The MHNAS report, external was put together by the council’s public health team, ICB and Norfolk and Suffolk Mental Health Trust (NSFT).
Its report said Suffolk’s estimated prevalence rate for perinatal mental health in 2019 – the most recent available data- was 26.2%. The average for England was 25.8%.
Anna Crispe, a consultant in public health and assistant director for knowledge intelligence and evidence at the council, worked on the report and said about one in four women would experience some mental ill health during pregnancy or up until two years after their baby had been born.
“Roughly 6,500 women in Suffolk give birth every year, so it’s not an inconsiderable number of people being affected,” she said.
One in five adults in England have a mental health condition, according to NHS England.
“It’s not vastly higher for [perinatal] women, but it is a bit higher and that’s important,” she said.
The MHNAS said access to specialist perinatal mental health services was “limited relative to estimated need”.
It suggested that “a proportion of women with moderate to severe conditions may not be receiving timely, specialist care”.
However Crispe said mandated health visitor targets were being met by the council.
“The mental health of mum helps to support the mental health of the baby, of the family as a whole. It’s really important for good family outcomes, so this is why we’re interested in this issue,” she added.