Delyth Jewell MS: “New mothers have had a really tough time during the pandemic”

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Delyth Jewell, who represents Plaid Cymru, is one of four regional Senedd Members serving the South Wales East region.

New mothers have had a really tough time during the pandemic. 

For pregnant women, lockdowns brought so many anxieties, including uncertainty about whether they’d be able to give birth in a hospital safely, a lack of face-to-face support in some settings, and not knowing whether their partners would be with them for tests, or even at the birth.  Going through pregnancy presents challenges even in the best of circumstances, and all of these extra stresses have taken a heavy toll.

I’ve been raising questions of the Welsh Government recently, to try to map out how the situation has improved for new parents in recent months, as well as what lessons have been learned from the experiences of countless women and their babies, to ensure that new parenthood is a time that all families can cherish.

Because we really do need to listen to what they went through.

Even after giving birth, mothers and their partners faced months of looking after newborns without the usual support of close family and friends, and so many mothers felt isolated during their maternity leave because they couldn’t go to the usual classes and cafes and play dates.  The babies themselves were starved of normal human interactions with other children and members of their families for months.  And it’s a phenomenon that’s affected young children, too: teachers have reported that some little ones are still adapting to socialising with friends after the toll of lockdowns.  Some babies and toddlers will keep needing a little extra support for a while yet, and it’s absolutely crucial that we ensure all of these children adjust happily to being able to interact and play with their peers.

And the new mothers and their partners need to be listened to as well, which is why I’m calling on the Welsh Government to conduct a thorough assessment of the scale of the problems faced by new mothers, their partners and their children.  This could be done by working in conjunction with specialist charities such as the Parent-Infant Foundation and Pregnant Then Screwed, who have been conducting research into this very issue.  The support provisions should then be scaled up to meet the need. 

We finally have a perinatal mental health unit in Wales (this is a specialist centre to help new mothers with mental health problems) which was realised as a result of a tireless campaign by my friend, the late Steffan Lewis. The unit is based in Swansea, and I understand that it has been exceptionally busy since it opened. Swansea is very far for people in the south east and the north to travel to, though – so might there be a case to open a second unit?

A lot of work is ongoing within the Welsh NHS as hardworking staff do everything they can to provide people with care, and it’s crucial that the Welsh Government strives to make sure that families are getting all the help they need, for the sake of parents, children and babies all across the country. Because all of these families really need our support.