5. Will the Minister provide an update on how perinatal mental health services in Wales are being delivered? OQ58159

Health boards continue to develop services in line with the Royal College of Psychiatrists' standards for perinatal mental health. This is being supported by additional service improvement funding this year, which builds on our previous investment.

Diolch, Weinidog. New mothers have had a really tough couple of years. The pandemic has resulted in so many of them going through a lot of milestones alone, suffering from acute loneliness and isolation at what could otherwise have been a really happy time. I'd like to know, please, Minister, if an assessment has been made of the effects the pandemic has had on new parents and children born since 2020. How has not being able to see people face to face affected them, what about the impact of staffing changes, and how has the work of community perinatal health teams been impacted, or health visitors? And finally, Minister, what work is being undertaken now to make sure that new parenthood is a time that all parents can cherish?

Thank you very much, Delyth, for that important question, and, as you highlight, it has been really difficult to have a new baby during lockdown. I think we all recognise that, and you'll recall that I led a debate in this Chamber as a backbencher on babies in lockdown. So, we are very cognisant in Welsh Government of the challenges. I know that perinatal services adapted really quickly to the pandemic, although some of that work was, by necessity, undertaken on a virtual basis, and the same was true with health visitors. But we are very mindful of what families have been through. Services are getting back on track. We've invested very significantly in our tier 0 and lower level support for anyone with mental health issues, and we've also made additional funding available for 2022–23 to support services most impacted by the pandemic and key priority areas in our 'Together for Mental Health' strategy, and that includes perinatal mental health services, which are a priority in the strategy. And we are expecting health boards now to be compliant with the Royal College of Psychiatrists' workforce standards—on standard 1 by April 2023—and they've all been asked to prioritise perinatal support. As part of the additional funding we've made available, they've been asked to bid against that and provide detailed information on what they're doing with that, and we are, officials are, currently assessing those submissions from health boards.

Certainly, going through a pregnancy and having a baby is a life-changing event. Postnatal depression, however, and other perinatal mental health problems, such as women experiencing eating problems during and after pregnancy, including possible other causes, can be incredibly dangerous to mother and baby. It is an issue I've remained very passionate about. Around one in five women experience a perinatal mental health problem during pregnancy or within the early postnatal years. And, shockingly, when writing this response, I was shocked to find that 70 per cent of mothers will hide or underplay their illness. So, what ongoing discussions is the Welsh Government having with our healthcare specialists? You know, time after time, week after week, I stand here, when there are so many pressures on my own local health board, and how can I be assured that those mothers who are really seeking help for perinatal depression or any mental health issue—? How can I be assured, Deputy Minister, or Minister, that they're going to get the absolute support that they need? Thank you.

Thank you, Janet, and you can be assured, absolutely, that this is a priority for Welsh Government. That's why we made the recurrent funding available, to establish perinatal mental health teams. They are up and running in all parts of Wales. I was very pleased to go and meet the perinatal team in Betsi, who are doing some really excellent work supporting families at what can be, as you say, a really challenging time in their lives. But we know that we need to do more, which is why we're continuing to prioritise investment in perinatal mental health services, and this is also a priority for things like Health Education and Improvement Wales's workforce plan. But we have made really good progress in terms of establishing those teams, and we will continue to prioritise our focus on perinatal mental health, because we recognise it's not just for the families; it's about giving babies the best possible start in life.

Buffy Williams. Buffy Williams. Ah, there you go. Oh, no—. Yes. Start now, thank you.

Diolch, Llywydd. The birth of a child is one of the most intense and emotional experiences in a woman's life, but sometimes the best-planned births can quickly become an event where, sadly, anything but joy and happiness is felt. Support for mothers, their birth partners and their families throughout the perinatal period is absolutely crucial for this reason. On top of the dedicated uned gobaith in Swansea Bay, the support is available across all seven health boards through dedicated perinatal mental health support teams and through the third sector via charities like Mothers Matter. Will the Minister provide an update on the progress made to provide perinatal mental health support training to all healthcare professionals involved in the perinatal period, and how is the Welsh Government ensuring charities like Mothers Matter are adequately funded to enable them to continue to provide invaluable support to mothers and their families?

Thank you very much, Buffy. As you rightly highlight, we all go into childbirth expecting to have a really blissfully happy experience, but, unfortunately, things can go wrong, there can be distressing experiences, and I know that you recognise that, as do I. It's really important that we put support in place. I'm grateful to you, as well, for your acknowledgement of the work that we've done already through establishing the mother and baby unit at Tonna Hospital, and also the perinatal mental health teams that are now operating throughout Wales.

Training, though, as you say, is absolutely vital, and it's vital that everybody who comes into contact with pregnant women or women in the perinatal period have that good understanding of perinatal mental health, because this is everybody's business. The perinatal mental health network that we have established is taking forward the development of a training framework for perinatal mental health, and it's also a priority area for HEIW too. You'll be pleased to know that HEIW have now completed the consultation on their mental health workforce plan, and will be setting forth, in due course, how they're going to take forward those issues.

Can I also take a moment just to place on record my thanks to the third sector organisations like the one that you've referred to, Mothers Matter? I was really struck, as Chair of the committee, by what absolutely crucial work the third sector is doing, often without being recognised by funding. I've been very clear with health boards that we want those third sector organisations to be treated as equal partners and considered to have the funding when it's made available. That's one of the things I'll be looking at when these bids come back to me, that they have actually worked in partnership with the third sector to ensure that they get a fair stab at accessing the funding.