17th September 2025
The Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) was delighted to join a Parliamentary Roundtable on Monday 15 September, focused on ensuring a decade of change for perinatal mental health. In this iHV Voices Blog, Georgina Mayes, iHV Senior Lead for Health Visiting Professional Services, describes the event and her role representing the voices of women, their families, and the health visiting profession.
It was a privilege to take part in this important Roundtable discussion at the Houses of Parliament, chaired by Laura Kyrke-Smith MP and Michelle Welsh MP. The focus was “The 10-Year Health Plan and Perinatal Mental Health: How do we ensure a decade of positive change?” It was inspiring to be in a room which brought together MPs, policy makers, health leaders, charities, the voluntary sector and people with lived experience – all committed to ensuring positive change for perinatal mental health.
During the Roundtable, I was proud to represent the iHV and was able to share insights and evidence to ensure the voices of women, families and the health visiting profession were heard loud and clear. I began by stressing how health visitors are the only service that systematically and proactively reaches all women and families during the perinatal period, including the critical first year. In particular, I spoke about the importance of high-quality care in the postnatal period which has been overlooked in recent years as policy is heavily focused on safer births. The recent MBRRACE data is stark – currently more women and babies are being harmed in the postnatal period by conditions that are largely preventable. This needs to change and we cannot ignore the postnatal period any longer!
Secondly, I highlighted how health visitors play an important role in the delivery of healthcare and support across the perinatal mental health pathway, including prevention. The reality is that most women will not reach the threshold for specialist perinatal mental health care services. But around 1 in 4 will experience mild-to-moderate perinatal mental health problems. This is where health visitors can make a big difference by supporting all families in the community during their transition to parenthood and through the early identification and assessment of perinatal mental health problems – ensuring that families receive the right support for their needs to prevent issues from escalating. For some families, the health visiting service will provide additional targeted emotional wellbeing visits as part of the targeted ‘Healthy Child Programme’. Health visitors also play a key role in connecting families to wider community support and specialist services where this is needed.
Trust is at the heart of this work. Health visitors build strong, ongoing relationships with families, creating safe spaces where women can share how they are truly feeling. That trust enables us to spot early signs of risk, provide timely support, and connect families to the right help before problems spiral into crisis.
At the Roundtable, I also spoke about the wider context of perinatal mental health difficulties which are non-discriminatory in nature – affecting women across all socioeconomic, cultural, and demographic backgrounds – yet disparities in access to care and outcomes remain, particularly among minoritised and underserved groups, with women from deprived communities and Black and Asian women experiencing the worst outcomes. Family life has also become increasingly complex, and health visitors often support women who are also facing domestic abuse, poverty, housing difficulties, or substance use issues. These are complex, sensitive conversations that require skill and confidence, but they are essential if families are to get the support they need.
The case for prevention is clear. By acting early, HVs reduce not only the devastating impact on mothers, babies, and families but also the financial burden on society. A landmark report in 2014 estimated that perinatal mental illness costs the UK economy over £8.1 billion each year. Investment in prevention and early intervention therefore makes both human and economic sense.
But there are real challenges that need to be overcome to turn this situation around. At the same time as demand for health visiting support has increased, the health visitor workforce has been cut by over 40% since 2015, leaving a shortage of around 5,000 health visitors in England. Families also experience a postcode lottery across the UK, with unwarranted variation in the levels of support available based on where they live, rather than their level of need. Some families receive excellent care while others get very little. This is unacceptable, and it must change.
That’s why I called for urgent investment in the HV profession and called for integrated postnatal pathways that extend beyond midwifery into health visiting and primary care. Health visitors are our frontline for prevention, and early identification of perinatal mental health problems – a vital safety-net of support to ensure that women and families’ needs do not remain hidden.
The Roundtable discussion was full of energy and commitment. As co-chairs, Laura and Michelle are determined to take the barriers, opportunities, and solutions raised at the Roundtable directly to Wes Streeting, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who has made a public and urgent commitment to improving maternity and postnatal care. They also want to keep this group engaged as the work develops – this was just the start of the conversation!
We ended with a group photo on the steps of Westminster, a reminder that when we come together, we are stronger and change really is possible.
Georgina Mayes, iHV Senior Lead for Health Visiting Professional Services
