Calls for Mother and Baby Unit to be Established in Northern Ireland

Individual women, charities and other organizations will present Robin Swann with a public letter today to call for a Mother and Baby unit to be established here

Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK without the specialist service. It allows mums experiencing severe postnatal illness to receive treatment, without seperating them from their babies

Statistics on how many women in Northern Ireland would benefit from an MBU, or how many women each year are admitted to psychiatric units in the perinatal period, are not compiled. The Royal College of Psychiatrists estimates that for every 1,000 births, 2 - 4 women will need admission for mental health care. With 20,815 births in Northern Ireland in 2020, this would mean between 43 and 84 women a year require admission to an MBU. A 2013 GAIN Report into the need for a MBU in NI reported that 122 women might require admission to a unit (Guidelines and Audit Implementation Network, NI, September 2013).

The College says that around 1 in 5 pregnant women will have a mental health problem during their pregnancy, and in the year after they have a baby.