Campaigner Rebecca Bell is welcoming the news that the First Minister has told parliament that parents with a baby under the age of one can have assistance with childcare, using a new exemption for indoor visiting.
Rebecca Bell, the mental health spokesperson for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, had launched a petition to allow for ‘bubbles’ for those with newborns, like they have in place in England and Wales.
She was prompted to do so after speaking to her friends with children in Leith, and also during phone canvassing in recent months, she and other volunteers kept hearing how much parents were struggling.
Speaking after the announcement at Parliament, Rebecca said: “We’ve been campaigning for this since last year, so I’m delighted to hear that finally parents with a baby can get some much needed support in their homes.
“This is so vitally important for the mental health and wellbeing of new families, but also for the development of these babies to interact with other people. Most of these children were born during lockdown.
“However, I will continue to stay in touch with those I’ve spoken to, to see if this restriction edit goes far enough. My petition called for a full baby bubble – like families in England have enjoyed since the start of December, and since last month in Wales.
“What the Scottish Government are introducing is not quite the same. As we ease restrictions there may still be a case for allowing bubbles, such as the one we (rightly) offer here to single parents. I believe a bubble is a more stable arrangement for planning childcare in the next few months, so I will be monitoring the success of this policy closely.
“Now we have eclipsed a year into this pandemic, it’s easy to see why fatigue has set in and mental health has been put under strain. Anyone with a newborn is sleep deprived, and around 1 in 10 new mothers experience post-natal depression, and this condition can also affects fathers too, of course.
“Any parent knows that you need lots of energy for it, and just having someone able to come into your house to hold your baby so you can eat some food, or shower can make a huge difference to your wellbeing. That’s why so many I’ve spoken to are really struggling to juggle parenthood and working from home.
“I’m so glad we finally got some movement from the Government on this, I just wish they’d done so sooner.”