We restart the meeting, therefore. The next item is the Member debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv) on support for babies and new parents during COVID-19. I call on Lynne Neagle to move the motion—Lynne Neagle.

Motion NDM7462 Lynne Neagle, Bethan Sayed, Leanne Wood

Supported by Alun Davies, Dai Lloyd, David Rees, Dawn Bowden, Helen Mary Jones, Huw Irranca-Davies, Jack Sargeant, Jayne Bryant, Jenny Rathbone, Joyce Watson, Neil McEvoy, Vikki Howells

To propose that the Senedd:

1. Recognises that the evidence is unequivocal that the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, from pregnancy to age two, lay the foundations for a happy and healthy life and that the support and wellbeing of babies during this time is strongly linked to better outcomes later in life, including educational achievement, progress at work and better physical and mental health.     

2. Notes that since the outbreak of COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown and social distancing measures, a growing body of research indicates parents are facing unprecedented pressures, heightened anxieties, and are at increased risk of developing mental health problems in the perinatal period.   

3. Notes that the Babies in Lockdown 2020 survey showed that for 66 per cent of respondents from Wales, parental mental health was cited as a main concern during lockdown: only 26 per cent felt confident that they could find help for mental health if they needed it and 69 per cent of parents felt the changes brought on by COVID-19 were affecting their unborn baby, baby or young child. 

4. Notes that the New Parents and COVID-19 2020 research found that over half of the 257 respondents who have given birth since lockdown felt that their birth experience was more difficult than expected due to the coronavirus restrictions, more than 60 per cent not receiving any form of post-natal check-up and almost a quarter wanting perinatal mental health support..

5. Calls on the Welsh Government to ensure services and support for families during pregnancy and the perinatal period are prioritised and that the midwifery, health visiting and perinatal mental health workforce is protected from redeployment during the pandemic. 

6. Calls on the Welsh Government to proactively work with health boards to ensure women can be safely supported by their partners during hospital visits during pregnancy. 

7. Calls on the Welsh Government to provide additional ring-fenced investment for perinatal mental health services and voluntary services to cope with the increase in demand because of COVID-19.

Motion moved.

Thank you, Llywydd. I want to start by thanking my co-sponsors of today's debate, Leanne Wood and Bethan Sayed. I know Bethan's office has published some really valuable research into this area, but she also brings a vital personal perspective to this subject, having had a lockdown baby herself. I also want to recognise the support from Members across the Chamber and also the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children for their excellent briefing for today's debate.

Babies in Wales, and their parents, need a voice now more than ever. In recent months, we've heard a huge amount about the difficulties facing different industries and the impact of COVID on our economy, and yet too little has been said about the most important and difficult job any of us will ever do, and that is being a good parent. In the last week, we have heard more about alcohol than we have about babies. Yes, this is tough for everyone, but let's get our priorities straight, because what today's debate will show is that life for the vast majority of new and expectant parents has become much, much tougher.

The growing research into perinatal care during the pandemic is stark and deeply worrying. The voices of new mothers in particular are sounding the alarm. We are hearing stories about anxiety, isolation and new barriers to proper care and support. Yes, the pandemic has created new and unprecedented challenges, but it has also shone a light on the cracks that already existed in society.

Nowhere is that clearer than in the way we fail to prioritise babies in our decision making. This is inexplicable, given that our very future depends on those we bring into the world today and tomorrow; inexplicable, given how much we know about the importance of the first 1,000 days of a child's life; inexplicable, given how much we know about the impact of parental mental health on the welfare of babies.

The Children, Young People and Education Committee undertook a major inquiry into perinatal mental health in 2017. We heard time and time again from witnesses about the importance of support for families during pregnancy and the perinatal period. As Dr Witcombe-Hayes from the NSPCC and the Maternal Mental Health Alliance told the committee, and I quote:

'We think that this best start in life is so important because we know that the first 1,000 days are crucial for child development. So, our early experiences affect the development of brain architecture, which provides the foundation for all of our future learning, behaviour and health. Just as a weak foundation compromises the quality and strength of a house, adverse childhood experiences early in life and not meeting a child’s needs at this time can impair brain architecture, with negative effects lasting well into adulthood.'

