Mental health

To mark tomorrow’s Mental Healthawarenessday,nspcc Scotland wants to increase awareness that babies have mental needs too.

We are calling on the Scottish Government to invest in the infant-parent relationship as part of our Fight for a Fair Start campaign.

Babies’ healthy development depends entirely on the relationships around them. Many new parents experience challenges that can affect their relationship with their baby.

Up to one in five mums and one in ten dads experience mental health problems during pregnancy and after birth, but getting the right support at the right time isn’t always guaranteed.

The Scottish Government recently announced increased investment in improving perinatal mental health services across Scotland. We welcome these investments, however, funding and improvements in this area need to be sustained

in the long term, and we must not lose sight of infants’ support needs.

We are calling on the Scottish Government and health boards to make specialist infant mental health services available to all babies and families who need them. We would like them to ensure each maternity unit has access

to support from a perinatal mental health midwife and for an additional Scottish Government investment to be spent on transforming perinatal and infant mental health services.

NSPCC Scotland believes that all vulnerable babies and their families should be able to accesstheinfantmentalhealth support they need for a healthy

and happy start to life. Our Fight for a Fair Start campaign aims to ensure that all parents across the UK have fair and equal access to mental health support at the right time.

With early and effective support, most mums, dads and their families can recover from their mental illness problems, giving their children the best start in life.

We invite people to write to their MSPS in support of our campaign.

JOANNA BARRETT Policy and Public Affairs Manager,

NSPCC Scotland, Templeton Street, Glasgow