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.