The economic case for increasing access to treatment for women with common maternal mental health problems

Summary

• Independent research commissioned by the Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA) in 2021 and conducted by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), estimates the costs and benefits of addressing unmet maternal mental health needs in the UK.
  
• LSE’s researchers found that changes in practice could have a net economic benefit of half a billion pounds over ten years; £52 million in NHS savings and quality of life improvements worth £437 million. Read more about the numbers.
  
• The proposed ‘integrated model of care’ would see mental health care for common mental health problems integrated into maternity and health visiting services. Learn more about the model.
  
• Additionally, the MMHA commissioned Centre for Mental Health to summarise the research and analyse its implications for policy and practice. In their report, ‘A sound investment’, the Centre concluded that an ‘integrated model of care’ is the logical and economical next step in the evolution of perinatal mental healthcare in the UK.
  
• An implementation supplement from LSE provides further details of training and supervision requirements within an integrated model of care. This is in response to concerns raised by clinical members of the researchers’ advisory group about the implementation of the model.

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The argument for increasing access to maternal mental healthcare

Research published in 2014 showed undiagnosed and untreated maternal mental health problems cause avoidable suffering for women, babies and families and have an economic cost to wider society of £8.1 billion per year.

Positively, since that research was released, all four nations have invested in specialist perinatal mental health (PMH) services to some extent. These services are helping change the lives of women with the most severe and complex maternal mental health problems and their families.

However, there are still many gaps within the wider system, including within health visiting and maternity services. As a result, many women with common maternal mental health problems, who do not need specialist PMH services, cannot access evidence-based treatment when and where they need it.

This new model can help address one of the gaps in services.

Getting it right for all women: addressing inequalities

For any proposed model to be effective, it will be vital that it addresses existing inequalities in women’s experiences of maternity and mental health care.

Research commissioned by the MMHA (‘Maternal mental health during a pandemic’, 2021) identified that PMH needs increased across the board during the pandemic. However, the impact has not been equal, with women and families of colour and poorer families being amongst the most adversely affected.

MBRRACE-UK’s report ‘Saving Lives, Improving Mothers’ Care‘ (2021) found that maternal mortality is more than four times higher for Black women, two times higher for mixed ethnicity women and almost twice as high for Asian women compared with white women.

It is vital therefore that integrated service provision, as modelled in LSE’s economic report, proactively seeks to meet the needs of ALL women, including those who are less well-served by current arrangements.