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Covid: New parents still struggling to access support, MPs say

Getty Images new mum with babyGetty Images

New parents are struggling to access health and family support services for their children a year-and-a-half after the Covid pandemic started, MPs say.

A Commons Petitions Committee report called on the government to urgently put support in place for parents who missed out during lockdown.

The committee urged the government to publish a "dedicated Covid-19 recovery strategy for new parents".

The government says it recognises the challenges and has increased support.

The report, the second on the issue from the committee, found the Covid-19 pandemic "continues to have a significant impact" on new parents' access to support services and childcare availability.

The report is called Impact of Covid-19 on new parents: one year on. It said that rather than implementing the committee's recommendations from its first report a year ago - the government "refused to act on nearly all of them".

Committee chair Catherine McKinnell said: "We have continued to receive petitions highlighting the difficulties new parents, and the services they rely on during the vital early months of their child's life, have continued to face over the last year.

"It is clear that the impact of the pandemic is still being felt.

"The government must now reconsider its response and urgently take action to put in place support."

She said it was particularly concerning that no extra funds had been made available to help new parents with mental health issues.

She added: "It has been incredibly valuable to hear from petitioners and experts on this subject, and the committee will continue to challenge the government to bring forward the changes we have concluded need to be made."

The committee report calls for:

  • extra funding and resources to allow catch-up mental health support for new parents and to boost perinatal mental health services
  • funding for local authorities to arrange in-person visits to new parents by councils, voluntary organisations or health visiting staff by the end of the year
  • a review of monitoring and enforcement activity relating to employers' health and safety obligations to pregnant women
  • legislation on the planned extension of redundancy protections for new and expectant mothers
  • a review into the funding, affordability and provision of childcare, and the sustainability of the childcare sector

The committee also sought the views of 8,700 new parents and childcare providers.

The vast majority of respondents, 93%, said they had not been able to access crucial baby and toddler groups over the past year.

And three-quarters said they had not been able to find childcare they could afford.

Stacey, a mum from Kent, struggled when health visitor appointments for her newborn baby were mainly held online during lockdown.

Stacey Nixon mum Stacey Nixon and sonStacey Nixon
Stacey says she found it difficult during lockdown with her son, Bellamy

She had one appointment on the phone but says: "That level of support I think is severely diminished because you can't physically be there. What if it then leads to problems?"

Speaking to BBC Newsbeat, she said: "All of that on top of new mum stress and figuring out this baby who you thought you knew and at every step changes. That was really difficult."

Stacey thinks there should have been more support for young mums including seminars online to watch if there is a problem, but says they're still not widely available.

"It's like they haven't learnt from those past 18 months, how difficult it is."

Ros Bragg, director of charity Maternity Action, commented: "The situation for new and expectant mothers is really quite desperate in the aftermath of Covid.

"It's clear from the Petitions Committee report that this group has been disproportionately affected by the fallout from the pandemic - but the government has consistently failed to act.

"Our helplines are struggling to cope with the volume of calls from pregnant women and new mothers facing unfair redundancies, as maternity discrimination continues to increase sharply."

'Helping families'

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance which represents childcare providers, says the committee is right to call for a review into early years funding.

"Substantial further investment into the early years is needed to ensure that providers can deliver affordable, accessible - and crucially, sustainable - early care and education," he said.

"If the government is truly committed to helping families recover from the impact of Covid-19, it must ensure that this includes helping parents of babies and young children to access the services and support they need."

A government spokesperson said: "We recognise the challenges faced by new parents during the pandemic, which is why we have increased support for them.

"This includes expanding specialist mental-health services, making an unprecedented investment in childcare, and introducing parental bereavement leave.

"We will respond to the committee's recommendations in full in due course."