The impact of Covid-19 on maternity and parental leave Contents

Annex 1: Summary of initial public engagement

Ahead of our first oral evidence session on for this inquiry, we sought the views of petitioners and the wider public and asked for people’s experiences of parental leave during the lockdown.

What we did

We used a post on the House of Commons Facebook page to seek the views of the wider public.222 We also sent an online survey to petitioners to ask for their experiences of maternity, adoption and parental leave during the coronavirus outbreak.223

Response

We received a record 26,000224 responses on the House of Commons Facebook and 27,000 responses to our survey.

Methodology

We used Nvivo Pro 12 to identify and contextualise the most common words and phrases found in the entire set of responses from the survey and Facebook comments. This allowed us to group and summarise recurring themes which were threaded throughout much of the responses.

In addition to this analysis of the data, Committee staff manually reviewed hundreds of individual comments and answers, using both subject searches and randomised selection. Some of the survey questions which produced statistical results have been included in the summaries of key themes, or graphically where appropriate in the report.

Key themes

We have summarised the key themes below and illustrated them with quotes from respondents.

Family bonding

Quotes

Facebook respondent:

I feel that the extension would benefit my baby immensely. I will be returning to work and leaving my daughter with family who are currently virtual strangers to her. An extra 3 months would give me more time to familiarise her with my family and create a bond with them. The last thing a mother wants is to be worried that her child is distressed as they do not know the person they have been placed in the care of while at work.

Facebook respondent:

He only met his grandparents a few times before social distancing started and has never met most other family members or close friends. These are the people who’ll be spending time with him and looking after him when he’s older, I want him to get to know them and be comfortable with them.

Facebook respondent:

My son was born one week after lockdown was implemented so nothing has been as we expected. He will be one month old tomorrow and he has never met his grandparents, aunties, uncles or cousins. His only surroundings have been our home. I worry that if lockdown continues (which I don’t disagree with!) his development will be hindered; he has no social interaction out with myself and his dad, he has not spent time with other infants or been held by another person.

Survey respondent:

My child has had hardly any interaction with both sets of grandparents and other family members to the point that she has no idea who they are then they see her through the window. She is 7months old and should recognise her own grandparents at this stage. I am worried about what her lack of interaction with other babies and children has done to her and how this will affect her when she starts nursery.

Groups and classes

Quotes

Facebook respondent:

I’m a first time mum with an 8 week old. Lockdown has greatly impacted us as we have had significant issues with breastfeeding and have been unable to get the face to face support we needed. Normally we would have been able to attend breastfeeding support groups to get this and also meet other mums and babies.

Facebook respondent:

As a first time Mum, I had just gained the confidence to leave the house with my new baby alone and had enjoyed my first few weeks at baby classes where I was able to meet new mums and not feel so alone on this journey. It also meant my daughter was able to begin developing social skills and learn how to be around other children. As a mum who will be returning to work full time this skill is invaluable as my daughter will be in a nursery setting with new adults and children.

Survey respondent:

Stimulation and socialisation for baby which is provided by professionals, who also offer up to date information to parents to further education of new parents. There are resources online but being in isolation makes it difficult to know what to trust online and often isn’t provided by professional bodies.

Survey respondent:

With my first, classes and a routine out of the house were a saviour to my mental health. They also helped develop the bond I had with my daughter as well as my confidence as a mother. I made friends with other mums and had a support network.

Facebook respondent:

For me it’s the fact my baby has never had interaction with any other baby and only been with me not even my family and I will be throwing him into nursery when this is over to go back to work. He hasn’t built bonds with anyone else, never played with another child and I won’t even be there to ease him into this strange situation or be there to comfort him when he cried because he knows no different than his mummy cuddles. I don’t care I haven’t met any other mums.

Survey respondent:

They help me bond with my baby through activities and help to normalise much of what I feel and am experiencing—I don’t feel so alone.

Survey respondent:

As a first-time mum with no other friends with children, baby classes have given me the opportunity to meet other new mums and discuss our babies’ developments, concerns and ideas for play time.

Survey respondent:

I was so scared to even leave the house when I first became a mum, I attended baby massage when my baby was 5 weeks old and instantly felt less alone, more supported, a weight off my shoulders. The confidence gained can’t be quantified or underestimated!

