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.