Perinatal mental health problems have a significant impact not only on parents but also on their children, and this impact can far outlast infancy. However, perinatal mental health services are insufficient in many settings internationally. Stigma might be one of the barriers to the sufficient delivery of perinatal mental health care.
 Stigma associated with perinatal mental health care includes stigma from both the public and specialists; for example, mothers with perinatal mental problems are seen to be associated with abusive behaviour and inadequate parenting skills. In addition, self-stigma and anticipated stigma are also issues. Specifically, mothers with mental health problems can feel inappropriate to be parents or that they will be deprived of custody of their children if their mental illness becomes known. These stigmas result not only from the stigmatisation against mental illness but also from public expectations regarding who can be considered to be in their perinatal period and 'parental' role.
 Perinatal mental health care might be more susceptible to stigma than general mental health care. It is based on multi-agency and multi-professional collaboration, and specialists who support parents with mental health issues can come from various backgrounds, not just psychiatry. In this context, the more specialists involved, the more likely parents would encounter stigma. Furthermore, the existence of stigma itself can be a barrier to such collaboration.
 To eliminate the stigma attached to perinatal mental health, examining how professionals disseminate messages and how best to teach perinatal mental health practice in professional education is important. In addition, given that stigma is influenced by social structures and cultural backgrounds, efforts should be made to eliminate stigma by involving people in many related fields in the discussion.
 Author's abstract