Helping expectant mothers deal with mental health issues can reduce the chances of children developing similar problems, council leaders have said in a new report.
Best start in life, published by the Local Government Association (LGA), said a failure to address mental health issues in pregnancy can directly affect how a child’s brain develops.
The report states that if a baby’s development falls behind during the first years of life, this will make them more likely to develop mental illness themselves later on.
Figures show one in five women suffer from depression, anxiety or post-birth psychosis during pregnancy or a year after giving birth.
The LGA’s portfolio holder for community wellbeing, cllr Izzi Seccombe, said: ‘What is deeply concerning is that there are substantial numbers of children and young people who are increasingly struggling with mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression and self-harm, in addition to a minority who face potentially life-threatening conditions such as eating disorders and psychosis.
‘But to understand the scale of the problem, you have to go back to before a child's birth, with one in five mothers experiencing mental illness during pregnancy or in the first year, which can have a potentially devastating impact on a child if left untreated.’
