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A September 2026 Five X More report found that some Black and Black mixed-heritage women in the UK felt unable to discuss mental health difficulties during maternity care. Among respondents to relevant questions, many said they had not been told how to reach emergency support or had not seen a mental health midwife; the survey is not nationally representative.
A September 2026 report by UK maternal health organisation Five X More says some Black and Black mixed-heritage women fear consequences if they disclose mental health difficulties during pregnancy or after birth. Among women who said they were uncomfortable discussing their concerns with healthcare professionals, 34% worried their baby could be taken from their care, while survey responses also pointed to gaps in emergency information and specialist support.
The report draws on a survey of 845 Black and Black mixed-heritage women in the UK. Of those, 527 reported mental health difficulties before, during or after pregnancy. The findings are not nationally representative, and percentages in the report refer to people who answered each particular question, rather than necessarily all 845 participants.
Among respondents asked about talking to healthcare professionals, 30% said they felt uncomfortable sharing mental health concerns. Within that group, 50% worried disclosures would be recorded in medical notes, 42% cited stigma around mental illness and 32% were unsure whether speaking up would lead to meaningful help. These are respondents’ reported concerns; the survey does not show that disclosure automatically leads to social services involvement or a baby being removed.
Among those answering questions on maternity support, 56% said they had not been told how to access emergency mental health services, 88% said they had not seen a mental health midwife, and 61% said they had not been referred or signposted to a mental health service or organisation. Separately, 53% of respondents to a question about suicide screening said they had not been asked about suicidal thoughts during maternity care.
Barriers to Speaking During Maternity Care
The findings point to a tension at the heart of maternity mental health care: women may need support while also worrying about how professionals will interpret what they say. When people feel unsafe disclosing distress, clinicians may have less opportunity to understand their needs and connect them with help. The survey records fears and experiences, but does not establish how often those fears changed care or what outcomes followed.
The reported gaps in information matter because women who need urgent help may not know which service to contact. Five X More’s figures also raise questions about how consistently specialist maternity mental health support is offered. They do not, on their own, establish what services were available in each respondent’s area or why a referral or appointment did not happen.
The report’s figures on support-seeking add another part of the picture: among respondents answering those questions, 37% said they had not sought support. Family and friends were the most commonly reported source of help, at 73%, while 39% reported using private counselling. The survey does not establish why each person did or did not seek professional help, or whether support met their needs.
What the Survey Can Show
The 527 women who completed the report’s mental health section described difficulties at different stages of maternity care. Of those responding to the relevant questions, 66% reported mental health problems during pregnancy and 71% after birth. These are self-reported experiences, not rates of clinically diagnosed conditions in the wider population.
Only 53 respondents described receiving a formal clinical diagnosis during their maternity journey. Reported diagnoses included anxiety, depression, postnatal depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. The figures do not show how many respondents may have needed a diagnosis but did not receive one, and self-reported difficulties should not be treated as equivalent to a clinical diagnosis.
Five X More co-founders Atinuke Awe and Clotilde Abe wrote in the report’s foreword that some women were not asked how they felt, while others felt questions were asked as a formality. Their account frames the survey as a record of participants’ experiences and concerns, rather than a representative estimate of all Black mothers’ maternity care in the UK.
“Many were never asked how they were feeling. Some were asked in a way that felt like a box being ticked.”
— Atinuke Awe and Clotilde Abe, Five X More co-founders
Limits and Unanswered Questions
The survey is not nationally representative, so its percentages cannot be used to estimate how common these experiences are among all Black mothers in the UK. Because the figures are based on answers to separate questions, the number of respondents may vary across findings. The report also does not establish why individual women did not receive specialist support, whether services were unavailable, or how often fear of consequences prevented disclosure.
Participants’ concerns about child removal, medical notes and stigma are important reported experiences, but the findings do not show that those feared consequences occurred. Nor do they establish how many women had an undiagnosed condition, needed urgent care or received adequate help through informal or private support.
Calls for Clearer Maternity Support
Five X More calls for greater recognition of Black women’s mental health needs, clearer information about available services and more consistent support during pregnancy and after birth. The report identifies these as areas for improvement; the supplied findings do not set out a specific implementation timetable or confirm that health services have adopted its recommendations.
The next questions are how maternity providers will respond to the reported gaps, whether women are routinely told how to access urgent mental health care, and how specialist midwife support is made available. The report does not provide further milestones, so any service changes or follow-up evaluation remain to be confirmed.
Key Questions
Who conducted the report?
The report was published by Five X More, a UK maternal health organisation, in September 2026.
How many women took part?
The survey included 845 Black and Black mixed-heritage women in the UK. Of these, 527 reported mental health difficulties before, during or after pregnancy and completed the report’s mental health section.
Does the report show that disclosure leads to a baby being removed?
No. It records that some respondents feared this could happen. The findings do not establish that disclosing mental health difficulties automatically involves social services or results in a baby being removed.
What support gaps did respondents report?
Among respondents to the relevant questions, 56% said they had not been told how to access emergency mental health services, 88% had not seen a mental health midwife, and 61% had not been referred or signposted to a mental health service or organisation.
Can the findings describe all Black mothers in the UK?
No. The report says the survey is not nationally representative. It provides insight into the experiences of participants, but the results cannot be treated as population-wide estimates.
Source: rss
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