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.
Maternity leave in the United States
Depression is a condition with both mental and physical side effects and can be very debilitating depending on the severity. The risk factors vary from person to person and women are typically diagnosed with depression more than men. Other than trauma, physical illness, certain personality traits, and previous family history, pregnancy can be a cause of depression in women. Symptoms of this disease include, loss of interest in activities, difficulty focusing, thinking, making decisions, and remembering things, anxiety, irritation, slowed speaking, physical pains, and feelings of sadness and worthlessness. Any combination of these symptoms makes simple tasks seem daunting and almost impossible. Women who just gave birth are already managing recovering from the severe physical symptoms while taking care of a newborn child and adding symptoms of depression to this mixture can be a huge burden on them. When these new mothers go back to work they have the added stress of worrying about their child and balancing their family and work roles. Mothers who return to work soon after a birth of a child are likely to get depressed than other mothers; therefore, longer paid maternity leave has the potential to help new mothers. Women will have more time to recover from giving birth both mentally and physically, which can help prevent the onset of depression.