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Postnatal mental health issues ‘are underserved in UK’
Not enough is being done to provide appropriate mental health care for new mothers, according to a report from the Royal College of Midwives.
The study has revealed that 59 percent of women say they experienced feeling down or depressed after giving birth, but of these, three-quarters say they did not seek help from a midwife or other member of the maternity team.
One-quarter said that they had not been asked how they were coping with the situation by staff, suggesting the provision of emotional support to patients is being neglected – even though separate research from the college shows midwives are well aware of their responsibilities in this area.
Cathy Warwick, chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives, warned that these figures are indicative of the underfunding and understaffing of the UK's midwifery departments.
She said: "The quality of postnatal care that women receive appears to be a lottery. We have serious, longstanding concerns about the levels of care for women with mental health problems."
The royal college has previously suggested that midwife recruitment levels need to rise substantially over the coming years, as the UK's birth rate continues to increase.
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