13th June 2025

As part of Infant Mental Health Awareness week we are delighted to share this Voices Blog from The Reading Agency about a new reading list for families.

Supporting Perinatal Mental Health Through the Power of Reading

The Reading Agency’s new Reading Well for families scheme launches in public libraries across England and Wales this week, supporting parents during pregnancy and the crucial early years to help create a foundation for lifelong health and wellbeing.

Reading Well for families provides a curated collection of books, carefully selected by health professionals and co-produced by people with lived experience of perinatal mental health challenges. This evidence-based booklist aims to empower families with accessible, supportive resources during pregnancy and the early years, from conception to age two.

Reading Well for families addresses an urgent and growing need for perinatal mental health support. The statistics are stark:

Monthly referrals for perinatal services in England have risen dramatically from around 1,400 referrals a month in 2016 to more than 7,600 a month in 2024.
At least 1 in 5 women experience mental health problems during pregnancy and after birth.
Anxiety and depression are the most common serious maternity health considerations, affecting 10-15% of women.
In Wales, almost 9,000 new mothers experience perinatal mental health problems each year.

Reading Well for families offers a low-cost, high-impact community intervention that delivers quality-assured information endorsed by health professionals.

About the Books

The Reading Well for families booklist has been thoughtfully developed to include titles that address diverse family experiences. The collection is grouped into four key areas:

Becoming a family – your wellbeing: Books that support all family structures, including titles such as: The Queer Parent: Everything You Need to Know From Gay to Ze by Lotte Jeffs and Stu Oakley; Surviving Solo Motherhood by Emma Cotterill and Amy Rose; and OMG It’s Twins! by Alison Perry.
Mental health: Resources addressing a range of perinatal mental health conditions, including: Break Free from Maternal Anxiety by Fiona Challacombe et al.; Coping with Birth Trauma and Postnatal Depression by Lucy Jolin; and My Black Motherhood: Mental Health, Stigma, Racism and the System by Sandra Igwe.
Coping with loss: Compassionate guidance for those experiencing baby loss, including: Loving You From Here: Stories of Grief, Hope and Growth When a Baby Dies by Sands with Susan Clark; and The Worst Girl Gang Ever by Bex Gunn and Laura Buckingham.
Welsh language: For Welsh-speaking families in Wales, the list includes Darn Bach o’r Haul edited by Rhiannon Williams, a collection of personal stories around baby loss.

The books are available in multiple formats, including eBooks and audiobooks, ensuring accessibility for all families.

Where to Find Them

All of these titles can be borrowed for free from local public libraries across England and Wales, where staff have been equipped with resources to guide families to appropriate reading. This universal access is critical for addressing health inequalities, ensuring that all families – regardless of financial circumstances – can access high-quality mental health resources when they need them most.

About The Reading Agency’s Reading Well programme

Reading Well for families joins the broader Reading Well Books on Prescription programme, which includes collections for mental health, children, teens, and dementia. The programme has demonstrated remarkable success, with:

91% of users finding their Reading Well book helpful
92% of health professionals reporting that the programme increased the range of support they could offer
More than 3.9 million Reading Well books borrowed across England and Wales since the programme’s inception.

How can Health Visitors use the books?

Health visitors are uniquely positioned to connect families with Reading Well resources during a critical time in their lives. The scheme aligns perfectly with the mission of the Institute of Health Visiting to strengthen the quality and consistency of health visiting for the benefit of all babies, children, families and communities.

During antenatal contacts, home visits, and developmental reviews, health visitors can:

Inform expectant and new parents about the Reading Well for families collection.
Highlight specific books relevant to families’ current needs or concerns.
Encourage library visits as part of family wellbeing activities.
Use the books as conversation starters about perinatal mental health.
Support families who may be reluctant to seek formal mental health support by offering these accessible resources as a gentle first step.

Head over to The Reading Agency’s website to familiarise yourself with the collection and accompanying resources. By bringing together health expertise, the proven power of reading, and libraries as a trusted community space, we can ensure families have access to reliable information when they need it most.

Reading is a powerful tool for mental wellbeing. We can help address the critical rise in perinatal mental health needs and support families during what can be a challenging time.

To learn more about the initiative visit: www.readingagency.org.uk/reading-well/families