We are the first generation of legislators who have this knowledge. There is huge potential for Governments to make a real difference here to tackle some of the biggest issues our society faces today and will face tomorrow and in 20 years' time, and yet we know that before the pandemic there were already significant gaps in specialist perinatal mental health services, despite extra investment from Welsh Government in recent years, with health boards failing to meet perinatal standards, an absence of mother and baby units for families needing specialist in-patient support, and significant gaps in specialised parent-infant relationship teams across Wales. Let us never forget that suicide is still the leading cause of maternal death in the first year of a baby's life.

So, this is the perinatal infrastructure we took into the pandemic, and now things are even tougher for many. Two thirds of Welsh respondents to the 'Babies in Lockdown' report say parental mental health was their main concern in lockdown, and yet only a quarter said they were confident they could find help if they needed it. According to the Born in Wales study, the majority of women reported a negative pregnancy experience, feeling isolated, alone, lonely, distant and not supported.

Parents are being denied a basic level of dignity. Mothers have been asked to e-mail their GP practice pictures of infected stitches. Those struggling with breastfeeding are forced to rely on Zoom calls for support. This pressure is inevitably having consequences.

One of the main sources of stress and anxiety for expectant mums was a concern about whether their partner could attend labour, so last week's announcement on easing visiting restrictions is certainly welcome. The flexibility for health boards to make decisions based on their circumstances certainly makes sense, but such an approach could also lead to inequalities for parents in different parts of Wales, and it would be helpful to know from the Minister how this will be monitored and what arrangements are in place for the sharing of best practice. It would also be helpful to provide clear guidance for parents of premature or sick babies, in line with the research and recommendations put forward by Bliss. Current restrictions have had a devastating impact on too many parents' ability to bond with their babies.

The evidence is clear—the pandemic, subsequent lockdowns and social distancing measures have had a disproportionate impact on those who are pregnant, giving birth, or at home with a baby or toddler. And yet again, the impact has been greatest on those who are already living the hardest lives—coronavirus entrenching disadvantage yet again. Those in more deprived areas consistently show higher levels of loneliness and they are less likely to have experienced an increase in community support.

I've seen the letter from the chief nursing officer to the children's commissioner, providing some assurances around the role of health visitors, but more needs to be done. Babies have largely been invisible as a consequence of the pandemic, and that should trouble all of us. Without informal contact with friends and family, drop-in groups, and a depletion of health visitor contacts, there's a real risk that no-one knows which families are struggling. Welsh Government must ensure that health visitors are able to make face-to-face visits in every instance that it is safe and possible to do so. So much is lost via telephone or even virtual appointments. We hear time and time again about the inability to identify someone who is struggling without that human contact.

To understand what has already been lost and how we need to respond, it is vital that the Government presents robust data about the number of visits that are taking place, how many are missed and how those check-ins are being conducted. In a recent answer in the House of Commons, a UK health Minister was unable to provide an assurance that health visitors would not be redeployed into vaccine-delivery work. I hope the Minister can today give Welsh parents that assurance that there will be no redeployment of health visitors in Wales. Far from removing resources away from perinatal care, we need urgent measures to better support expectant and new parents and their babies.

We now need to prioritise the needs of babies in decision making about COVID-19 response and recovery, ensure that key staff and health visiting services are protected from redeployment, give clear guidance on how face-to-face health visitor appointments can be carried out safely and effectively, and provide additional ring-fenced investment for perinatal mental health services and voluntary services to cope with the increase in demand as a result of COVID-19. The choices we make today about how we support parents and babies through the pandemic are choices we will live with for decades to come. A failure to properly support and resource perinatal health will cast a long shadow over Wales. Diolch yn fawr.

On behalf of the Petitions Committee, I would like to thank Lynne Neagle for bringing this important debate forward. We have received petition P-05-1035, 'Allow birthing partners to be present at scans, the start of labour, birth and after the birth'. This was submitted by Hannah Albrighton, having collected 7,326 signatures. The petition highlights that:

'Due to COVID-19 there has been restrictions on birthing partners being present for scans, labour and birth in many hospitals.'

And can I just say, before I go any further, how lovely it is to see our colleague Bethan Jenkins here? I've been keeping up to date with you—how your new little family is doing well—and it's fantastic to see you here today.

