Concerns have been raised over mental health services for mothers before, during, and after childbirth, and a lack of “dependable data”.

Arfon MS Sian Gwenllian questioned the quality of pregnancy mental health service provision for North Wales mums in the Senedd on 11 February.

She highlighted new maternity and childbirth stats that claim 32 percent of pregnant women reported having a mental health condition – up on the 12 percent since data collection started 2016.

The new figure was not included in data from Betsi Cadwaladr (BCUHB) and Cwm Taf Morgannwg and “the reason given for this is that the data are not dependable,” she said.

She also called for a review of plans to create two beds for Welsh mothers at the Countess of Chester hospital.

“Two beds only, in a hospital where the right to speak Welsh will not be honoured, in a location that is very far away from loved ones for a number of families,” she said.

“Now I discover there aren’t dependable or reliable data available,” she said.

Minister Sarah Murphy agreed, saying: “When it comes to a lack of data, no, it’s not good enough, we are going to change it.”

Regarding the Chester unit, a review was due at the end of February.

She also noted BCUHB and Cwm Taf Morgannwg had received additional funding to lead on the electronic mental health records.

“Betsi is going first; I’ve met with the team. They’re doing very well on that, and they’re pushing forward,” she said, and Cwm Taf Morgannwg are “working alongside”.

The minister said she met with Betsi “and they said to me that, in 2024, there were periods where there were no beds needed, and periods where there were a few beds needed.

“The Countess of Chester’s mother and baby unit is going to open imminently, and for women in north Wales who need those beds, and can’t and don’t want to visit Tonna [in Neath] which I completely understand.”

Fiona Giraud, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board Director of Midwifery and Women’s Services said: “We have developed a local digital solution business case, which has been approved and plans for implementation are now being progressed. In the absence of a fully digital solution, we are reliant on the collation of data from a number of sources, which can make validation difficult.

“With regards to data pertaining perinatal mental health, there have been some recent improvements which include distinguishing between women with pre-existing mental health conditions and those identified during pregnancy. Data is also collected on the number of referrals made to the specialist Perinatal Mental Health Team.

“We have also now implemented the ‘Ask, Assess, Act,’ tool which supports midwives to identify the most appropriate pathway of care, for example signposting to the GP or self-help resources, or referral to the specialist team.

“We are now planning to liaise with our Informatics and specialist Perinatal Mental Health Team to explore potential improvements to data collection whilst we await the implementation of a digital solution.”