Young mums and mental health

Last October saw the launch of a report called ‘Maternal Mental Health Experience of Young Mums’.  It was created by the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition and the Maternal Mental Health Alliance.

They spoke to young mums across the UK to learn about their experiences and to hear their views on what needs to change so young mums can get better support for their mental health.

Young mums and mental health: the facts

In 2020, one in four births in England and Wales were to young mums aged 16-24 (Office for National Statistics, 2020). Compared with those aged over 25, young mums are at an increased risk of experiencing mental illness during pregnancy and after birth.

In 2020, one in four births in England and Wales were to young mums aged 16-24 (Office for National Statistics, 2020). Compared with those aged over 25, young mums are at an increased risk of experiencing mental illness during pregnancy and after birth.

They may develop mental health problems during the pregnancy, or a pre-existing condition may get worse. 

Postnatal depression is also up to twice as prevalent in teenage mothers compared to those over 20 (Public Health England, 2016).

Very serious issue

22 percent of young people aged 17 to 24 had a probable mental health problem in 2022, but much higher rates were identified in young women (31 percent) compared to young men (13 percent) (NHS Digital, 2022).

Suicide remains the leading cause of direct maternal death in the first postnatal year, and between 2018 and 2020 there was an increase in the number of teenage maternal suicides (MBRRACE-UK, 2022). While the numbers are small, any number is a concern, and the increase is particularly worrying.

Many young mums face additional difficulties, which can contribute to poor mental health. These risk factors include experience of being in care, isolation and loneliness, housing difficulties and poverty. Young women who become teenage mums are 22 percent more likely to be living in poverty at age 30 than their peers – again a particular risk factor for mental health.

Many young mums face additional difficulties, which can contribute to poor mental health. These risk factors include experience of being in care, isolation and loneliness, housing difficulties and poverty.

Feedback from young mums

Many young mums experience significant stigma, shame and judgement, which can contribute to poor mental health and prevent them from seeking help.

This affects their interactions with different professionals. They told the report’s researchers that they felt judged as parents and that their concerns about their health and their children’s health weren’t taken seriously. Fear of losing their child is a key reason for them not opening up to services.

What do young mums need?

Overwhelmingly, young mums said they want non-judgemental services that listen to them and take concerns about their health seriously. They felt the most positive experiences of support were from dedicated services in the local area that catered to their needs as young mums.

It's vital to train teachers to be able to talk about mental health

At the launch of the report, Raiye Frazer spoke about her experiences as a teenage mother.

Her own childhood had been traumatic: she lived with poverty, abuse and thoughts of suicide from the age of 11, and became homeless at 17. 

It was one of her teachers who reached out to her and Raiye emphasised the importance of training teachers to be able to talk to pupils about mental health.

Lack of compassion

Once Raiye had given birth, unstable housing meant basic needs such as heating weren’t being met, leading to her young son falling ill. She said: “What would have helped would have been professionals following up with me – teachers, police, social workers etc. I felt ignored, referrals were never followed up. There was a lack of compassion.

“Professionals need to dig deep and find compassion. Every community of young mums needs you – you need to see us as human beings. That will help promote change. We do want more, we do aspire to more for our children. We do strive to be better.”

Professionals need to dig deep and find compassion. Every community of young mums needs you – you need to see us as human beings.

Currently, welfare systems aren’t set up to support young mums who don’t have support from their family. Researcher Ruth Naughton-Poe says:

“Historically, policy has been framed around seeing young mums as a problem that needs to be sorted. Efforts have been focussed on reducing the number of teenage pregnancies and less on the support needs of young mums.”

Improving support: four key areas

The report identifies four key areas of improvement in the support of young mums’ mental health:

1. Listen and respond to the needs of young mums in national and local systems

Rather than attempting to prevent teenage pregnancies, we need to support young mothers and ensure their needs are considered within policy development and design. At a local level, health commissioners should listen to and work with young mums to co-design holistic ways of supporting them.

2. Resource and invest in universal and preventative services

Universal services such as midwives, GPs and health visitors have a vital role to play in identifying young mums who are having difficulties with their mental health. Yet health visiting numbers decreased by 40% between 2015 and 2023 (Institute of Health Visiting, 2023).

Action needs to be taken to increase the numbers of vital public health teams. More Family Hubs are also needed across the country as they provide support in a friendly and accessible setting.  

3. Ensure access to specialist mental health services

Expansion of specialist mental health services, both perinatal and for children and young people, has been a priority for the NHS but many young women are still unable to access the support they need. For example, in 2021, over 16,000 women in need of support from perinatal services were unable to access specialist care (Maternal Mental Health Alliance, 2023).

It is crucial that these services receive sufficient funding and that funding allocated at national level reaches clinical services in local areas.

4. Research and listen to the voices of young mums

Little research has been done to understand the mental health of young mums and their experience of accessing support, particularly from specialist services.

The report recommends that an in-depth review of teenage maternal suicides is carried out. 

This will help systems at both a national and local level to learn lessons and to identify where change can be made in service provision.

Young dads too

There is very little research into the impact on young men of becoming a father but it’s quite possible that they experience similar issues to the mother of their child.

A recent BBC Newsbeat article reported on the findings of a charity set up in Gateshead, the North East Young Dads and Lads Project.

It found that young men often struggle with their mental health and feelings of loneliness on becoming fathers, with one in 10 experiencing anxiety and depression symptoms in the first six months.

You can read the full report on young mums' mental health here: Maternal Mental Health Experience of Young Mums