Clarke calls for action on perinatal mental health after new maternal death figures
Longford-Westmeath TD Sorca Clarke has called for urgent action on perinatal mental health services following the publication of new figures showing suicide was the leading cause of late maternal death in Ireland.
The latest Maternal Death Enquiry (MDE) Ireland data records 21 women who died between 42 days and one year after the end of pregnancy during the period 2022 to 2024. Seven of those deaths were attributed to suicide. The report also identifies a statistically significant increase in suicide among women during pregnancy and up to one year after childbirth when compared with the preceding decade.
Deputy Clarke, Sinn Féin spokesperson on mental health, described the figures as “deeply troubling” and said they should prompt the Government to accelerate improvements in perinatal mental health care.
“These women are mothers, daughters, partners and, above all, there are children who have grown up without their mother,” she said.
Deputy Clarke said the current arrangements for postnatal mental health support, including the transition from specialist perinatal services after the early postnatal period, needed to be examined.
Recent evidence presented to the Oireachtas Health Committee highlighted the potential risks associated with transferring women from specialist perinatal services to community services, particularly at the six-week postnatal point. HSE officials said a refresh of the perinatal mental health model of care was under way, with a view to informing the 2027 Estimates process.
Deputy Clarke also renewed her call for the Government to publish a clear delivery plan for dedicated mother-and-baby perinatal mental health units, including expected completion and operational dates.
She said successive governments had made commitments in the area without delivering a dedicated national mother-and-baby unit and argued that greater investment was required in counselling, psychotherapy and other mental health supports.
MDE Ireland conducts confidential reviews of maternal deaths with the aim of identifying trends, learning points and recommendations to improve the safety of pregnancy and maternity care.
The latest figures underline the relatively small numbers involved but also the serious consequences of maternal mental-health difficulties, with the enquiry's findings intended to inform improvements in services and clinical practice.