Laura Kyrke-Smith

Laura Kyrke-Smith

Labour — Aylesbury

Speaking in the House of Commons on 5 February 2025

Debate

Maternal Mental Health

Contribution

I absolutely do, and I am sorry to hear of the experience of my hon. Friend’s friend. What are the consequences of all this? The human suffering is immense, but maternal mental health has economic consequences and costs, too—an estimated £8.1 billion each year in the UK, according to research from the London School of Economics, and nearly three quarters of that cost relates to adverse impacts on the child rather than the mother. I want to suggest four ways in which maternal mental health support can be improved, and I will be as brief as I can. The first is improving specialist perinatal mental health services. The second is better embedding mental health support in routine maternity care. The third is improving community support, and the fourth is education and awareness raising.

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