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Published 20th June 2025
Inspire: Culture, Learning and Libraries is proud to announce the availability of Reading Well for families, a new collection supporting the mental health and wellbeing of families during pregnancy and the early years (from conception to age two). Available now, this evidence-based book collection provides crucial mental health support for parents, carers, and their wider networks mental health and wellbeing during the first 1,001 days of a child's life.
The Reading Well for families collection, developed by The Reading Agency in partnership with Libraries Connected and Society of Chief Librarians (SCL) Cymru, recommends helpful reading on topics such as parental wellbeing, perinatal mental health problems (including anxiety, depression, OCD, and birth trauma), and coping with loss (including miscarriage, stillbirth, and neonatal death).
"Supporting families in our communities is of huge importance to our organisation, which we already do with our fantastic early years offer. The introduction of Reading Well for families is another great step in improving lives for both parents and children across Nottinghamshire, and we hope that by making the collection available in local libraries, we can continue to have a positive impact on family life both in and outside of the library"
The launch of Reading Well for families responds to an urgent need for accessible perinatal mental health resources. In England, monthly referrals for perinatal services have risen dramatically by 443% in the last eight years, from around 1,400 referrals a month in 2016 to more than 7,600 in 2024.
At least 1 in 5 women experience mental health problems during pregnancy and after birth, with anxiety and depression being the most common serious maternity health considerations affecting 10-15% of women.
Reading Well is a high-impact community intervention that delivers quality-assured information endorsed by health professionals. Previous Reading Well collections have shown remarkable success, with 91% of users finding their Reading Well book helpful, and 92% of health professionals reporting that the programme increased the range of support they could offer.
Reading Well for families joins the broader Reading Well Books on Prescription programme, which includes lists on mental health for adults, children and teens, and dementia. Since the programme's inception, more than 3.9 million Reading Well books have been borrowed across England and Wales, supporting individuals in managing their health and wellbeing through the power of reading.
The collection available at libraries across Nottinghamshire includes titles addressing various family experiences, such as:
- You the Daddy: The Hands-On Dad's Guide to Pregnancy, Birth and the Early Years of Fatherhood by Giles Alexander (Vie)
- Hello Baby, Goodbye Intrusive Thoughts: Stop the spiral of anxiety and OCD to reclaim wellness on your motherhood journey by Jenny Yip (New Harbinger)
- My Black Motherhood: Mental Health, Stigma, Racism and the System by Sandra Igwe (Jessica Kingsley Publishers)
- How to Help Someone After a Miscarriage by Clare Foster (Trigger Publishing)
The books can be borrowed for free, with copies based at a selection of libraries across the county. In locations where titles aren’t available, users can reserve them online or by speaking with a member of staff, for the small charge of 30p per item. The collection is also available in eBook format for a limited time (until 10 December 2025) through BorrowBox and Libby, both of which Nottinghamshire library users can access free of charge.
A list of recommended digital resources is available to support the core booklist and offer additional information and support.
Visit The Reading Agency's website to see all the titles included in the Reading Well for families collection.
Visit our online catalogue to browse our stock and reserve to collect a library near you.
