By Jake Parsons, September 2020, source BMC Medicine.
Mental illness is common during pregnancy and first postnatal year (perinatal period), and up to 20% of women experience a wide range of mental health conditions. Barriers to accessing mental health care during pregnancy and the first postnatal year (perinatal period) seem to be greater for ethnic minority women. As a consequence of these barriers, mental illness during the peri-natal period frequently remains untreated. This can have a significant negative impact on the health of the mother and the health of their children, on her partner and the wider family and on the society as a whole.
Large and statistically significant differences were found in access to both community mental health services and psychiatric inpatient care. In particular Black African and Asian women (all sub-groups) had much lower rates of access to community mental health services.
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