Read our Parental Mental Health Report

Parental mental health plays a vital role in the wellbeing of families and the healthy development of infants. Difficulties during pregnancy and the early years can affect parents’ confidence, bonding, relationships and wider family stability. National research has consistently shown that many parents experience anxiety, depression or emotional distress during the perinatal period, yet not all receive timely or appropriate support.

In 2019, Healthwatch England explored experiences of mental health support during maternity care, highlighting issues including lack of awareness, inconsistent professional responses and barriers to accessing help. In 2022, Healthwatch Trafford conducted local engagement on parental mental health, identifying similar concerns around signposting, waiting times and understanding of available services.

This report revisits the issue in 2025-26 to understand whether parents’ experiences in Trafford have changed, and how current services and pathways are being experienced in practice.

Key findings

• 60% of respondents reported experiencing mental health difficulties around the birth of their child.
• Among those who experienced difficulties, the most commonly reported symptoms were low mood (72.7%) and anxiety (63.6%).
• 45.5% of those experiencing difficulties reported that their symptoms were ongoing at the time of completing the survey.
• 45% of respondents did not seek support.
• Of those who did access support, 75% reported that it took too long.
• No respondent reported receiving all the help they needed; all indicated that they had received only some of the support required.
• 54% of respondents either did not know or were unsure where they would go for support if needed.

You can find out more in our full report in the document below.