Welfare Reform Bill

My Lords, I add my support to these amendments—in particular, Amendment 30B. I think I am right in saying that the average age for first conception has gone up from 23 to 28 in the past 30 years. One reason for that is the cost of living and young people’s concerns about whether they can afford to have a baby. The majority of mothers with dependent children are now in part-time or full-time employment. The president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists attracted some publicity when he commented that the best time to have a baby is in your early 20s. It is the best time biologically and emotionally. The older you are when you have your first child, or indeed when you have any child, the greater the number of complications. Midwives really enjoy having young mothers come into the maternity unit because they know that the mothers will be able to get up and walk out with their babies much more easily than older mothers. These are important points. There is good evidence that anxiety and depression during pregnancy is associated with emotional and behavioural problems in the child—not just in the early years; there is an association between depression in teenagers and mothers who are anxious or depressed. That anxiety is increased when there are worries about the economics of having a family. There is plenty of evidence that, in order to look after the young people of the future, we need to make sure that they have the best possible start in life.