Ready to COPE – Information for Healthcare & Service Providers
What is Ready to COPE?
Ready to COPE is a free pregnancy and parenting guide. Delivered via email, the guide provides men and women with timely, relevant information about their emotional and mental wellbeing throughout their pregnancy and first twelve months following the birth of their baby.
COPE developed Ready to COPE to help men and women become aware of the range of common challenges that they may encounter in the perinatal period. The guide provides expectant and new parents with insights, comfort and strategies for coping as well as information on when and how to get help if needed. There are special editions for Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander and CALD audiences, as well as same-sex couples, women experiencing hyperemesis, or expecting multiples.
Underpinned by best practice
Fully funded by the Commonwealth Government, Ready to COPE is completely free to use, and confidential. The guide is a beautifully designed, digital and sustainable way for parents to learn more about their emotional and mental health. Each weekly update contains links to getting help, additional fact sheets on the issues addressed and the ability to access all prior weekly updates in the series.
Importantly, Ready to COPE contains information and links to resources that are underpinned by the Australian Perinatal Mental Health Clinical Practice Guideline. The information is developed to inform and empower consumers and families and support health professionals that make up COPE’s member organisations.
Key benefits of the Ready to COPE guide
Ready to COPE can support new, hopeful and expectant parents throughout the perinatal period by:
- Providing the information they need to set realistic expectations for becoming a parent, including the range of emotional challenges they may face
- Empowering and comforting men and women with non-judgmental information and strategies to help them cope through difficult times and emotions
- Educating expectant and new parents so they are able to identify possible signs of stress, anxiety or depression in themselves or others, and have an understanding of why, how and when to seek help
I wish I’d read this before my first child as you have normalised a lot of what went through my head after the birth. — Ready to COPE subscriber
Special editions of Ready to COPE
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) audiences
A Ready to COPE series for ATSI audiences has been created in partnership with Baby Coming, You Ready?, a West Australian research consortium at Murdoch University is where Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal professionals provide solutions to the barriers that impact trusting engagement, effective assessment, routine screens and effective woman-centered care. This particular series of Ready to COPE for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women, as well as a series for men, is also delivered via email. Data shows that email is an effective and easy-to-access form of content within Aboriginal and remote communities.
People from CALD backgrounds
Ready to COPE is currently available in 10 languages in its email format. These include Arabic, Burmese, Cantonese, Dari, Fasi, Hakha Chin, Mandarin, Tamil, and Vietnamese.
Translations include information that acknowledges cultural differences and nuances throughout the perinatal period, including cultural traditions and perceptions. This was informed through research undertaken with parents from CALD backgrounds, and health professionals working with CALD populations in the perinatal period.
Hyperemesis and expecting multiples
COPE has created special versions of Ready to COPE for women experiencing hyperemesis, as well as for women who
are expecting multiples. This content in both of these versions were developed in partnership with dedicated peak bodies to provide specialist information and enables these groups to receive addition support offered through these organisations (e.g., Hyperemesis Australia and Multiple Birth Association).
As with all information in the guide, this incorporates clinical evidence, lived-experience and practical information to support those with the specific information needs.
How to access the Ready to COPE app
New, hopeful and expectant parents can access Ready to COPE via www.readytocope.org.au
To start receiving the weekly updates, a person must provide their name, email address, postcode and expected date of delivery (if pregnant) or the date of their baby’s birth (if postnatal). This information is completely confidential.
After signing up, the app user will receive weekly content that correspond to their current perinatal status.
How can I promote Ready to COPE?
Healthcare settings
To support the uptake of Ready to COPE in community and healthcare settings, simply print out one of our downloadable posters. Place it in a visible spot in your waiting and/or clinical room.
You may also want to inform your patients about Ready to COPE in your social media and/or newsletter communications. To do this, you can direct women to www.readytocope.org.au. This page offers links they can access to download or to sign up to the email series.
Online communities
To support the uptake of Ready to COPE in your online community community log into the COPE Facebook page.On this page you will see posts promoting the Ready to COPE guide in our posts. You can simply share a post with your networks (together with an encouraging comment if you wish). Alternatively, you can share the Ready to COPE information page.
Community settings or workplaces
There are many ways to support the uptake of Ready to COPE in your setting. Download and print out one of our Ready to COPE posters and place it in a visible spot in your place of business. Some examples of where displaying Ready to COPE posters can help make a difference to the lives of perinatal women include mum & baby classes and playgroups, baby supply stores, community halls and more. Workplaces also provide a great opportunity for expectant and new fathers/partners be be informed about Ready to COPE.
View the Ready to COPE posters
You can also use the Ready to COPE promotional video in your setting or communications. (A closed caption version is also available.)
View the Ready to COPE promotional video
Why share Ready to COPE with those in your care?
If you are a healthcare provider for perinatal women, you are on the front line of helping women prepare for and travel through this critical time in their life. You are no doubt aware that many women and their partners emotionally struggle during the transition to parenthood. It’s also likely that you may see women every day who are having trouble coping with different aspects of pregnancy and parenthood.
Ready to COPE makes it easier for you to help your patients be better prepared for and cope with the more difficult parts of their journey through pregnancy and early motherhood.
By recommending to your patients that they download the Ready to COPE app or sign up to email series, you are providing them with continuous access to trustworthy, evidence-backed information that will help them understand and look after their mental and emotional health throughout the perinatal period, feel less alone and get help if needed.
How can I get in touch about Ready to COPE?
Do you have questions, feedback, ideas or suggestions about the Ready to COPE app? You can get in touch by emailing us at readytocope@cope.org.au. We will get back to you promptly.
More information is available and on our Frequently Asked Questions page. Or download our Ready to COPE fact sheet for Health Professionals.