Maternal Mental Health Supports: Motion Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-11 ============================================================ Alice-Mary Higgins (IND), National University of Ireland I want to add my voice in support of the motion. I wish to highlight this particular period when people are extremely vulnerable and a small number of supports are currently available. I know from other people's experience that one visit from a nurse was an incredible and amazing support that came in when they needed it. Other people felt they were being checked up on and examined. It was almost a case of proving to a nurse that one was able for the overwhelming task of caring for the new life for which one is responsible. The emphasis is all about putting on a brave face. I had two visits and got the support or help I needed at the second one. There is a checkup at six weeks. For so many people the focus in the first six weeks is on keeping an incredible but very fragile creature alive. People are so focused on how the baby is that it is very difficult to express what one needs at that point. It is often in the long journey between six to 12 weeks that some of the needs come through. They often arise in a situation whereby one is time poor and overwhelmed and the sleep deprivation hits. There are many other areas. People struggle to breastfeed. I struggled and was then lucky enough that it worked and kept working, but it was almost hour by hour in the early days. Lactation support is important. I have spoken to friends who have mental health issues which they struggled with prior to pregnancy. Many have had periods without their medication. They are not just dealing with a huge new challenge, but also perhaps dealing with a period, especially for those who are breastfeeding, where they may not have the medications they had at other times. There are many layers to this. We have heard today that each woman's needs are different. Rather than feeling one is a checklist for a doctor and public health nurse, having a whole set of supports that one can dip into at the moment in time when one needs them the most is crucial. I had facts and figures. There have been maternal death inquiries. Between 42 days and one year after pregnancy is a vulnerable time in terms of suicide. The consequences can be very severe. We want to make this a joyful, happy and supported time, as well as avoiding the kind of extreme danger which the facts show us exists. I highly commend all of the proposals, including the maternity proposals which I know the Minister of State did not speak to. I hope we will be able to value women and all of those who are going through the experience of a new child and give them the support they need. Wraparound supports should be available for everybody, regardless of where their community is in Ireland or their family circumstances. It should be something that is available to everybody. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-11/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:37+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-02-11