According to new figures, more and more women are seeking psychiatric help. According to experts the burden of earning, raising children, taking care of aging parents and all the rest that come with the changing times are driving women to the edge of nervous breakdown more than ever.

However, mental disorders linked to childbirth still pose as major challenges for women. Recent research by nursing professors in Fredericton and Moncton elucidated that at least 13 percent of new mothers suffer from postpartum depression
- low mood, anxiety, inability to cope, suicidal ideas - and many of them do not get help.

Recent studies have also found out that women exercise their mental health services more frequently than men. Approximately 5,100 females and 3,000 males visited New Brunswick's public mental health centres for symptoms of depression or anxiety in 2007-2008. Eating disorders troubled mostly females under the age of 25, while more males fell prey to substance-abuse problems.

In Canada, a national Working Group on Women, Mental Health, Mental Illness and Addictions that started functioning in 2006 highlighted women's distinctive realities which are mostly neglected in mental health research, promotion and treatment.

Twenty years earlier, the Canadian Mental Health Association brought to notice the key mental health issues concerning women and recommended support for women-specific research. They also advocated reforms like inexpensive, quality child care, employment training programs for women and the acknowledgment of unpaid care giving.