and purpose.
Her story highlights the importance of inclusive pathways and applied learning within HETI Higher Education. Education that reflects the realities students carry with them every day.
Kelly’s story shows that progressing in perinatal and infant mental health can sit alongside the realities of family life, and that lived experience can strengthen both learning and research. If you’re looking to deepen your knowledge, apply it in meaningful ways, or take a new direction in your career, HETI Higher Education offers flexible study options and practical support to help you move forward. Explore our courses and pathways to find what fits your work, your life, and the difference you want to make.
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