The text notes, and I quote:

'It seems unfair, and an insult to new families that they can stand 2m apart from complete strangers down the beach or even in a shop, but they cannot have their partner or birthing partner there to witness first time experiences such as scans, the baby's heart beat, labour and birth.'

The committee discussed the petition at its meeting on 3 November, giving consideration to correspondence from the Minister for Health and Social Services. All Members fully supported this petition and the need to resolve the situation for new parents and people during pregnancy. However, we note that the situation will be especially difficult where people's experiences of pregnancy or birth are not straightforward, as well as where extra support is needed following childbirth. Most members of the committee noted that we are being contacted by constituents who have been, very sadly, affected by these restrictions.

Now, whilst we do understand and express understanding for the difficult choices being made by our local health services, health boards and the Welsh Government, we do express our hope that decisions taken should and can be sensitive to individual circumstances and that the rules should now be relaxed as soon as this is possible. The Minister informed us in advance of that meeting that the relevant guidance was under review and was waiting approval at that time. I am aware that the updated guidance was published on 30 November, and I do welcome this. However, given the number of signatures gathered by the petition, we would have considered further, at our next committee discussions, whether to refer the petition to a debate. However, I am delighted that such a debate is now taking place today. We have notified the people who signed the petition about this debate and hope that it will now provide some of the answers that those supporting this petition have been looking for. Diolch.

COVID has presented challenges for everyone, and while all of us here would agree that everything must be done to keep parents, babies and staff safe, we must also do whatever we can to ensure the best possible outcomes for everyone involved. We must start by acknowledging that the experiences of young children, babies and their families this year have been some of the most adversely affected by the restrictions. Of course, although these restrictions have been necessary, we cannot ignore the damage that they've caused and continue to cause. At some point we may want to reflect whether the periods of lockdowns would have been necessary had Governments acted earlier to eliminate community transmission, had we established a test and trace system that worked properly, and had we imposed the kind of border controls and central quarantine facilities that have seen many countries throughout the world that have experienced fewer lockdowns and less harsh restrictions. We will be living with the consequences of this for decades, and, because of that, our recovery must start with a focus on babies and children—a focus that has been missing to date.

It was only last Monday that Government announced that they would provide financial support to the parents of children who have to isolate. Why was this issue not considered before? Is it not telling that, aside from education issues, this is the first debate in which children and babies have been placed in the centre? Becoming a parent is a challenge when there is no pandemic; the accounts of the additional pressures that exist now that I'm sure that all of us have heard cannot be ignored. We know, and we've already heard, how important those first 1,000 days of a child's life are. When parents are isolated, struggling alone, or even in couples, the risk of developing mental health problems increase. As one new mother put it to me, 'I've seen the health visitor twice. She is supportive, but I have to attend on my own and I forget a lot of what has been said.' Another says, 'We should allow babies under one some additional bubble support, which would've benefited my mental health. My baby only saw me and my husband from March to August.'

Dealing with routine matters on your own can be a strain, but it's even worse when things go wrong. Some of the most harrowing stories that I've heard have been from women who've had to process the worst imaginable news all alone, while their partner waits outside in the corridor or has to sit in the car. This issue deserves greater political attention; we are storing up long-term problems otherwise.

The maternity workforce deserves protecting and boosting. As one woman put it, 'The staff were very good, but you would think that, due to partners not being allowed to visit, they would have extra staff, but no'. So, we need additional resources to go into this, more funding for specialist mental health services, and to enable safe visiting. In general, we must see more support for those of our citizens who will live the longest with the fallout from COVID-19, as well as the parents who will help them get there.

I'd like to thank Members for bringing forward this important debate, and I'm delighted to take part. COVID-19 has taken a terrible toll on all of us, and, as this motion rightly highlights, it has placed terrible burdens on the shoulders of new parents to a child born during this pandemic. It's worth reiterating that from conception to age 2 is a critical phase, during which the foundations of a child's development are laid. If a child's body and brain develop well, then their life chances are improved. Exposure to stresses or adversity during this period can result in a child's development falling behind. Adverse childhood experiences can and do put children at greater risk of poor health outcomes. Childhood poverty, though not an ACE in itself, can place children at greater risk of experiencing one or more ACEs.