Survey respondent:

Attending parent and baby groups provides a safe space away from family members where it is a safe space to seek support be it weaning, breastfeeding, mental health support that we wouldn’t reach out to a partner or family member in the same way. The groups also provide great reassurance about baby’s development and give tips and ideas that can be shared.

Getting out and about

Quotes

Facebook respondent:

For many new mums they haven’t known life with a baby outside of lockdown and I believe this will take time to adapt! Mums are going to need to gain confidence to take their babies out and establish feeding outside of the home.

Facebook respondent:

There’s no doubt that lockdown has affected not just bonding experiences, but also the confidence of a lot of mums. Feeling safe to take your baby outside, in the car, to the supermarket - it’s terrifying when you haven’t done it before. Having the confidence to feed and change your baby in public, have others hold them etc. Missed appointments, nursery visits, classes—all things that need to be done and can’t be right now. An extra 3 months would give mums a chance to reset and get into the swing of what needs to happen next, without the restrictions of lockdown.

Mental health

Quotes

Facebook respondent:

Although I feel & agree lockdown was totally the right thing to do it has had a huge impact on my well-being. Having suffered PND after my 2nd child I was so grateful for the support from various groups I attended, it really helped me to get back on track.

Facebook respondent:

Second time Mum on maternity leave. Due to the closure of nurseries, I now have to educate and entertain my pre-schooler full time along with looking after my 4month old. As such, my baby is not having the time or opportunity for the sensory and stimulating activities we would otherwise have been doing and as such I fear for her development. Whilst I am making the most of our time together as a family, and I’m in little doubt that it will inevitably benefit the bond between my children, I’m concerned for my own bond, having sought treatment and counselling both pre and post birth for depression and anxiety. This is of course further compounded by social distancing, not being able to receive the one to one support of my councillor or family at this difficult time, or had access to other mothers in similar positions. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and present, that village does not exist. I fail to see how this global crisis at such a point in my baby’s life will not have a detrimental impact on both of us.

Facebook respondent:

I’m a first time mum, struggling with anxiety and depression. I was having bonding and socialisation difficulty with my baby and I, and was attending group therapy which understandably had to be stopped, but my mental health has taken a decline since, despite phone consultations. I was getting much needed support in caring for myself and my baby which I feel is now gone, as a phone call is no real replacement. I grieve for the loss of this as I had gotten so much better and have declined again due to this lockdown.

Survey respondent:

I suffered PND with my 1st and with the lockdown it is creeping in now with my 2nd. I would love for it to be extended so I can bond properly with my child and get my mental health back to normal.

Survey respondent:

This has had a huge impact on our mental health and I know we need more time to adjust to the new normal before then adjusting to work too.

Survey respondent (From a healthcare worker):

It has been very difficult to support the mothers I work with. Many are feeling low and struggling with normal challenges of having a newborn because they can’t get out and about to meet other mothers. […] I run live Zoom classes and Mums say it really brightens their day, but I am very limited in what I can offer. Many have been grief stricken that this amazing time with their baby has been snatched away from them. Instead of making supportive networks, new friends and giving their babies plenty of new experiences, they’ve had to make do with stilted online discussion and home-made sensory corners. They are doing a great job but are lonely and low because of isolation. I would like them to have more maternity leave to enable them to make those lifelong friends and have those experiences with their babies.

Survey respondent:

It is incredibly challenging having a tiny baby and being isolated at home, mentally it’s hard with not having other moms to talk to and not been able to go out and meet any. There has been no support from health visitors as you cannot go and get your baby weighed or see them for support. I am very concerned it will take a lot of time for myself and my baby to adjust back into the world when things become normal again. I am also having to home school 2 children whilst looking after a tiny baby with no sleep, I’m exhausted and feel I’m not giving my baby the 1 to 1 attention he would have had during my normal maternity leave. I had an awful pregnancy with my baby arriving prematurely and was so looking forward to maternity leave, and I am now very concerned I will get post natal depression with the stress of lockdown on top of having a tiny baby.

