Australia is standing on the brink of a generational shift – one we are barely talking about, let alone planning for. The children and adolescents who lived through the most prolonged COVID-19 lockdowns in the world are now entering adulthood. Soon, they will become our next generation of parents.

But they are not entering parenthood with a clean slate.

Across the country, record numbers of young people are being diagnosed with anxiety disorders, depression, ADHD, and Autism Spectrum Disorders. Rates of school refusal, extreme social anxiety, self-harm, and suicidal ideation have surged since 2020. Educators, psychologists, paediatricians, and families are reporting a mental health and developmental landscape unlike anything Australia has seen in modern history.

And yet – our maternity care system, already under immense strain, is barely keeping its head above water.

If we cannot meet the needs of today’s pregnant women, how will we ever support the enormously complex needs of tomorrow’s?

This is the question policymakers, health leaders, educators and communities must urgently confront.

A Generation Still Carrying the Scars of Lockdown

The evidence is now unequivocal: the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the mental health and developmental wellbeing of children and adolescents.

A national systematic review found that Australian young people experienced substantial increases in emotional distress during lockdowns, including anxiety, depression, loneliness, and behavioural disruption (Li et al., 2022). Global reviews similarly report widespread negative mental health effects among children and adolescents, including those with no prior vulnerabilities (Samji et al., 2022).

The Australian Bureau of Statistics now reports that 38.8% of people aged 16–24 experienced a mental disorder in 2020–2022 – nearly double the rate for the general population (ABS, 2023).

Developmental vulnerabilities have risen too.

The Australian Early Development Census reported a decline in the proportion of children “on track” developmentally in 2021, with more children showing concerns in emotional maturity, social competence and language development compared with pre-pandemic years (AEDC, 2021).

Taken together, this paints a clear picture: the “lockdown generation” is entering adulthood with higher levels of neurodiversity, mental ill-health, and social-emotional challenges than any generation before it.

This is not a moral failing. It is a predictable outcome of prolonged social isolation, disrupted routines, digital-only learning, and widespread instability during key developmental years.

But these consequences carry forward – including into pregnancy, birth and early parenting.

Meanwhile, the Maternity Care System Is Already Failing Women

Even before we consider the changing needs of the next generation, Australia’s maternity care system is under intense pressure.

Women routinely report feeling unheard, unsupported, and traumatised by their care.
The landmark Australian Birth Experience Study (BESt) found that over one-third of women experienced birth trauma, often linked to poor communication, lack of consent processes, and unnecessary interventions (Keedle et al., 2023).

Other systemic problems include:

1. Lack of continuity of care

Despite its strong evidence base, midwifery continuity of care remains available to only a small proportion of women. In some states, the figure is as low as 10% (Maternity Choices Australia, 2023).

2. High intervention rates

Caesarean section, induction and instrumental birth rates remain significantly higher than recommended norms, with wide variation across hospitals. Currently, the national caesarean rate is 41% (AIHW, 2023).  

3. Limited trauma-informed practice

The federal evaluation of the Woman-Centred Care: Strategic Directions for Australian Maternity Services found inconsistent implementation, with many providers lacking trauma-informed training (Reilly et al, 2022).

4. Poor capacity to support neurodivergent women

There is limited training on how to support autistic women, women with ADHD, or women with sensory or communication differences – a gap already affecting thousands.

Collectively, these failings create a system that many experts describe as fragmented, under-resourced, and increasingly unsafe.

And this is before we consider the incoming generation of high-needs parents.

The Perfect Storm: High-Needs Parents Entering a Broken System

If rates of mental ill-health, neurodiversity, trauma, social anxiety, and emotional dysregulation continue at their current trajectory, the next generation of birthing women will arrive carrying:

• ADHD, autism, sensory sensitivities
• complex trauma histories
• chronic anxiety, depression, or other mood disorders
• histories of social withdrawal or school refusal
• high levels of identity-related stress
• limited trust in institutions
• greater need for stability, predictability and respectful care

These are not rare or fringe issues. They are becoming mainstream.

This generation will require maternity care that is:

• neurodiversity-affirming
• trauma-informed
• predictable and consistent
• relationship-based
• culturally safe
• flexible, slower-paced, sensory-aware
• deeply supportive

But these are not qualities built into the current maternity system.

Without urgent change, we risk a compounding cycle: parents with high needs entering a system with low capacity – leading to more trauma, more distress, and poorer early developmental environments for infants.

This isn’t fearmongering. It is evidence-based foresight.

What Needs to Happen Now

Australia cannot wait another decade to adapt. We must begin building a maternity and early-parenting ecosystem fit for the emerging needs of the next generation.

1. Expand access to midwifery continuity of care

Midwifery-led continuity models reduce interventions, improve mental health outcomes, and increase birth satisfaction (Sandall et al., 2016). They should be the default – not the exception.

2. Mandate trauma-informed and neurodiversity-aware training across maternity services

This includes communication strategies, sensory-friendly environments, informed consent practices, and adaptations for executive functioning differences.

3. Strengthen perinatal mental health services

Young adults already experience the highest mental illness prevalence in Australia (ABS, 2023). Perinatal mental health systems must expand to meet increasing complexity.

4. Embed lived-experience consumer leadership

People with neurodivergence, disability, trauma histories and mental health lived experience must be involved in designing systems meant to support them.

5. Invest in prevention and early parenting support

Programs such as nurse home visiting, peer support, and community-based early parenting services are essential buffers.

This Is Our Warning – and Our Opportunity

If Australia fails to act, the next generation of pregnant women will enter a system fundamentally incapable of meeting their needs.

But if we listen, plan, and invest – if we centre the needs of those most profoundly shaped by the pandemic – we have the opportunity to create the most inclusive, compassionate and responsive maternity care system Australia has ever seen.

We owe this not only to the lockdown generation – but to their children, and their children after them.

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2023). National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing, 2020–2022. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/mental-health/national-study-mental-health-and-wellbeing/latest-release

Australian Early Development Census. (2021). AEDC National Report 2021. https://www.aedc.gov.au/resources/detail/2021-aedc-national-report

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2023). Australia’s mothers and babies. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/mothers-babies/australias-mothers-babies

Keedle, H., Lockwood, R., Keedle, W., Susic, D., & Dahlen, H. G. (2023). What women want if they were to have another baby: The Australian Birth Experience Study (BESt) cross-sectional national survey. BMJ Open, 13(9), e071582. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-071582

Li, S. H., & Werner-Seidler, A. (2022). The impact of COVID-19 on the lives and mental health of Australian adolescents. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 31(6), 925–938. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-021-01790-x

Maternity Choices Australia. (2023). Submission to the NSW Select Committee on Birth Trauma. https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/lcdocs/submissions/80747/0253%20Maternity%20Choices%20Australia.pdf

Reilly N, Williams K, Masso M, Kobel C and Artiss S. (2022) Woman-centred care: Strategic directions for Australian maternity services. Part 1 – Baseline Report. Centre for Health Service Development, Australian Health Services Research Institute, University of Wollongong. https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-06/monitoring-and-evaluation-services-for-woman-centred-care-strategic-directions-for-australian-maternity-services.pdf

Sandall, J., Soltani, H., Gates, S., Shennan, A., & Devane, D. (2016). Midwife-led continuity models versus other models of care for childbearing women. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (4). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27121907/ Samji, H., Wu, J., Ladak, A., Vossen, C., Stewart, E., Dove, N., Long, D., & Snell, G. (2022). Mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and youth – a systematic review. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 27(2), 173–189. https://doi.org/10.1111/camh.12501