This pandemic has taken a terrible toll on the economy—one that will take decades to recover from. This has seen far too many people lose their jobs and facing the prospect of long-term unemployment. We've seen thousands of people chasing each minimum-wage job since the start of the pandemic, food banks have seen a dramatic rise in demand for their services since April, and people's livelihoods have been destroyed due to no fault of their own, but because of the virus. Those facing such situations talk about the impact it is having on their mental health. These impacts are greatly amplified for new and soon-to-be-new parents.

We rightly take pride in Wales in the support traditionally given to expecting parents. However, with the outbreak of COVID, all that appears to have gone out of the window. And while most health boards have kept up antenatal and postnatal services, they have been patchy and greatly diminished because of the exclusion of partners. According to the maternity services charity AIMS, maternity services are under huge stress with the COVID-19 pandemic. This is causing women to be given mixed messages about the services available, with different health authorities making different decisions, and many mothers have had support for their home births withdrawn.

The involvement of both parents is vital, particularly for the mental health of the mother. The pandemic has seen many expecting and new mothers left without a support network. Nine out of 10 mothers reported feeling more anxious as a result of COVID and lockdown measures. Postnatal depression has sky-rocketed since March, and, sadly, access to perinatal mental health services, like all mental health services, has diminished since the start of the first national lockdown in March. Access to these services is more important than ever, due to the reduction of traditional support networks. Many new mothers can't call on mum or grandma for help because of the ever-present fear of coronavirus.

It's therefore important—vitally important—that Welsh Government increases investment in perinatal mental health services immediately. I would ask that Ministers guarantee that partners will not be excluded from attending maternity services and the birth of their baby for the remainder of the pandemic. Unless we take action now, we risk damaging the life chances of an entire generation. Diolch yn fawr. 

I would like to thank those who brought this very important debate forward, and I was more than happy to support it. I'm going to focus on one particular area in my contribution. We all know that the COVID pandemic has had a huge impact on parents and their babies, but those particularly who need specialist care in neonatal units post birth. Since the pandemic started, access for many parents has been restricted, often with only one parent being allowed in at a time—a few people have already mentioned that today.

We know that, in normal circumstances, usually both parents are allowed 24-hour access to the unit, so they can be fully involved in the delivery of their baby's care. There was a survey, which has also been alluded to, by Bliss, the leading UK charity for babies born premature or sick, and the findings are startling, really. Two thirds of parents felt access restrictions on the unit affected their ability to be with their baby as much as they wanted, and that rose to 74 per cent for parents whose babies spent more than four weeks in neonatal care. It's worth thinking about that. It's the first four weeks of a baby's life where one parent has to rely on the other parent to give any information, any news, and perhaps a few photos. That is quite clearly going to have an impact on the well-being of that parent who can't be present, and their mental well-being.

The other impact that that will have—and 70 per cent did say that it would affect their mental health and well-being—is on the bond with the baby. Not only is the bond with the baby disrupted at that time, but it also requires some considerable input, immediately and going forward, to prevent any difficulties or any long-term impact to either parent or baby in their future relationship. So, I would be really keen to know what discussions Welsh Government have had with health boards about how they can help and facilitate as much parental access as is possible. The British Association of Perinatal Medicine guidance states that, and this is a quote,

'it is essential that the mother and her partner are never considered to be visitors within the neonatal unit—they are partners in their baby's care and their presence should be encouraged and facilitated as much as possible'.

So, I sincerely ask of the Government that they will take that recommendation from the BAPM and do their utmost to secure it. Thank you. 

The Minister for health to contribute. Vaughan Gething. 

We're not—. I think you might be okay now. Carry on. 

Thank you, Llywydd, and thank you to the Members who have tabled today's important debate. I want to restate my commitment to ensuring that every child gets the care and support they need to thrive and reach their full potential. The pandemic has resulted in unprecedented challenges across all of our services, and I do want to take this opportunity to thank once again our staff for their continued dedication and professionalism in supporting families across Wales. 

