Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of trends in rates of postnatal depression in new mothers during the covid-19 lockdown.

We have not made a formal assessment.

We are taking action to increase the support available in the perinatal period, including expanding perinatal mental health services around England to include new mental health ‘hubs’ for new, expectant or bereaved mothers. These will offer physical health checks and psychological therapy. The hubs will offer treatment for a range of mental health issues, including postnatal depression, to around 6,000 new parents in the first year. Ten of the 26 hubs will be set up in the coming months, with the rest due to open by April 2022.