Society is paying a "shocking" price for poor mental health care for pregnant women and new mothers in the UK, a report says.
It said that for all births in one year, there would be a long-term cost of more than £8bn stemming from mental health problems.
The report was written by the London School of Economics and the Centre for Mental Health.
The Department of Health said it was investing in mental health training.
One in five women develops some form of mental health issue during pregnancy and the months after childbirth.
Depression, anxiety and psychoses, such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, are all a risk.
Lost earnings
The report said they were "of major importance" because of the damage to the mother's wellbeing and "because they have been shown to compromise the healthy emotional, cognitive and even physical development of the child".
Of the £8.1bn cost, a fifth was borne by the public sector including the NHS and social services. The remainder was estimated as a wider cost to society such as through lost earnings.
And the authors argue they have underestimated the cost.
New baby "The good news is that women recover when they get the right treatment," says Dr Alain Gregoire
The report went on to criticise "patchy" services across the country saying half of all cases of depression went undetected and many women did not get appropriate treatment.
It said the cost of providing a service that met minimum National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines across the country would be £337m a year.
Read more:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-29659437