We continue to strive to provide the best possible start for children in Wales. We are working actively with health boards, local authorities, third sector partners, education providers, and within the Welsh Government, to try to redesign our early years system so that it's joined up and, of course, that the interests of children are at its core. This is within a backdrop of the work undertaken by Public Health Wales and the First 1000 Days programme that a number of Members have mentioned—that evidence base for what we need to do consistently to deliver improvements for the life prospects of children and their families. 

Our focus throughout the pandemic has been to support a flexible and practical approach to help children and families, and I recognise the comments made where families have not felt that that support has reached them. We are trying to ensure that our services work together and deliver as much support possible within the current restrictions that we're living with, and at the centre of this is the universal provision of maternity and health visiting services. I am still tremendously grateful for all the support that my own family had from maternity staff and health visitors when our own family was created. 

We need to ensure that we have the right services available to support children and their families. During the pandemic, maternity services have always been designated as an essential service and there has been no redeployment of staff. So, midwives and obstetricians have continued to provide the emotional and clinical support that every woman will require, using both face-to-face and virtual meetings. I do acknowledge the importance of parents being given the opportunity to bond with their baby and to make sure that the mother is supported through pregnancy and childbirth.

The virus has forced us to make difficult decisions about partners attending hospitals. Revised guidance, which I note Lynne Neagle welcomed, on hospital visiting was published at the end of November. So, visiting maternity services will now be based on a risk assessment approach. That will take into account local and environmental factors such as room size, ability to social distance and infection prevention and control risks to enable partners to safely accompany pregnant women and new mothers. All women will be supported with at least one partner with them during active labour, birth and the period immediately after birth, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

The recent visiting guidance does still limit visiting for neonates to one parent, guardian or carer at the bedside at a time. That's imperative to maintain physical space in neonatal areas, and to reduce the risk of infection and to keep these vulnerable babies safe. Individual circumstances can be taken into account where the benefits to the well-being of the patient or the visitor outweigh the infection control risks, but those risks are very real, as we all know. Once at home, midwives and health visitors continue to provide ongoing support and will work with women to assess their needs on an individual basis. Breastfeeding remains a key priority area and support has continued in different ways during the pandemic. I was pleased to see that the breastfeeding data published at the end of November shows that breastfeeding rates for the quarter have actually increased at birth, 10 days, six weeks and six months old.

Health visiting services continue to provide a universal programme of support through the Healthy Child Wales programme. We did issue specific guidance to all health boards in March in response to the unprecedented circumstances. The guidance on provision advised a temporary reduction in the number of contacts. In August, that was updated, with the expectation that all health boards will offer the full range of Healthy Child Wales contacts without exception. At the height of the first wave, some health boards did need to redeploy health visitors with specialist skills to acute areas. We have had assurance that these health visitors have now returned to their roles, and we expect health boards to plan the workforce to continue to meet the requirements of the Healthy Child Wales programme.

During the more recent local restrictions and the firebreak, health visiting services continued to support families and increase contacts with them. They still work closely with families and provide face-to-face contact, where possible. But if that face-to-face contact is not practical—and a number of families have not wanted to have face-to-face contact—they can, and do, offer virtual contact using Attend Anywhere to arrange appointments with parents that suit them. Throughout the pandemic, this is one of the points that Members raised again. My officials, led by the chief nurse, have continued to regularly meet with leads for both maternity and health visiting services to be aware of issues and to provide reassurance and assurance on service delivery. That's provided an opportunity for shared learning and a 'once for Wales' approach to solutions. So, we are still very much looking to have direct professional leadership and sharing of learning and experience across the country. 

Flying Start continues to be provided, and I'm extremely proud, as a former Minister with responsibility for Flying Start. The guidance we issued on 21 October confirmed that the full range of the Healthy Child Wales programme and enhanced Flying Start context should be delivered. There are excellent examples of children and families being supported in ways that are innovative, including online support, interactive parents' courses and children and family resource packs.

One of the key innovations during this pandemic has been the use of virtual technology. We know some health boards have not had the equipment to run all applications, but our officials are continuing to work closely with health boards to identify their requirements so they can properly support women and their families. I do recognise that parents at this time may well feel a sense of isolation from families and friends, and that may have a negative impact on perinatal mental health. We remain committed to improving perinatal mental health services, not just following the investment we've consistently made since 2015, but our ongoing commitment, including during this pandemic. The money we made available for service improvement in the pandemic, and the additional money we've made, in line with the priorities in accordance with our 'Together for Mental Health' delivery plan, included, specifically, perinatal mental health services.

