Gregor Poynton MP champions maternal mental health at Parliamentary event

Hosted by the Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA) alongside MPs Laura Kyrke-Smith and Kirith Entwistle, the event highlighted the critical need for timely specialist care for women struggling with their mental health during and after pregnancy.

The event followed a recent Westminster debate on maternal mental health called by Laura Kyrke-Smith MP and spotlighted the urgent need for better support for women facing mental health challenges during and after pregnancy.

The perinatal period - from pregnancy to a years after birth - is a vital window of opportunity to support women, babies, and families. With 1 in 4 women experiencing perinatal mental health problems, and suicide consistently the leading cause of maternal death between six weeks and a year after pregnancy, urgent action is needed.

Gregor Poynton MP attending the parliamentary drop-in event on World Maternal Mental Health Day.

Attendees heard moving accounts from women with lived experience and learned about Laura Kyrke-Smith’s recommendations for action that can improve the care available to families. MPs were also briefed on the MMHA’s work to address inequities in access to care, and its quality.

Karen Middleton, Head of Campaigns and Policy at the MMHA, said: “Too many women and families in Livingston and across the UK still face barriers to life-saving perinatal mental health support. We’re grateful to Gregor Poynton MP for joining us and advocating for the high-quality, specialist care every new and expectant mum deserves. By addressing stubborn gaps and inequities, we can transform outcomes for all mothers, babies, and their families.”

Gregor Poynton MP has pledged to champion improvements in perinatal mental health to ensure families in Livingston constituency and across the UK have timely access to the care they need, when and where they need it.