Survey respondent:

Rather than having a relaxing, exciting build up to my maternity leave my final weeks were filled with anxiety and worry. I was forced to work from home for approx. 4 weeks prior to lockdown to avoid contracting the virus in pregnancy and then I ended up starting my mat leave early due to anxiety bought on by the pandemic. I then had a number of weeks at home before my baby arrived but this was over shadowed by having to take my older child out of childcare and adjusting to lockdown life. I’ve not been able to meet any other mothers, not been able to even see my health visitor or have my baby weighed. It’s just been such a time of worry and my focus hasn’t fully been on my new child which is such a shame. Also not being able to have family meet our new addition is so upsetting. Giving birth in a pandemic was an experience I unfortunately have been left traumatised by; lack of staffing and the restrictions on birth partners affected me.

Survey respondent:

I’m a first-time mum, struggling with anxiety and depression. I was having bonding and socialisation difficulty with my baby and I and was attending group therapy which understandably had to be stopped, but my mental health has taken a decline since, despite phone consultations. I was getting much needed support in caring for myself and my baby which I feel is now gone, as a phone call is no real replacement. I grieve for the loss of this as I had gotten so much better and have declined again due to this lockdown.

Survey respondent:

I am isolated with my baby. I am not able to attend any baby groups and classes which I feel is so important for his development. It has also affected the friendships I have been able to make with other parents which is important for support. My mental health has suffered and I have not been able to seek support for postnatal depression as I would have done if there was not a lockdown. As a result my mental health is got worse and I am concerned about going back to work without the time to fully recover with the support I need.

Survey respondent:

The stress of the Coronavirus pandemic, lockdown, having to give birth alone, no visitors after having c section etc has ruined the beginning of what is meant to be memorable happy time and has led to severe anxiety.

Survey respondent:

With lockdown in place it has been difficult to enjoy being a new mum without the support of family and friends. Access to my health visitor for weight and health checks hasn’t been available which would normally provide me with reassurance of my baby’s development. My daughter has also missed her hospital appointments to review her health after her admission to NICU at birth. My husband is an NHS anaesthetist, the added demands of his job during the COVID-19 pandemic has further increased the periods I am completely isolated at home without support and affected bonding time as a family. I feel that it has been difficult to maintain a positive outlook at times because of the lack of socialisation and a feeling that I am missing out on many important experiences with my daughter.

Single mothers

Quotes

Survey respondent:

Being a single mother with a newborn baby during the lockdown has been very mentally difficult. I was looking forward to meeting other new parents. Ask them for advice and support during the challenge of parenthood. Being in the house all the time is hard, he still hasn’t even had his first injections yet, so no immune system to anything. It’s scary. I’ve not been able to enjoy anything yet.

Survey respondent:

As a 1st time single mother it hasn’t been easy, in fact it has been extremely difficult financially, mentally and physically. Not only has it taken time to adjust to the reality of becoming a mother but it has taken time for my son and I to get into somewhat of a routine. Part of that routine has included the wonderful baby group sessions which we attend every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. These sessions have been pivotal in keeping my mental state healthy as well as helping my son interact with people other than myself. Attending these sessions are now of course no longer possible which in turn has created a very clingy 6 month old.

Survey respondent:

I wasn’t able to have anyone in theatre when my son was born which was a horrendous time. Also being a single mother I have to rely on people to drop essential items I need for my baby at my front door. None of my family or friends have met my son and this is time wasted being stuck in the house with him. Everyone is missing out on watching him grow already.

Survey respondent:

I have suffered with postnatal depression since the lockdown and it has deprived me of going out with my baby to enjoy our days. This is definitely having a negative affect on my babies development now that he is 4 months old. This is the only time I would have away from work to spend valuable time taking my son to different places to learn and play with other children in play groups etc and meeting up with other parents to give me some adult interaction too which would help with my depression but as a single mother with 3 children ( 1 being disabled ) I am home 24/7 with a short walk if the weather is ok and this is definitely impacting my mental health and that has a knock on effect to my children. 3 extended months leave with pay would help me to make up to have enjoyable time with my son doing normal things that mums do when on leave.

Survey respondent:

I haven’t been able to socialise and take my baby to any baby groups that I’d only just found and met a few new people who I now can’t spend time with, I’m a single mother of four children and I haven’t had any one to one time to bond with my baby or take him out and get him socialised, I suffer with depression and anxiety and I’ve had no time to get help and I feel this could impact on our relationship.

