One in six new mothers in Somerset get no mental health support after they have given birth, a new study has revealed.

GPs in England are currently required by law to provide postnatal checks on new mothers within six weeks of them giving birth, assessing their physical and mental well-being.

Healthwatch England, which advocates improvements to health services on behalf of ordinary patients, spoke to nearly 2,700 new mothers and birthing parents about their experiences of postnatal services since April 2020.

The study revealed that many GPs – including those in Somerset – are failing to follow national guidelines and are not spotting signs of those struggling with mental health issues.

The study analysed the experiences both during and after pregnancy of 2,693 people across England.

The group members were interviewed between October and December 2022, but their experiences date from April 2020 onwards – around the time of the first national lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic.

Of the sample interviewed, around one in six (16 per cent) said they hadn't received the six to eight-week postnatal check, which NHS England established in 2020 to make sure new mothers feel well and are recovering properly.

Of those who did receive a six-week check, only around one in five (22 per cent) were happy with the amount of time their GP spent talking about mental health.

Nearly half (44 per cent) of those who had the check said their GP did not spend enough time talking about mental health – and nearly a third (30 per cent) said their GP didn't mention mental health at all.

Around one in seven new mums (15 per cent) said they had struggled to verbalise their concerns because the check was carried out over the phone rather than in person.

Concerns were raised about GPs not following guidance by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE), with some respondents describing the manner in which mental health issues were raised as "inappropriate and potentially harmful".

In total, around two-thirds of those interviewed (around 1,800 people) said they had struggled with their mental health during and/ or after pregnancy – but nearly half of respondents (41 per cent) received no mental health support either during their pregnancy or immediately afterwards.

Healthwatch England said these concerns were "likely to reflect those of a significant group of recently pregnant people" – meaning Somerset is broadly in line with these national trends.

The group is now calling for "improved consistency" in the six-week postnatal checks, ensuring all new parents can access them and monitoring the quality of the support being provided by GPs.

A spokesman said: "Delays in accessing mental health support can have a devastating impact on new parents, with some reporting they had struggled to leave the house, bond with their child and maintain relationships.

"First-time mothers are particularly vulnerable to developing mental health problems and are less likely to access timely care."

These findings come after the Care Quality Commission (CQC) warned of a "concerning decline" in women's experiences with maternity services due to a shortage of front-line staff.

A separate report by MBRRACE highlighted that in 2020, women were three times more likely to die by suicide during or up to six weeks after the end of pregnancy, compared to 2017-19.

Louise Ansari, national director at Healthwatch England, said: "With mental ill health affecting up to a third of new and expectant mums, six-week postnatal checks are key to assessing their well-being after the birth.

"If left untreated, poor mental health can have a devastating impact on new parents and their families.

"Unfortunately, our findings show that although most new mothers and birthing parents are likely to be invited to a postnatal consultation, these are frequently carried out as a tick-box exercise, where mental health is not treated as a priority or not assessed at all.

"Monitoring the delivery of six-week checks should be the first step to ensuring there's a consistent approach to offering quality mental health support to all new mothers.

"NHS England should consider what additional support and guidance it can provide to GPs so that the help new parents get is of the best quality.

"We also need to ensure that maternal mental health and peri-natal services continue to remain on the government's agenda and a priority in workforce planning and funding budgets."