Give new mums depression check-ups

A CROSS-PARTY group of 60 MPs has written to the Minister for Public Health asking that all new mothers are given a mental health check-up at six weeks.

This is a fantastic idea. It’s sobering to think that the latest Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths, published in 2016, found that suicide was still the number one cause of death among new mums.

Something urgently needs to be done.

One in nine women experience post-natal depression, and we know this has a direct link with those who take their own lives. Yet often, GPs and health visitors simply don’t know that mothers are struggling until it’s too late.

A few years ago, working in a busy inner city hospital covering the maternity ward, I saw first-hand the psychological problems that women face.

I’m not surprised that so many new mums struggle. They are bombarded with contradictory advice and given idealised views of childbirth and motherhood.

If you don’t breastfeed, you’re a failure. If you had a caesarean, you’ve cheated. There’s an expectation that you will immediately love your baby and everything will be wonderful — when in reality you’re feeling overwhelmed and an emotional and physical wreck.

Countless times, I was asked to see a new mum convinced that she was the worst mother on the planet — when actually she was doing admirably.

Along with the six-week check, I’d also propose a ban on all mothering magazines and unsolicited advice. No Instagram photos of babies happily breastfeeding. No twee cards saying how great it is to be a mum.

If you’ve got a baby, give yourself a break. You’re doing fine!