Access to postpartum health care and perinatal mental health support, 2024 Parental Experiences Survey
Released: 2026-02-05
In 2024, nearly 9 in 10 mothers and birthing parents in Canada (87%) reported having a regular health care provider during the postpartum period. At the same time, 13% of all mothers and birthing parents experienced at least one unmet health care need after giving birth. These findings come from the 2024 Parental Experiences Survey (PES), which provides new national data on access to postpartum and perinatal mental health care among mothers and birthing parents.
The postpartum period represents a time of rapid physical, emotional and social adjustment. Timely access to health care, whether for physical recovery, infant feeding support or mental health, promotes the health and well-being of both the birthing parent and the newborn during a period of substantial transition. International and national guidelines stress that postpartum care should be continuous and responsive, and that providers should assess or discuss emotional well-being as part of routine care.
The 2024 PES was conducted by Statistics Canada in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada. The survey collected information from 11,153 mothers and birthing parents, living in the 10 provinces, who gave birth during the period from December 31, 2023, to April 29, 2024. It provides a snapshot of how mothers and birthing parents navigate postpartum care, including access to a regular health care provider, use of emergency and hospital services and experiences of unmet health care needs. It also offers new insight into perinatal mental health care by examining whether mothers and birthing parents experienced emotional or mental health challenges, whether they sought help and whether their mental health needs were met.
This release examines differences across age groups, racialized identity, immigration status, and provincial groupings, and may help in understanding the barriers mothers and birthing parents face in accessing postpartum and mental health care and in identifying related support needs and resource gaps.
Access to a regular health care provider after childbirth
Having a regular health care provider during the postpartum period is an important aspect of care, offering continuity and opportunities for follow-up. Consistent postpartum care is associated with earlier detection of complications, better management of chronic conditions, and support for mental health. In 2024, the vast majority of mothers and birthing parents (87%) reported having a regular health care provider after childbirth (Table 1).
Access to a regular provider varied by age: 81% of mothers and birthing parents aged 15 to 24 reported having a regular provider, compared with 86% of those aged 25 to 34 and 88% of parents aged 35 and older. Among racialized mothers and birthing parents, 83% reported having access to a regular health care provider compared with 89% of non-racialized mothers and birthing parents. Recent immigrants were also less likely to report having access to a regular health care provider (78%).
Emergency department visits and hospital admissions postpartum
Emergency department visits and hospital admissions in the postpartum period can reflect acute complications that require timely medical attention, among other factors. Monitoring these indicators may help to identify gaps in preventive care and follow-up services. In 2024, 19% of mothers and birthing parents reported visiting an emergency department at least once since the birth (Table 1).
Postpartum emergency visits were more commonly reported among those aged 15 to 24 (25%). When comparing emergency department visits by province, visits were highest in the Atlantic provinces (24%), followed by Alberta (21%).
Overnight hospital stays after childbirth, excluding the delivery stay, were less common than emergency department visits. Approximately 5% of mothers and birthing parents reported being admitted to hospital in the postpartum period, for any reason.
Unmet health care needs
Understanding unmet health care needs provides insight into potential gaps in the health care system. When mothers and birthing parents require care but do not receive it, they may experience delayed recovery, unmanaged symptoms or increased emotional strain. These unmet needs may also affect infant well-being by influencing feeding, early bonding, and parents' capacity to support healthy early development. In 2024, 13% of mothers and birthing parents reported needing health care but not receiving it. Among mothers and birthing parents without a regular health care provider, 22% reported having an unmet need compared with 12% of mothers and birthing parents that had a regular provider. There were no significant differences across age groups, racialized identity or immigration status. Conversely, some differences were observed by province (Table 2).
The most common reasons for unmet health care needs were long wait times (54%), the care available was not helpful (33%), not knowing how or where to find care (21%), or feeling they were too busy (19%) (Chart 1).
Chart 1
Proportion of mothers and birthing parents, by reason for unmet health care needs, Canada (excluding the territories), 2024
Challenges with emotional or mental health during pregnancy or postpartum
Mothers and birthing parents were asked whether they experienced challenges with emotional or mental health during pregnancy or after childbirth. The postpartum period is known to be a vulnerable time for mood and anxiety disorders, making early detection and support essential. In 2024, almost half (49%) of mothers and birthing parents reported experiencing challenges with their emotional or mental health. Among those reporting challenges, 60% began after childbirth, 25% indicated that the challenges began during pregnancy, and 15% began before pregnancy (Table 3).
Younger mothers and birthing parents were slightly more likely to report difficulties, with 53% of mothers and birthing parents aged 15 to 24 reporting challenges, compared with 50% of those aged 25 to 34 and 48% of those aged 35 and older. Racialized populations and recent immigrants were less likely to report mental health challenges. Fewer racialized mothers and birthing parents (43%) reported mental health challenges than non-racialized mothers and birthing parents (52%). Similarly, 38% of recent immigrants indicated experiencing emotional or mental health difficulties, compared with 52% of non-immigrants. Previous research suggests that differences in cultural understandings of mental health and stigma may contribute to these patterns or result in underreporting of these difficulties.