Pregnant women

Quotes

Survey respondent:

I am 39 weeks pregnant with my first having already had 6 weeks off work due to the risks of being pregnant working as a sister in emergency department- at a financial deficit to myself. I face giving birth alone. Having no opportunity to attend any birthing classes. Once my child is born I face weeks of no family support and my husband as a key worker having to work more. I fear for bonding and ‘normal’ experiences which are encouraged for child’s development. Not only will my child not meet family, they won’t attend classes to develop their sensory and social skills. It is likely I will return to work feeling I have missed out on the vital processes maternity leave was actually put in place for. I’ll cope with not having a baby shower, not parading my baby bump how I planned but I fear for the long term effect of PTSD and interrupted bonding with my child.

Survey respondent:

The lockdown has affected me in many ways.1) I have had to stop work early, due to being pregnant. I got told I can’t be on furlough therefore I had no choice but to start my maternity leave early. It’s completely unfair, I am losing weeks with my newborn, on a low income and my colleagues are sat at home on 80% of their salary. I feel completely ripped off by the system and truth is if I wasn’t pregnant I would be better off financially. 2) I have had to manage a toddler at home, with nursery’s closed. Having to handle him whilst heavily pregnant has been hard - he should have been at nursery in this period 3) I have had no help or support from my friends and family due to the lockdown. I have had to manage the whole process on my own whilst pregnant 4) I have had the stress and worry of not being able to have a birthing partner. After having a previously poorly child who needed immediate surgery and placed into intensive care, I could have never of done that.5) I suffered with anxiety and postnatal depression preciously. Everyone assured me this time would be different and everyone would help me—due to the lockdown no one can be there for me, I face this all on my own.

Survey respondent:

I have not had my baby yet I’m due this month. It has been very stressful and worrying especially with all the ongoing changes that have been happening with antenatal care and birth. I have had my midwife taken away and seen a different person for each appointment which gets very confusing and may have to face giving birth alone if one of my birth partners are ill and not being able to share a special moment with 2 people.

Returning to work and childcare

Quotes

Facebook respondent:

I have absolutely loved the time spent bonding with my little boy, but I’m very apprehensive to return to work. My partner and I are both teachers and I will have to select a nursery that I know nothing about. I can’t book appointments to look around and see whether it’s the right one for him to go to. Some of my options are not even open at the moment. Others are for key worker children which I feel will put him at risk because we will be working and exposing ourselves to the virus and he will be with other children of key workers who are doing the same. He doesn’t know my mum or my family anymore as we’ve lost that time to bond with them. I’d like it extended so that I can return to normality a little with my boy before having to go straight back to work, so that he can adjust and get the social experiences that all children/ babies need.

Facebook respondent:

I have had to extend my maternity leave to take the unpaid portion to allow me to care for my child as nurseries have closed. This is causing us financial hardship. Extending the paid period would be beneficial to many families in my position.

Survey respondent:

My baby hasn’t seen any relatives or friends for weeks and weeks now. He’s 10months and I’m due back to work in August. I worry about how I will be able to leave him with family when I return to work. He won’t know anyone, or know where he is. I don’t think he will settle with anyone. Also my relative is in the high risk group so I might not even have any child care. 3 extra months off would give me chance to find alternative child care and socialise him when lockdown is eased.

Facebook respondent:

Thinking on a practical level I haven’t had the opportunity to visit nurseries as I had planned to see where I would like my baby to be when I return to work, I am relying on Ofsted reports and websites but feel anxious about how I will decide on the right childcare and who I feel is right to look after my son.

Facebook respondent:

I think considerations should be made for mums who are returning to work during the coronavirus pandemic. My maternity leave ends today, i work for the NHS so will be returning to work and risking spreading the virus to my children because of this. My last couple of months on maternity leave have been really difficult for me mentally. As my maternity leave has ended, it cannot be extended therefore I think some serious consideration should be made for those returning to work between when lockdown began and when it ends.

Facebook respondent:

I’ve just gone back on Saturday. I work for the NHS on a covid ward so my last few weeks I spent being terrified of going back then to top it all off I had my 2 weeks annual leave cancelled that I had booked months ago to extend my leave (I should add everyone had their April annual leave cancelled not just me) it’s hard enough going back from mat leave being anxious about leaving your baby without worrying about whether you’re going to bring home a deadly virus to them.

