Pregnancy: Mental Illness
(asked on 23rd May 2016) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will review its policy on the provision of independent counselling for women with underlying mental health conditions with unwanted pregnancies, to ensure that such women are provided with information on (a) alternatives to abortion and (b) grants and other assistance available should they decide to continue with their pregnancies.
The Required Standard Operating Procedures (RSOPs) for all abortion service providers states that “All women requesting an abortion should be offered the opportunity to discuss their options and choices with, and receive therapeutic support from, a trained pregnancy counsellor and this offer should be repeated at every stage of the care pathway” (RSOP 14). The RSOPs are contained within the Procedures for the Approval of Independent Sector Places for the Termination of Pregnancy (Abortion) which can be found at:
This policy is also reflected in the Government’s Framework for Sexual Health Improvement in England.
This Government is committed to improving perinatal mental health services for women during pregnancy and in the first postnatal year, so that all women who need services are able to access the right care at the right time and close to home. We have committed to invest £365 million in specialist perinatal mental health services from 2015/16 to 2020/21.
A range of universal and specialist services are involved in the identification, care and support of women experiencing perinatal mental illness. Among women being treated for perinatal mental health problems, the majority (about 90%) are looked after in primary care, including Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2014). Women with more complex or severe conditions require the support of specialist perinatal mental services. These include community perinatal mental health teams that provide treatment and support for women in the community and specialist mother and baby units providing in-patient psychiatric care.