Debate contribution: Mother-and-baby Unit

Debate contribution by Mrs Pam Cameron on 7 October 2025.

MLA

Mrs Pam Cameron

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

7 October 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Mother-and-baby Unit

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5164623

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I thank the proposer of the motion for raising this really important issue today. I have been here for many years, so I know that we have had such discussions before. It really is time that we moved the subject on and time that women and their children received the appropriate care that they absolutely require. I fully support the motion. We know that one in five women will experience mental health problems during pregnancy or in the first year after birth. It is distressing to realise that we do not appear to collect and produce data on that. That is really important, so I urge the Minister to deal with that issue in particular. With Encompass, we have great new systems in place, so there is more than enough opportunity to ensure that, going forward, we have the data to put the appropriate provision in place. Sian Mulholland mentioned Laura Orr and how she has bravely talked about her experience. I will also touch on Laura's experience, because it is really important that mothers' testimony be heard in the debate. Laura gave birth to her lovely daughter in 2023. Sian outlined much of what Laura has gone through, which is pretty horrific, and I will not repeat it. I will point out, however, that Laura stated that being separated from her daughter in a psychiatric ward was the hardest aspect of her experience and that the act of separation directly affected her recovery. She said that it was almost impossible to build an emotional connection, acquire practical parenting skills and navigate the new phase of family life with ease. Laura felt as though she did not know her daughter at all and that she was not fit to be her mother. She felt that someone else would be better placed to take care of her daughter and, at one point, considered giving up her parental rights. That is horrific. It is not what we want to hear or read about, but, unfortunately, it happened in the recent past: it is experience from 2023.

I will quote Laura directly. She said that one of the things that she found most difficult was not knowing:

"how long we might be separated. How much of the first few weeks would I miss?"

Those are Laura's words. She continues:

"What milestones would go marked without me? It felt utterly surreal to be a bystander in my daughter's life, to parent vicariously through voice notes, photos and sporadic updates from the staff team. I was the only new mum on the ward. I had no one to advocate for what I needed: access to breastfeeding supplies, postnatal check-ups or even the time and space for the small but vital things that come with new motherhood. Postpartum mental ill health does not affect only one person. My admission affected my whole family and my husband in particular. He did not expect to be left alone with a newborn baby to take extended time off work to coordinate visits and updates amidst all the chaos of new parenthood. I cannot overstate how much a mother-and-baby unit would have helped my practical, emotional, physical, familial and mental well-being. It's not a luxury; it's a necessity."

It is important to put those words of a mother on the record. I take the opportunity to raise another mother's experience: Alex Bartholomew. Her experience is from August 2018 — not very recent but the same problem in the past. Alex was admitted to an acute psychiatric ward. Her son was eight weeks old and still breastfeeding. During her time on the ward, Alex's symptoms worsened. Staying on a mixed ward heightened her anxiety, and it was unsafe for her children to visit. Throughout her three weeks on the ward, there was no safe place there for her to meet her children. Alex had been separated from her newborn son with no indication of when she might see him again. The baby was eight weeks old and had to be weaned overnight. Her toddler daughter asked daily where her mum was and has since undergone counselling for separation anxiety. In the first couple of days, she —.

I will indeed. Those testimonies outline the importance of the mother-and-baby unit. I urge the Minister to act quickly on the issue to ensure that the services are put in place.

727 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:21 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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