Survey respondent:

My concern is the separational anxiety for my baby (who will be 9 months when I have to return) being in the care of someone else, as we haven’t been able to be separated at all due to the lockdown.

Survey respondent:

My baby now has separation anxiety and will struggle to be left with anyone else.

Survey respondent:

She appears less self-assured, and has developed separation anxiety from me, crying if i leave the room. She also received significantly less simulation, and misses social contact, which is evident at how excited she becomes seeing other children out of the window. She also has lost bonds formed with grandparents, appearing unsure and nervous in video chats.

Survey respondent:

I worry my son will develop separation anxiety. He also will no longer recognise his grandparents who will look after him for part of the week when I return to work. I also worry he will struggle integrating at a nursery having been isolated for so long.

Financial pressures

Facebook respondent:

Unfortunately nothing the government do now will help me. My baby is 15 weeks. I plan to return to work in 4 weeks (I’m a teacher) as we can’t afford for me to have such little income for much longer as my husband has lost his job which was a new position and is not entitled to any government help. I feel so upset that I’ve missed out on so many positive experiences with my boy.

Facebook respondent:

I have had my appointments all cancelled. My mat leave ended in January but I am still off sick due to PND. All my support sessions have been cancelled, i can’t see a doc as they are only doing telephone calls and the help from my mum has also stopped. My little girl will be one in July. The chances of this lifting and getting a dental appointment and any work carried out in that time is looking impossible. My husband has lost his job so ££ will be tight and dental work will be at the bottom of the priority list money wise. I definitely think all these provisions should be extended.

Facebook respondent:

I’m a first time Mum on maternity leave. My husband was made redundant 3 weeks ago, which whilst it’s lovely to spend quality time together as a new little family; the impact of Coronavirus and his future job outlook will mean that I may have to cut my maternity leave short, getting even less time to spend and bond with my son. The quality time together that I had envisioned going to baby groups and my son enjoying time with our family also hasn’t been possible as a result of the lockdown.

Facebook respondent:

My maternity leave has been completely robbed off me and now to make things worse I’m also being told I could have no job to return to due to being made redundant. Worrying how I’m going to afford rent and bills.

Survey respondent:

I work for an agency so I am only entitled to maternity allowance of £595 a month. This isn’t even equivalent to the national living wage. I have had to come off maternity leave early due to my husband being newly self employed and not able to get any government help. I’ve managed to get work that I can do from home for PHE. I am disappointed not to be able to have a full maternity period with my son.

Survey respondent:

Maternity allowance (MP) does the same job as statutory maternity pay (SMP) and yet is penalised more harshly through universal credit.

Older children

Quotes

Survey respondent:

My eldest child is normally in nursery. I should have been using this time to bond with my son but instead have been home schooling and caring for an older child. This has given me very little one on one time with my baby. i have also not been able to allow family members to visit or care for my baby so he has not been able to bond with them. This is obviously a very stressful time for everyone but for new mums who need the support of their families it is particularly difficult, exhausting and I have a great deal of guilt for not being able to give my baby the same opportunities and experiences as i did with my first child . We have not been able to attend any educational groups or socialise the baby at all which feels unfair and sad.

Facebook respondent:

I worry that it will negatively impact their relationship as my 3 year old has begun to resent the time I have to spend with her 4 month year old brother. We had a second child with a good knowledge of the support we had in place, and it has all been taken away. If we had nurseries, grandparents or play dates, both my son and daughter could get the 1:1 time that they need and it would also improve my mental health, feeling like I am failing them both constantly.

Survey respondent:

I haven’t had the opportunity to bond with my baby on his own like I did with my other children. I’m having to home school my other two who are 12 and 7, this is taking the time away from my baby. In order for me to be able to home school I have had to give up breastfeeding It was impossible to establish breastfeeding at the start as my other two children needed me to help them with work and other activities in the day meaning I didn’t have time to sit and cluster feed my baby, so he could establish my milk supply. This has made me deal with high anxiety and low moods as I feel I was forced to put him on formula so I could make sure my children are getting the support they needed. I also haven’t been able to go and do the baby massage classes I had planned, baby groups, swimming and just being able to go out with my baby and show him off to friends and family. I feel like my maternity has been ruined and the one to one time I should have had with my baby is gone. This makes it very hard to bond with my baby as I feel I have let him down already.