The timing of when the challenges started followed similar patterns across all groups. The majority of respondents reported that their mental health challenges began postpartum.
Provider inquiries about emotional well-being
Health care providers play a key role in identifying mental health concerns by asking about emotional or mental well-being during routine postpartum visits. These conversations can help normalize discussions about mental health and encourage early intervention. Asking about emotional well-being is an important aspect of postpartum care.
In 2024, 21% of mothers and birthing parents reported that no health care provider asked about their emotional well-being during pregnancy or after childbirth. Younger mothers and birthing parents were slightly more likely to report not being asked (24%). Mothers and birthing parents who did not report having a regular health care provider postpartum were more likely to report that a provider did not ask them about their emotional or mental well-being (34%).
When comparing population groups, 30% of racialized mothers and birthing parents and 33% of recent immigrants indicated that they were not asked about their mental or emotional health (Table 4).
Use of mental health care services
For mothers and birthing parents who reported experiencing mental health challenges, the survey asked whether they sought help from a health professional and whether they had visited an emergency department or been admitted overnight for mental health reasons.
More than one-third (36%) of respondents with mental health challenges received help from a professional for their emotional or mental health in 2024. There were no significant differences between age groups. Recent immigrants were less likely to report receiving help with their mental health (24%) compared with long-term immigrants and Canadian born mothers and birthing parents (39%). A similar pattern was observed among racialized mothers and birthing parents, where 29% reported receiving help for their mental health challenges compared to 41% of non-racialized mothers and birthing parents.
A small percentage (2%) of respondents with mental health challenges visited an emergency department or were admitted to hospital for mental health reasons. Although these situations were uncommon, they represent critical episodes requiring attention and highlight the need for accessible outpatient mental health services.
Unmet mental health care needs
Unmet mental health care needs were measured only among mothers and birthing parents who experienced emotional or mental health challenges during pregnancy or after childbirth. In 2024, one in five (20%) of these individuals reported that they needed mental health care but did not receive it (Table 5). Younger mothers and birthing parents (aged 15 to 24) reported the highest level of unmet mental health needs (24%). Racialized mothers and birthing parents (18%) had lower reported unmet mental health needs than non-racialized mothers and birthing parents (22%).
The most common reasons for unmet mental health care needs included feeling too busy (41%) and no appointments available or long wait times (32%). Almost one-third (31%) of mothers and birthing parents who reported unmet mental health care needs noted that they did not know how or where to find care.
Note to readers
The Parental Experiences Survey (PES) collected information on the experiences of parents before, during, and after the birth of a child, including access to health care services, emotional well-being, and support systems. This release focuses on mothers and birthing parents living in the 10 provinces who delivered a baby during the period from December 31, 2023, to April 29, 2024. The survey excludes mothers and birthing parents living on reserves and in the territories. "Birthing parents" refers to individuals who gave birth, including people of diverse gender identities, such as transgender and non-binary individuals.
All estimates in this release are based on self-reported information and may be subject to recall bias. Small sample sizes in certain subgroups, including recent immigrants and some racialized populations, may result in greater variability of estimates.
The regular health care provider indicator differs from the primary health care provider indicator. In other Statistics Canada sources, the primary health care provider indicator is based on respondents who declared having a primary health care provider, such as a family doctor, nurse practitioner, or health team, excluding providers operating under a private pay model. For the PES, the indicator does not specifically ask about health teams and may include respondents who received primary health care from a midwife or gynecologist. Caution should be exercised when comparing these indicators, as their definitions and scopes are not equivalent.
For the purposes of this analysis, postpartum care includes visits to health care providers for physical health, feeding support, and other needs following childbirth for the mother or birthing parent and does not include health care provided for the infant. Mental health indicators in this release are derived from answers provided by mothers and birthing parents who reported experiencing emotional or mental health challenges during pregnancy or after childbirth. Questions regarding mental health emergency department visits, overnight hospital admissions, help seeking, and unmet needs were asked only of this subgroup.
Racialized mothers and birthing parents are identified based on self-reported racial or ethnic identity. Data on racialized groups are measured with the visible minority variable. The non-racialized group is measured with the category "Not a visible minority" of the variable, excluding Indigenous respondents. Recent immigrants are defined as those who arrived in Canada within five years prior to the survey. For provincial analysis, the four Atlantic provinces are combined into an Atlantic region variable due to sample size considerations.
All percentages are weighted to be representative of the Canadian population of mothers and birthing parents during the survey period. Differences between subgroups should be interpreted with caution when sample sizes are small.
In this release, when two estimates are said to be different, this indicates that the difference was statistically significant at a 95% confidence level (p-value less than 5%).
For further information on the survey methodology, sampling, and variable definitions, please refer to the Parental Experiences Survey documentation.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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