New parents ‘need NHS to up game’

Children’s Commissioner fears for both mothers’ and babies’ mental health

THE Children’s Commissioner for England has called on the NHS to “up its game” to support the new parents in Yorkshire bringing babies into the world without state and family support during lockdown.

Medical and child experts have warned of the emotional and mental health worries new parents face as they tackle major uncertainty during the coronavirus pandemic.

An estimated 7,500 babies have been born in Yorkshire and the Humber during full lockdown measures and 76,000 nationwide, with parents denied the usual family and state support networks because of lockdown restrictions and most health visitor “visits” carried out remotely. As part of a special report in

The Yorkshire Post today, parents from around the region have spoken of the anguish they felt owing to the lack of support before, during and after the birth because of the strict measures introduced by hospitals.

One mother said the three days she spent alone before giving birth to her first child, due to her partner being allowed to stay only during “active labour” and five hours after the birth, were among the loneliest of her life.

A report from the Children’s Commissioner for England called for policymakers to put families with young children, and especially those with newborns, at the heart of coronavirus planning.

West Yorkshire-born Anne Longfield, the Children’s Commissioner for England, said the report showed “concerns about the long-term effects for the mental health and wellbeing of both mothers and their children”.

She said more needed to be done to look after new parents and parents-to-be during the pandemic.

She told The Yorkshire Post:

“In the case of new mothers and their babies, what is meant to be a ‘golden life moment’ has just been made that much harder, in these circumstances.”

Mrs Longfield said it was “vital the Government response has to be getting support to those who badly need it, finding new ways of working that don’t leave them isolated, and going the extra mile for those who were isolated and on whom it’s taken its toll.

“This is a time for the whole system to up its game, not to take a step back.”

Research by Mrs Longfield’s office shows how support services provided by health visitors and GPs are not readily accessible, with many taking place via phone and video calls or simply not taking place at all. The report also reveals that up to 50 per cent of health visitors in some areas of England were redeployed to other parts of the NHS as it grappled to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

There are concerns that many babies may have missed their developmental health checks which are due in the first few weeks of life to pick up urgent developmental needs.

This may be because checks were not available or that parents had declined to attend due to a potential risk of infection.

The Institute of Health Visiting said that in some areas, “the sixweek GP baby check hasn’t been available or parents haven’t wanted to attend it due to a potential risk of infection”.