Survey respondent:

My other children are at home and I’ve been home schooling them and my baby is missing vital one to one time with me for bonding. Every one is worried, anxious, upset at times. This is impacting on my stress and my ability to enjoy this stage of being a new mother again. I worry about how to keep him safe and help him learn and grow in this limited environment. I can’t go to the local baby groups for support. I can’t go to my family for support. It’s so lonely and scary. Some days are better than others. But overall this has been very hard on us as a family with a new baby.

Other views and alternative ideas to support new parents

Quotes

Survey respondent:

I absolutely think it sucks that babies and mums can’t be with their extended families for growth and support, especially mums who have given birth not long before or during lockdown as this is a difficult time emotionally, but the point of maternity leave is for mum to be with baby, and that hasn’t been affected.

Survey respondent:

It may not have allowed families to have time with their wider family, but it has allowed the collapse family to spend quality time together, and fathers to have far more time with children than they previously would have.

Survey respondent:

I’m on maternity leave and while I don’t agree that it should be extended I do think we should have extended free dental care, many of us haven’t been able to take advantage of our free dental treatment due to covid19. Dental care in pregnant women and new mums is very important.

Facebook respondent:

My dentist appt is cancelled and I’ll have to pay by the time this lockdown ends and it’s safe to go.

Facebook respondent:

I agree that Maternity leave should be extended, giving parents the opportunity to attend support groups and classes that enhance their child’s development also giving them some time to bond with extended family. I also think the term of the maternity exemption certificates which grant access to free treatment such as the dentist should be extended, I am unable to go to the dentist at the moment and require some work which I will struggle to pay for.

Facebook respondent:

Finally given the current situation I have lost the benefit of my NHS exemption certificate when it comes to dental care as I am unable to visit the dentist. As we know pregnancy takes its toll on a woman’s body in all aspects and I will now potentially have to pay for any remedial dental work as a result of not being able to visit the dentist due to the lockdown prior to my exemption expiring.

Survey respondent:

If the government could do anything they could at least extend the SMP to cover those last few months we are entitled to so we can make the most of our last precious weeks off with our baby.

Survey respondent:

I think one of the most beneficial things would be to extend paternity leave for fathers. I understand that a lot of people are furloughed at the minute so this wouldn’t apply to everyone but for those fathers who are key workers or are still working, if their paternity leave was extended or they were allowed to work more flexibly then it would give new mothers support that they can no longer receive from elsewhere. In such an already isolating time, with no face to face support from friends or family and less support than usual available from health care professionals having the support of your partner so you’re not left feeling completely on your own (daunting for first time mothers) would be a huge help and possibly reduce the amount of mental health issues that can arise from such situations.

Adoption leave

Quotes

Survey respondent:

The period of adoption leave following a child moving in with their forever family is a crucial time, both for the child as well as us as parents and our adoptive son as a brother. I strongly believe that the care and parenting that we provide during these crucial months are instrumental in addressing the damage done in early life, supports positive attachment patterns and enable our child to develop the skills they will need in later life. The reality is that adopted children already have more to battle than their peers and this initial period can really help in overcoming this. The inevitable disruption and anxiety that accompanies the pandemic has had far stretching effects on all areas and I sadly feel that it has disadvantaged my daughter in a way that I would love to have the opportunity to minimise through an extended leave period.

Facebook respondent:

I completely agree it should be extended. I’m a first time mum that adopted our boy in December. This has been a great bonding experience for us but he’s missing out on bonding with close family and socialising in other environments. When I do have to go back to work for the NHS I worry how he will be as not experienced anything else and already been pulled about.

Survey respondent:

Adoption leave is normally a period where you get to integrate your child into your family and social network. This is essential for their sense of identity and belonging!!! It would also open further opportunities for childcare once returning to work as positive and close relationships with your wider network could enable informal childcare solutions that would meet my child’s needs.

Survey respondent:

I will have to return to work at the end of my adoption leave as savings would have run out (I took additional unpaid leave to meet the adoption agency requirement). I am unable to explore childcare options at the moment due to settings closing, I can’t facilitate sufficient settling in sessions for our daughter and I genuinely feel that at the point she will be in her attachment, ensuring that childcare is of high and attuned standards to her needs is crucial and potentially damaging if we are unable to get this right. This issue causes me great worry.