We will continue to monitor the available evidence to understand the growing impact of COVID-19 on mental health. This will include population surveys as well as information provided by our NHS. We're also working closely with our national clinical lead for perinatal mental health to understand the impact and to agree how we need to respond to it. It is vitally important, though, that families know that perinatal mental health is still available, and they should not avoid accessing necessary healthcare. Our community perinatal mental health teams across Wales continue to show innovation and dedication, and they've moved to a range of different ways to support families where possible. I do understand how important peer support can be for new parents, so parent, baby and toddler groups I know can help reduce isolation, and support the emotional and mental health and well-being of parents. The current coronavirus regulations confirm that these sessions can take place. They're subject to the same requirements that apply for organised activities for the development or well-being of children. The guidance has been issued and is available on the Welsh Government website. 

As Lynne Neagle noted, COVID-19 has and continues to have a negative impact on the lives of our most vulnerable and disadvantaged families, particularly in the early years, where some services have been paused or scaled down because of the pandemic. The child development fund has been established to provide additional support to children and families who have been most affected by lockdown, to address concerns about developmental delay in key areas such as speech, language, communication, motor skills and personal and social development. 

I recognise that we must continue to develop a comprehensive offer for early years, to simplify the current landscape, and deliver a truly integrated early years system. We must do that by taking account of the emerging evidence on the impact of COVID-19 on children, and work with partners in health and social care to ensure that children and families remain supported during the extraordinary times that we continue to live through. We know that we are not in a perfect position now, and there is much more for us to learn from the real lived experience of parents. So, I don't underplay any of the experiences that Members have highlighted in this debate; we must continue to learn, develop and improve together. Thank you, Llywydd.

I call on Bethan Sayed to reply to the debate. And as Janet Finch-Saunders said, it's great to see you here, and I look forward to the day when we can welcome little Idris here to the Senedd as well. So, congratulations to you all. Bethan Sayed.

Thank you, Llywydd, and thank you for your kind words.

Thank you, Lynne Neagle and Leanne Wood for tabling this debate with me. I'm glad you received my request to be part of it—I didn't want to miss this opportunity—and for relaying the life stories of women across Wales so passionately today. Thank you to all who contributed, and especially to Hannah Albrighton, the petitioner, who has had a baby herself in lockdown. It's no surprise that it's taken three female politicians for this debate to actually happen, to push an allegedly feminist Government into action. Lynne Neagle stating clearly that babies have largely been invisible during this pandemic, and really emphasising the fact that this has affected the maternal death rates and suicide rates here in Wales. Leanne saying that we've missed the focus on babies until now, and re-emphasising the issue that I'm passionate about, which is creating that bubble of support for new parents so that they don't have to cope alone in the future, as I had to do and many others.

Before I carry on, I'd like to quickly say a big thank you to Sarah Rees, my maternity cover and my community manager, for campaigning so diligently and passionately on this issue on my behalf. I couldn't have hoped for a better non-locum MS. When I gave birth during this pandemic, I look back in wonder at how I and thousands like me even managed through this situation. It's not said enough in this Chamber or anywhere else in the world, for that matter: women, I salute your bravery, for carrying out one of the most, if not the most amazingly rewarding, yet truly and utterly painful experiences of your life, entirely almost alone and isolated from loved ones during this particular experience.

I do appreciate there are challenges for this Government during this time. I've been watching it all from the sidelines, and I realise it's not easy to balance what people need and what society must do to combat the spread of this virus. But people went to restaurants for food with friends, while women in hospital sat for four days, as I did, waiting to be induced, struggling through the immense pain of pregnancy contractions alone until 'active' labour came and husbands rushed from their homes, scurrying around, praying not to miss the birth of their child. But people went to pubs and sat around chatting, while birthing partners were told, after a wife had had invasive surgery, caesarean sections, stillbirth, that they had to leave her just an hour after giving birth. The woman alone in hospital miscarrying, like the author Caroline Criado-Perez has told us even today that that has been her experience, leaving her to grieve in isolation. Others overwhelmed, like myself, at having to feed and change and care for a new baby, when you struggle to move freely, and when you do, blood streams from you like a waterfall, you rush to the toilet attached to a catheter while your baby screams and screams for you to return. But people went shopping, while 'shero' midwives were overworked, mams buzzing the red button at their bedside, frantically wanting help, crying silently in time with their babies' cries at night, mams helping each other out in a spirit of community that we can only dream of seeing continue past this COVID crisis. But people attended gyms, while partners were at home, warily waiting for that WhatsApp call to see their newborn child, unable to advocate for a mentally fragile new mother, wife or partner—sorry. Dads unable to bond in those crucial first stages—sorry—unable to put their arms around their loved ones for a baby lost. That is the reality of birth during COVID.

