Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking through the Men's Health Strategy to improve support given to fathers and partners during the postnatal period and following a traumatic pregnancy or birth.

The Government recognises the significant physical and psychological consequences of birth trauma and the devastating impact this can have on women and their families, including men. We remain fully committed to improving the quality and consistency of care throughout pregnancy, birth, and the critical months that follow.

Specialist perinatal mental health services should offer fathers and partners an assessment of their mental health needs and signpost them to relevant services such as Talking Therapies or community mental health services.

Health visiting perinatal mental health support is focussed on the whole family, and some National Health Service trusts also work with Home Start UK’s Dad Matters project to support paternal mental health.

Through Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies we are investing approximately £37 million in 2026/27 in 75 local authorities in England to provide perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationship support, including for fathers.

The funding enables fathers to access a range of groups and services to strengthen their relationship with their child, gain confidence as parents, and for new and expectant fathers to access mental health support, including for traumatic pregnancies or births.

The Men’s Health Strategy recognises fatherhood as a critical life stage. The strategy sets up a strong foundation for improving how we think and act on men's health and we will learn, iterate, and adapt as challenges emerge.