PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Mental Health Services: Mothers (12 July 2022)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of counselling services available to new mothers who have (a) experienced birth trauma, (b) existing mental health conditions and (c) babies with suspected neonatal problems.

Asked by:
Feryal Clark (Labour)

No specific assessment has been made. However, specialist community perinatal mental health services have now been deployed in England. The NHS Long Term Plan committed to implementing new measures to improve safety, quality and continuity of care to allow an additional 24,000 women to access specialist perinatal mental health care by 2023/24. This care will also be available from preconception to 24 months after birth, which will provide an additional year of support.

We are expanding access to psychological and talking therapies within specialist perinatal mental health services. This includes 33 new maternal mental health services providing psychological therapy, maternity services and reproductive health for women with mental health needs following trauma or loss related to their maternity experience. These will be available in England by March 2024. We are also investing £100 million in perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationship support by 2024/25, through the Start for Life and Family Hub programme in 75 upper tier local authorities in England.

Answered by:
Gillian Keegan (Conservative)
18 July 2022