Two-thirds of specialist mental health services for mothers planned funding cuts last year despite soaring demand.
An analysis of NHS spending by the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCP) found 27 out of 42 areas in England planned cuts totalling £3.2 million in the 2024/25 financial year.
Some areas such as Norfolk and Waveney planned to slash their budget by £257,466 - almost 5 per cent.
It comes as NHS figures show a surge in demand for people seeking help, with 63,858 women accessing perinatal mental health services in the year to February 2025, compared to 43,053 women in the year to February 2022.
But in the second quarter of 2024/25 NHS targets for 66,000 women to be seen at least once by specialist perinatal services over 12 months were missed.
Baroness Luciana Berger, chair of the Maternal Mental Health Alliance, told The Independent it was "deeply alarmed" by the findings.
"Our research shows that investing in perinatal mental health services is not only a compassionate choice but an economically sound one. Unaddressed perinatal mental illness takes a significant toll on families and costs the UK economy £8.1 billion a year.
"Cuts to these vital services risk devastating human consequences. Mental health remains the leading cause of maternal death. These tragedies will persist without continued investment and protection for specialist services.”
Last month, The Independent revealed that postnatal mental health services were closing across the country due to a lack of funding despite the record numbers of women seeking help. Suicide remains the leading cause of death for women from six weeks to 12 months after birth.
The RCP said the cuts to services come as the national target, set in 2019, to increase access to perinatal mental health services has been “dropped” from the 2025/26 NHS national plans.
In May last year, top midwife and maternity review expert Donna Ockenden warned that “threadbare” perinatal services have been progressively cut, leaving mothers at risk.
The news comes after the Labour government was criticised for cutting a national commitment, introduced in 2016-17, to increase spending on mental health services at a faster rate than the overall NHS spend. This commitment, called the Mental Health Investment Standard (MHIS), aimed to reduce the gap in spending between physical and mental health services.
Dr Livia Martucci, chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Faculty of Perinatal Psychiatry, said: “Despite record numbers accessing specialist maternal mental health services, the need for help continues to outstrip service capacity. Huge strides have been made towards improving access and we cannot afford to lose ground.
“The benefits of timely access to maternal mental health services are not only felt by mothers suffering with perinatal illness, but by their babies and their entire family network. The 10-Year Plan presents the perfect opportunity to build on the recent growth of services and prioritise the mental health of mothers and their children.”
An NHS spokesperson said: “While it is right local areas decide how to allocate their money, every GP is now expected to do a six-week check-up with new mums, and a record almost 64,000 women received prenatal mental health support from the NHS in the last 12 month.
“A total of 165 beds are now commissioned across 20 Mother and Baby Units and almost nine in 10 women report that they are receiving mental health support during pregnancy.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Local healthcare leaders are best placed to decide how to serve their community, but this government has significantly increased mental health spending to £15.6 billion this year.
“We are clear too many women are not receiving the safe, personalised and compassionate perinatal and maternity care they deserve.
“Through our Plan for Change, we are determined to change that by training thousands more midwives to support women throughout their pregnancy and beyond and recruiting an additional 8,500 mental health workers.”
This story was updated on 8 May with a response from the DHSC and NHS England