Survey respondent:

The planned one to one time with our adopted daughter (1) has disappeared which has had a huge effect on her attachment to us, our ability to work on specific areas that she needs additional care around, supporting her social opportunities etc. A lot of my time has had to go into supporting our adopted son’s (6) education, as he needs high levels of support with his learning and this has taken away from her dedicated time. We had to save money for some time to be able to afford to take extended adoption leave which we did happily as she deserved to have this focused and attentive period but we won’t be able to extend my leave as savings run out. The stress and anxiety experienced due to the pandemic has not supported our ability to give her the best possible start in our family and that makes me incredibly sad and worried given the lifelong effects of insecure attachments.

Survey respondent:

The period of adoption leave following a child moving in with their forever family is a crucial time, both for the child as well as us as parents and our adoptive son as a brother. I strongly believe that the care and parenting that we provide during these crucial months are instrumental in addressing the damage done in early life; supports positive attachment patterns and enables our child to develop the skills they will need in later life. The reality is that adopted children already have more to battle than their peers and this initial period can really help in overcoming this. The inevitable disruption and anxiety that accompanies the pandemic has had far stretching effects on all areas and I sadly feel that it has disadvantaged my daughter in a way that I would love to have the opportunity to minimise through an extended leave period.

Survey respondent:

I am about to go on adoption leave (although I don’t receive any pay as I am self- employed) so I am going to try and work from home. This will be impossible really though.

Neonatal care

Quotes:

Survey respondent:

I am currently on maternity leave. Due to Covid-19 I am unable to fully concentrate on my premature baby as I would able to do if I was on mat leave and things were ‘normal’. I have had to home school As well as factor other things in due to the virus. My premature baby has suffered and not put on weight efficiently due to the hectic daily schedule and not being able to give her the valuable time a prem baby needs to grow and thrive. Prem babies need a lot more care and attention, skin to skin, expressing regimes to build milk supply after being in SCBU, lots of close contact with parents. This is possible to some extent but has been compromised due to the situation. We are finally on track and weight gain is slow but steady. This has also an impact on mental health and a lot more worry not only about the virus and the risks to my high risk baby and the rest of the family but trying to juggle as a lot of families home schooling and day to day life with a new prem baby. I believe that parents on maternity leave should be honoured extended mat leave because of the above points.

Survey respondent:

My baby was in neonatal ICU and had surgery so a lot of my maternity was already spent in hospital. As soon as that was over we went into lockdown. I have missed out on so many outdoor experiences with my baby and he now hates being outdoors. I would happily take a pay cut but so desperately need that bonding time with my baby especially as he was premature with a heart condition.

Survey respondent:

My daughter was born poorly which meant spending time in NICU, then I had to deal with the psychological effects that left me with which resulted in anxiety and depression. Just as I was managing to feel confident in leaving the home we went into lockdown. My daughter has now spent most of her life in isolation in NICU and lockdown and not had the opportunity to build relationships or experiences outside of our family unit.

Survey respondent:

I had my baby 10 weeks prematurely in January, my baby came home 2 weeks after lockdown. Due to infection control in the NICU only parents are able to hold the baby therefore family and friends have been unable to bond with our baby, then after 70 days in the NICU he finally comes home and is unable to see family. My mental health has definitely been affected and I feel alone and scared at a time when I need the most support. I feel like I’ve been deprived of time that we won’t ever be able to get back.

Survey respondent:

I had premature baby who was 3 months early and sick. We left hospital having spent over 2 months in hospital. Going from constant time at hospital to lockdown has been challenging mentally for me, with a 3 year old at home too. No help from family due to social distancing.[…] My daughter is also in the high risk category and given a vaccine may not be available the thought of returning to work is very very difficult.

222 House of Commons Facebook, Post on the impact of coronavirus on parental leave (posted on 30 April 2020)

223 The Petitions Committee can email people who sign petitions if they have given permission to receive emails related to the petition. The survey was sent to everyone who had signed the petition: Extend maternity leave by 3 months with pay in light of COVID-19

224 The post received 25,982 comments as of 24 June 2020



Published: 6 July 2020