Dr Elsa Du Toit

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South Africa
Cape Town
Dr Elsa Du Toit

I am passionate about empowering women and their families during one of life’s most immersive journeys - pregnancy, postpartum and beyond.

With over 15 years of expertise exclusively focused on perinatal psychiatry.

17/11/2025

I’m excited to share the latest insights, reflections and learnings from my work in Maternal Mental Health.

If you want to stay in the loop and receive exclusive updates, case discussions and practical knowledge straight to your inbox, I’d love for you to join my mailing list.

💌 Sign up here: www.drelsadutoit.com/mailing-list

14/11/2025

Some days, life feels like a nonstop juggling act, kids, work, patients, emails… you know the drill. 🏃‍♀️💨

As a maternal mental health specialist, I talk to so many parents about protecting their mental wellbeing, but sometimes I need to remind myself to practice what I preach.

For me, one of the most grounding, restorative ways I protect my mental health is by getting moving. Running, hiking & yoga clears my head, boosts my mood, and reminds me that self-care isn’t optional, it’s essential.

It doesn’t have to be perfect or long; even a few minutes outdoors, feeling my feet hit the ground, can reset my mind and give me the energy to show up fully for my patients, my family and myself.

To all the parents, clinicians or anyone feeling stretched thin: movement matters, not just for your body, but for your mind too. Find the rhythm that works for you and protect your mental health as fiercely as you protect those you care for.

How do you protect your mental wellbeing when life gets busy? I’d love to hear your tips!

💌 If you’d like to receive reflections, tips, and insights on maternal mental health, self-care, and family wellbeing, I’d love for you to join my mailing list: www.drelsadutoit.com/mailing-list

13/11/2025

Over the past five years, I’ve had the privilege of attending the weekly MGH ward rounds led by Professors Lee Cohen and Marlene Freeman, a space where psychiatry, collaboration and compassion intersect so beautifully.

Now, I’m deeply honoured (and super excited!) to share that I’ve been selected to join the inaugural Psychiatry Collective, a new initiative from the MGH Center for Women’s Mental Health at Harvard.

This Collective brings together a small, international group of psychiatrists and psychopharmacologists with a shared focus on reproductive and perinatal mental health.

Together, under the guidance of Professors Cohen and Freeman, we’ll be exploring complex clinical cases, pharmacological approaches and collaborative peer learning with the goal of raising the standard of care in women’s mental health globally.

This is such an exciting opportunity for growth, learning and connection and I can’t wait to share the insights, reflections and evolving conversations that emerge from this experience.

If you'd like to be part of a growing movement to improve mental healthcare, I'd love for you to join my mailing list 💌
👉 www.drelsadutoit.com/mailing-list

10/11/2025

🏉 Leadership, Teamwork, and the Bigger Picture

Sometimes the greatest act of leadership is knowing when to step back.

On Saturday, Springbok captain Siya Kolisi showed exactly that.
In his hundredth Test (a milestone most would hold onto) he chose to step aside when the team needed a more versatile player on the field.

It wasn’t about ego.
It was about purpose.

In perinatal healthcare, we can learn from this.
Each of us — whether obstetrician, psychiatrist, midwife, lactation consultant, or pediatrician — brings unique expertise.

But sometimes leadership means creating space for another perspective,
so the team can reach the shared goal:
a healthy mother and a healthy baby.

That’s true collaboration, humility in action, in service of something greater than ourselves.

And in true South African fashion 🇿🇦
the Springboks turned adversity into motivation,showed grit and composure,
and powered their way to a 32–17 victory.

07/11/2025

Dads struggle too.

Paternal mental health is so often overlooked, yet 1 in 10 new fathers experience anxiety or depression after the birth of a baby. Society tells men to be strong but real strength lies in being able to ask for help.

In my latest blog, I explore why it's time we start checking in with dads, too. Their mental health matters for them, their partners and their babies.

👉 Read the full blog here:https://www.drelsadutoit.com/blog/men-s-mental-health-during-the-perinatal-period

06/11/2025

Sometimes the things designed to ease our worries end up adding to them.
Sleep trackers, feeding apps, milestone charts — they can offer structure, but they can also start whispering you’re not doing enough.

Mindful awareness means knowing when to step back.
When the tracking starts tracking you, it’s time to pause.

Because information alone isn’t enough — it’s how we understand it, and how it fits into your context, that truly matters.

✨ That’s the heart of Mindful Moms,
and the vision behind the Mindful Maternal Health Program —
helping women and professionals move from overwhelm to calm, confident decision-making.

30/10/2025

We often speak about pregnancy as a time of joy and growth. A time when women are expected to be radiant with anticipation.
But there’s another side we rarely name.
The dark side of the womb.
Loss. Fear. Grief.
The miscarriages, the abnormal scans, the losses that live quietly in the background of joy.

Our instinct is to make it better.
To reassure.
To explain.
But sometimes, the most healing thing we can do is simply stay.
To sit with the pain without trying to fix it.
In perinatal care, true wholeness means learning to hold both light and shadow. Because healing often begins where we dare to stay present.

Mindful Mums helps women navigate these difficult moments with honesty, support, and gentle understanding.
And in 2026, keep an eye out for a new healthcare professional program that creates a space for these vital conversations, not just about what to say, but how to stay when words aren’t enough.
Keep an eye on my website — enrolment opens soon.

27/10/2025

Summer has truly arrived and with it, that familiar rush as the year draws to a close. Deadlines, exams, new projects... Overwhelm quietly creeps in.
It’s a feeling many of us know well, especially when we are trying to make decisions about treatment diring pregnancy. We hold so much information, so much responsibility, and still, clarity can feel out of reach.
But something new is coming, something designed to transform that overwhelm into calm and confidence.
I can’t wait to share more soon. Keep an eye on my website (link in bio). This next chapter will change the way we think about perinatal care.

22/10/2025

Exciting News!! Maternal Healthcare Programs for 2026 launching soon… Keep an eye on www.drelsadutoit.com

19/10/2025

Sometimes, life throws a curveball — like this morning, when the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon was cancelled at the starting line. Many runners were left disappointed and shocked.

Resilience isn’t about pretending it doesn’t hurt. It’s about acknowledging the frustration, then choosing what you can control.
Today isn’t the day many hoped for — months of training, early mornings, first marathons for some. The disappointment is real. But runners demonstrated what makes them endurance athletes: Resilience! Quick Assessments lead to small, unofficial races around the City. The Race changed shape but it didn’t end! Resilience means feeling it, then shifting focus.💪.

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Cape Town

Website

https://www.drelsadutoit.com/

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