Of course, the guidance has stated throughout the pandemic period that women can have birth partners under many stipulated conditions, but left open to their own interpretations, individual health boards have, by and large, excluded dads, birth partners and wider family from key moments of pregnancy and delivery, and some dads who have contacted me have missed the birth almost entirely. In recent announcements, the Welsh Government relaxed their guidance and made it clearer that women can have birth partners and support, but already we have evidence that this is still not being implemented by health boards. Someone wrote to my office this week and outlined her very recent experience in Betsi Cadwaladr in the period since the Welsh Government updated guidance at the end of November. Her experience is something we all are familiar with. She lives in one of the areas with the lowest transmission rates of the UK, she still was subject to the arbitrary 4 cm dilation rule, she was allowed a birth partner, but only one hour after delivery, then she was on her own. This includes women who have caesareans, and there were no visits at all postnatally.

In England, in tier 3, which I understand is the most serious area, birth partners and dads are allowed for the whole of labour and for 12 hours afterwards. It's clear that without direct intervention from Welsh Government on this, women will still be left alone without proper support.

I also heard the Minister mention active labour in his newest announcement, well, that hasn't changed. Men or partners are allowed in during active labour. We need birthing partners to be present for more than that so women are not left alone, going through the pain on their own, day in, day out.

We should also consider what happens when women leave the hospital. In research that Lynne Neagle kindly mentioned that my office conducted, 60 per cent received no postnatal check-ups, and a quarter wanted perinatal mental health support, with most feeling unable to receive any at all.

In any check-up I've been to with my son, Idris, they've never, ever asked how I am. They ask how he is, which is very important, but they have never asked me how I am. And, hot off the press, the survey we did in the run-up to this debate this week shows that 85 per cent who contacted us said that they were severely affected by their mental health because of the lack of contact with their health visitor. 

And this isn't an issue that only concerns women. We really have to consider how this affects new dads, partners, in all of this. Taking away the life experiences for fathers is potentially enormously negative for someone's mental health, so we've worked with campaigners like Mark Williams from my region, who is campaigning vociferously to highlight the issue of dads' mental health more widely. 

I'd like to close with a mention of something this Government has claimed many times in the past, as I started with: being a feminist Government. That is a laudable aim, but it's clear to me, and it will be clear to others, that action or inaction from Welsh Government on this test that claim to destruction. Women and parents, particularly many first-time parents, have been telling Welsh Government all year what a negative impact these rules have had on them, to no avail. We now have updated guidance from Welsh Government, but yet not enough movement from individual health boards on making those necessary changes. We need leadership and energy to hold those health boards to account to make sure they take those risk assessments, yes, we don't want to put anybody at risk, but do that diligently and change the rules so that we can make everybody safe and ensure those babies' lives start in a happy and constructive way. 

Even though we are moving towards a stage where, hopefully, as many people as possible can get that vaccine, this situation in hospital may not change for a good while yet, and it's a situation that needs to change now. I really hope the Minister and the Government has heard the voice of my colleague, Lynne Neagle, who has worked so hard during this pandemic on this issue, my colleague, Leanne Wood, the same, who has done so, and others in this Chamber who have heard stories from your constituents. Listen to them, Vaughan Gething, as Minister, and change the rules so that we don't have a mental health crisis amongst our parents in months or years to come because of the way that they've been treated during this pandemic. Diolch yn fawr iawn. 

The proposal is to agree the motion. Does any Member object? [Objection.] Yes, there is objection. Therefore, I will defer voting until voting time. 

Voting deferred until voting time.