Two days after giving birth, Melinda McLennan started to feel "unsafe" in her own body.

"I came home and I didn't feel right. I didn't have a touch on reality and felt very spaced out," Mrs McLennan says.

It was the first hint she was seriously unwell after an emergency caesarean section to have her daughter Evie, at Lismore Base Hospital in northern NSW, in February last year.

The 30-year-old endured four months marked by pain, panic attacks, and severe sleep deprivation, seeking support from her GP, a psychologist and several maternal health hotlines.

During one week in June, Mrs McLennan was awake for 72 hours straight.

Hitting "rock bottom", she went to her local hospital at Casino and at Lismore several times.

On the brink of postnatal psychosis, she begged for help, and was finally connected with a mental health care team who supported her at home.

The fight for her health has inspired Mrs McLennan to lodge a petition with the NSW parliament for a mother and baby unit in the northern NSW local health district.
The units allow mothers to stay with their babies while receiving acute mental health care.

"I want to see action, and I want to see change," she says.

Lack of access to mental health services in regional areas has been a major theme of federal and state inquiries into rural health and GP services.

The inquiries have been told of medical practices closing their books, weeks-long delays to see GPs, poor connectivity interrupting telehealth appointments, 안전한놀이터 and the cost of travel and childcare prohibiting rural women from seeing a doctor.

Submissions to the federal inquiry from several maternal health organisations have listed workforce shortages, distance, and complex health issues in the country as obstacles to dedicated care for mothers and babies.

The National Rural Health Alliance says rural Australians are more likely to present to hospital emergency departments with a mental health issue than their city counterparts.

"By then, they may well be in a more acute phase of their illness," the alliance's chief executive Gabrielle O'Kane says.

The alliance is working on a model for community-controlled health centres in rural areas, providing preventative and multi-disciplinary care.

"They're like a one stop shop. What we're aiming for is more continuity of care, a more integrated care pathway," Dr O'Kane said.

"We're also trying to get people earlier, before problems become too great."

Since sharing her story online, Mrs McLennan has received messages of support from women in regional areas.

"I've had women say, 'I had my baby 25 years ago, and I went through this, and I don't understand why this hasn't changed'," she says.

"There's a huge need for the government to start advocating and pushing for these services."

"It's a resounding 'Yes' from women."

Lifeline 13 11 14

beyondblue 1300 22 4636