An international society for the understanding, prevention and treatment of mental illness related to childbearing

Marcé Society Australasian Branch 2007 Conference

7- 9 June, 2007
Surfers Paradise, Queensland
Information and Call for papers to come

The Marcé Society takes its name from Louis Victor Marcé who published the first substantial treatise on mental illness in pregnancy and the puerperium in 1858.

The Society was formed in the UK in 1980 and has a growing international membership. The formation of the Australasian Branch of the Marcé Society in 1995 was a reflection of the growing commitment and enthusiasm within Australasia towards these issues.

The Marcé Society is multi-disciplinary and provides a forum for exchange of information and ideas between professionals concerned with the welfare of women and their families around the time of childbirth.

Traditionally, the main focus has been on mental illness related to childbearing. However, the interests of Australasian members often encompass broader areas including the maternal-infant relationship, attachment theory, the psycho-biology of pregnancy, antenatal and postnatal education, psycho-social aspects of obstetrics, perinatal bereavement and all aspects of mental health of women and their families during pregnancy and the postnatal period.

Close collaboration between clinicians and researchers is an important priority of the Australasian Branch.

The Society also actively seeks to bring issues of mental health and illness related to childbearing into greater public awareness. This objective is achieved by educational activities, campaigning for better resource allocation and through raising issues of policy with a variety of statutory bodies.

Membership of the society is open to all professionals who support the aims of the Society, for example nurses, midwives, psychologists, psychiatrists, health visitors and researchers in the field. The Society organises a wide range of meetings, such as:

• The International Marce Society hosts an International Scientific Meeting every two years.
• Alternating with the International Meeting, the Australasian Marce Society hosts a Scientific Meeting in Australasia once every two years.

At each of the above meetings, there is an Annual General Meeting at which future directions in policy are discussed and determined. Ad hoc meetings are organised by members of the Society, one aim of which is to stimulate collaborative research between several centres, these include:

• Specialised workshops, e.g. on mother and baby units, organisations of treatment trials etc.
• Joint meetings with a variety of other specialised bodies.
• General scientific meetings at which current research is presented.