New and expectant mothers in England will be able to access help with mental health problems more easily within the next year, according to NHS England. More than £20m will be spent on services in underserved parts of the country.
The announcement follows commitments to improve the help offered to mothers by both the former Prime Minister David Cameron and more recently, Theresa May, the funding builds on the £40m announced for these services by the treasury in 2016.
It has been reported that one in five women will experience a perinatal mental health problem, which is a mental health issue that occurs either during pregnancy or within a year of giving birth. The most common problem is depression or anxiety, but perinatal problems include a wide range of conditions. Some expectant or new mothers can also see an increase in symptoms from existing mental health conditions.
The NHS advises that if left untreated, depression and anxiety can have significant and long-lasting effects on the woman and her family, as well as long-standing effects on children’s emotional, social and cognitive development. Despite this, services were extremely patchy in England, with only 3% of the country judged to offer good access to care. In 2016, NHS England announced that £40m would be spent on more nurses, psychologists and psychiatrists to provide help to mothers and families both in the home and in maternity units. The money can also cover social workers, occupational therapists and nursery nurses who can also aid those suffering from mental health problems.
So far more than 7,000 women are believed to have accessed specialist help through new or expanded services.
The Department of Health say the release of a further £23m should mean that by April next year, pregnant women and new mums across the whole of England would have access to specialist care and support.
