Aylesbury MP calls for end to mental health postcode lottery for pregnant women
She's calling for nationwide assessments.
An MP whose friend died by suicide is calling for an end to what she describes as a "postcode lottery" in mental health support for women during and after pregnancy.
Laura Kyrke-Smith, Labour MP for Aylesbury, has introduced the Perinatal Mental Health Assessments Bill, which would require all pregnant women to receive a mental health assessment as part of NHS antenatal care.
She told the House of Commons that her friend Sophie took her own life four years ago after the birth of her third child. "Her death remains a huge sadness in my life and for her family," Kyrke-Smith said. "But the shock of it still sits with me too. I didn't know, and many of us don't, that suicide is the leading cause of death for a woman in that period - from six weeks to a year after giving birth."
An estimated 56,000 to 85,000 mothers – or 10-15 per cent of women who gave birth in England last year – may have faced postnatal depression, according to the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Kyrke-Smith described how access to mental health checks can vary between NHS trusts and warned that the odds of missing out on care are higher for women who are black, Asian, young, experiencing domestic violence or poverty.
She said, "That's why this Bill matters, because every woman regardless of age, ethnicity, background or postcode deserves the same standard of care and the same chance to be mentally well at this time in their life."
A fuller debate on the Bill is scheduled for Friday 31st October, but it is considered unlikely to progress without government backing.
Kyrke-Smith said, "Ensuring that pregnant and new mums are mentally well is one of the ultimate acts of prevention, setting them and their children up for a healthy, productive future."
Support is available for anyone at risk of suicide through Samaritans on 116 123 or at samaritans.org.