Mental health service use among mothers involved in public family law proceedings: linked data cohort study in South London 2007-2019

Background Research in England suggests a high burden of mental health problems and substance misuse among women whose children enter care. Family courts therefore need to consider timely support for parental mental health and likely time to recovery within public family law proceedings concerning placement of a child into care (‘care proceedings’). We report population-based evidence from linked, routinely collected, de-identified records on the type and severity of maternal mental health problems in relation to care proceedings. Methods We linked family court data and mental health service records for 2137 (66%) of women involved in care proceedings between 2007-2019 in the South London and Maudsley NHS Mental Health Trust (SLaM) catchment area. We compared their mental health service use and risk of dying with 17,096 female matched controls who accessed SLaM between 2007 and 2019, aged 16-55 years old. Results Most women (79%) were known to SLaM before care proceedings began. Compared to the matched controls, women had higher rates of schizophrenia spectrum disorders (19% vs 11% matched controls), personality disorders (21% vs 11%), and substance misuse (33% vs 12%). They were more likely to be admitted to a SLaM inpatient unit (27% vs 14%) or to be sectioned under the Mental Health Act (19% vs 8%). Finally, women had a 2.15 (95% CI: 1.68 to 2.74) times greater hazard of dying, compared with the matched controls, adjusted for age. Conclusions Given the high prevalence and severity of mental health problems among women involved in care proceedings, family law and social care policy is needed to ensure adequate and timely treatment for parent mental health problems. The increased risk of dying among those accessing mental health services highlights the critical need for post-proceeding services to ensure parents whose children enter care continue to receive support after care proceedings conclude.