Mum: Invest in vital health visitors who saved my life

A MOTHER of two has urged Rishi Sunak to make sure every family has access to health visitors after they saved her when she struggled with mental health problems.

- Hanna Geissler

In a powerful open letter – signed by 100 parents and backed by the NSPCC – Leanne Howlett, 34, tells the Chancellor how the first days with her baby son were “clouded by an inability to cope and a feeling of despair”.

She said a midwife and health visitor stepped in when they realised she needed urgent help – but stressed other parents are not so lucky because they do not have equal access to health services.

The brave mum wrote: “To have to reach out and say you are struggling is the hardest call you will ever make and for many, it can feel impossible.

“For this reason, so many parents end up struggling at home alone, behind closed doors, afraid to speak up.