Maternal Mental Health Supports: Motion
Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-11
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Sarah O'Reilly (AON), Agricultural Panel

I thank Senators Cosgrove, Harmon, Noonan and Stephenson for bringing forward this important motion on improving mental health supports in this country. Motherhood can be a joyful and exciting time, but it also brings with it concern, worry and challenges as mothers enter a new stage in their lives. They usually feel overwhelmed, worried and concerned and are dealing with sleepless nights. We know that around one in five women face mental health difficulties in the time surrounding childbirth. We have to make sure that maternal mental health is given the same priority as physical health conditions as both can severely impact on the life of the mother or their newborn and the family.
The Year of Care campaign driven by Aolish Gormley is an important is initiative that advocates for supports for new mothers for up to a year after childbirth. It would provide postnatal checks and ensure that the mother and child have all of the resources needed to thrive during this important and formative period. Postnatal care must continue past the standard six-week checkup. The six-week checkup appointment is often the only dedicated checkup that mothers have after childbirth, yet for many women the effects of childbirth can last for months post partum and the challenges may not become clear until after those first six weeks when their support, family and friends begin to fade. I am delighted that the Government is supporting the motion, given its significance and the reassurance it will offer to first-time mothers and those who have previously missed out on key postnatal supports after giving birth.
I want to pick up on something the Minister of State said, namely, that we must encourage women to reach out. She is right. Senator Higgins was correct when she said that most women put on a brave face because they do not want to be a burden and are supposed to be able to deal with this change in life. We have to normalise ensuring wraparound supports for every woman are available.
Senator Clonan referred to the family. Most families do not have the support they had years ago. It is important that we replace that. I have a friend married to a girl from Thailand. When she had her baby, the whole village came for the first year. They washed her hair, took the baby, helped feed the baby and cooked meals. It is in their culture to help the women in the village who have children. Women these days are under so much pressure, as Senator Ryan said. There are unrealistic expectations to have a baby, career, body, figure and to lose the weight. We put these pressures on ourselves. Most women put on a brave face. We need to focus on normalising support for every woman.

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Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:37+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-11