New mothers in the most deprived areas twice as likely to die by suicide

Rolart Studio/Getty Images

By Olivia Bowthorpe

New mothers in the most deprived areas of the UK and Ireland are more than twice as likely to die by suicide than those in the least deprived areas, according to an analysis of maternal mortality data.

The findings, highlighted during Mental Health Awareness Week by the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych), come from the latest report from the MBRRACE-UK collaboration, which reviewed all maternal deaths across the UK and Ireland between 2021 and 2023.

These figures show that suicide is still the leading cause of maternal death in the year after childbirth. Combined, all deaths linked to psychiatric causes including suicide, severe mental illness and substance misuse, account for around a third (34%) of maternal deaths between six weeks and a year after pregnancy.

A clear inequality emerges when the figures are broken down by deprivation, the RCPsych stated. About 31% of maternal suicides were in the most deprived communities, compared with 13% in the least deprived areas.

This equates to a more than twofold difference in representation, the College highlighted.

Dr Livia Martucci, chair of the RCPsych’s Faculty of Perinatal Psychiatry, said that this pattern reflects wider social pressures on new mothers such as financial insecurity, housing instability, isolation and exposure to domestic abuse.

The 2025 MBRRACE-UK report outlines lessons learned from confidential enquiries into maternal deaths and morbidity. It states that, between 2021 and 23, 643 women died during, or up to one year after, pregnancy in the UK and Ireland, of whom 91% faced more than one social, medical or mental health challenge.

It also highlights ongoing problems in service provision, warning that care pathways between maternity services, GPs and mental health teams are often badly coordinated. Warning signs are sometimes missed, and access to specialist services remains uneven.

The experts say perinatal psychiatrists need to be central in maternity and mental health services.

Dr Martucci said: “Mental illnesses in the first year after giving birth can develop rapidly - within hours, days or weeks after birth. Mothers and their partners are often unaware of the existence of these mental illnesses, and the associated risks. More must be done to raise awareness, especially around potential impact on mothers, babies and families.

“It is absolutely vital that all new and expectant mothers, throughout all communities, have access to specialist perinatal mental health care if they need it. For example, women who develop postpartum psychosis often need to be cared for in hospital and it’s crucial they receive this support as quickly as possible so that they can make a full recovery. Early, and continued, intervention can prove lifesaving.”

Reference MBRRrace-UK. Saving Lives, Improving Mothers’ Care September 2025

‌
‌
‌
‌
‌
‌