Mental health in the United Kingdom
Agnes Hann of the National Childbirth Trust said, "These findings are shocking, and mean that thousands of women experiencing potentially serious perinatal mental health problems are not getting the support they need. Perinatal mental illness can have a severe and long-term impact on mothers, babies and families. In extreme circumstances, it can result in tragedy – suicide is a leading cause of maternal death." From roughly 10% to 20% of women giving birth experience some type of mental illness such as anxiety and depression or more complex problems like PTSD and psychosis. With about 665,000 births a year in England 66,500–133,000 women a year develop illnesses. In 2016, 13,000 women were treated by perinatal teams while 800 became inpatients. This means the majority were untreated.
Relationships for incarcerated individuals
Not only are there large and growing numbers of parents in prison or jail, the effects of incarceration on their familial relationships have associations with strong negative outcomes. For example, many women who are incarcerated endorse being single mothers, and are often labeled as inadequate providers for their children during and after their time in prison or jail. In fact, 52% of incarcerated mothers report living in a single-parent household compared to 19% of incarcerated fathers. Unlike many male inmates, whose children are likely to remain in the care of their wives or girlfriends, incarcerated females are at very high risk of losing their children to the State. The separation and lack of contact with their children that these women endorse has been described as damaging to their mental health. Studies on mothers post-release have underscored this conceptualization by demonstrating that healthy mother-child relationships have positive impacts on depression symptoms and self-esteem. In other words, healthy relationships with their children appear to improve women's emotional health during and after their time involved in the justice system.