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.
Post-adoption depression syndrome
Adoptive parents face lots of changes in their lives and daily routines after adoption, which can affect the parents state of mental health. These would include the parental evaluation first time adoptive parents face, possible financial strain as well as the reminder of infertility and therefore possible feelings of guilt or inadequacy. New parents also encounter other stresses that are not due to the adoption process specifically, like lack of sleep or the physical exhaustion suffered from caring for a young child.