3 June 2025

SDLP Foyle MLA Sinéad McLaughlin has called for immediate action to secure the funding required to establish Northern Ireland’s first Mother and Baby Unit.

She warned the continued lack of progress is a clear failure to prioritise women’s health.

Foyle MLA Ms McLaughlin said:

“In England, Scotland and Wales, new mothers in acute mental distress can receive care in specialist Mother and Baby Units - allowing them to stay with their infants in a safe, supportive environment. In Northern Ireland, they are still admitted to general psychiatric wards, often separated from their babies during one of the most vulnerable periods of their lives. That is not good enough.

“We cannot continue to allow mothers to be separated from their babies simply because our system hasn’t built the infrastructure they need. It is shameful that Northern Ireland remains the only region of the UK without a Mother and Baby Unit - not because the need isn’t clear, and not because professionals aren’t ready to deliver it, but because our political leaders have failed to treat it as a priority.

“This situation is emblematic of a wider, deeply worrying failure to prioritise women’s health. We are the only region in the UK still without a Women’s Health Strategy. From maternal mental health to menopause care, women here are being consistently let down. The consequences are profound, and the longer this continues, the more women will be harmed by inaction.

“The business case is on the table. The need is overwhelming. The political will must now follow. Funding must be found and found without further delay. Mothers and babies in Northern Ireland deserve better.”