This powerful documentary follows six mothers' journeys through the often-unspoken challenges of pregnancy and early parenthood to the moment they reach breaking point - plus the mental health screening that can save lives.
How one woman's mission to understand her motherhood experience became something much bigger
When Laura Mazza became a mother, she expected sleepless nights and endless nappies. What she didn’t expect was the severe postnatal depression, rage and anxiety she experienced that left her questioning everything.
Did anyone else feel this way? Was anyone else finding it this hard?
As Laura began sharing her story on social media, she realised she wasn’t alone. In fact, 1 in 5 women experience a perinatal mental health condition and suicide is a leading cause of maternal death. So why wasn't anyone talking about it? Or no one actually asking?
What began as a mission to understand her own journey to motherhood, became something much bigger.
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Highlighting untold stories of motherhood
A Cry for Help is a powerful documentary, which highlights the often-untold stories of birth trauma, loss, perinatal depression and psychosis – and the mental health screening that can save lives.
Universal screening for every expectant and new parent is strongly recommended in Australia's National Guideline, yet there remains a lack of committed funding to ensure continued delivery of screening beyond 2027.
The film is A Cry for Help – not just for women and their families but from the services and frontline health professionals supporting them.
We can’t do it alone.
1 in 5 women experience a perinatal mental health condition and suicide is a leading cause of maternal death
(COPE, 2026)
3 in 4 mums were not seeking help until they reached crisis point
(COPE, 2016)
Family violence may begin or escalate during the perinatal period
About the filmmakers
Rahul Adavani - Director
Rahul's path into filmmaking began in 2013, when he was invited to film 22 PhD students presenting research for a youth mental health organisation on how technology could improve young people's mental health. The experience resonated deeply, echoing his own childhood with a father who lived with severe bipolar disorder - alongside happier memories of making films with friends, a passion he'd lost as a teenager. In 2016, this led Rahul to help organise an event on perinatal depression and anxiety, featuring mental health advocate Laura Mazza.
Laura Mazza - Producer
Laura is a writer, therapist, and mental health advocate who began sharing her story after experiencing postnatal depression - outwardly coping, but privately isolated and ashamed. That experience grew into a platform reaching hundreds of thousands through honest writing on mental health and motherhood. She created A Cry for Help because conversations about postnatal depression need to move beyond statistics into lived experience, so that anyone watching feels understood and knows they are never alone.
