Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the effectiveness of (a) maternal mental health services launched in 2019 and (b) maternal mental health services pregnancy and baby loss pathways in supporting bereaved mothers.

A National Institute for Health and Care Research-funded study has been commissioned to examine the effectiveness and the implementation of maternal mental health services, including the services’ provision of support for perinatal loss. The study will help identify the optimal service delivery models and context-specific barriers to implementation.

The research aims to understand how effective maternal mental health services are in improving mental health for women who have experienced trauma or loss related to childbirth, and the feasibility and effectiveness of maternal mental health services in providing trauma informed training across the maternity workforce.

To date, maternal mental health services have been implemented in 40 of the 42 integrated care system areas in England, and the last two are being supported by NHS England to ensure they are up and running as soon as possible.

We are committed to improving the mental health support available to those in the perinatal period. We know that the National Health Service has struggled to keep up with people’s greater awareness of the challenges of poor mental health, and that waiting lists for those referred for support are too high. We will reduce waiting times, intervene earlier, and increase the workforce as quickly as possible to meet the required needs.