In Finland all expectant mom’s are given a starter pack which consists of clothes, sheets and toys. This tradition dates back to the 1930s and it was intended to give all babies the same start in life. The UK could take on this tradition to ensure that all babies born here have the same start too. To read the full article follow the linkhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22751415
After last weeks announcement from supermarkets that it will be limiting the amount of baby milk to 2 cartons per customer, lots of stories were ciculated. Which may have caused people to panic buy or worry about what to feed their babies if they run out. Many of our clients cannot afford to buy extra baby milk so will usually run out before they buy more. Hearing about supermarkets limiting sales may put women off buying formula and may be prepared to try Breastfeeding, however, if there was more information on formula feeding for parents to access they could compare the benefits of Breastfeeding and make the right decision for themselves. This doesn’t help when aggressive advertising in the media from the 2 leading Breast milk substitute manufacturers Nestle and Danone causes panic buying of infant formula.
For example, according to (Baby Milk Action 2013).
This marketing war has now reached the UK following Nestlé’s takeover of Pfizer Nutrition/Wyeth in 2012, manufacture of the SMA brand. Both Danone and Nestlé have launched new strategies to promote their products – the former gaining media coverage by claiming individuals in the UK are buying up formula to send to China thus causing a shortage in the UK, the latter taking advantage of any formula panic buying by putting its follow-on formula on prominent price promotion to increase sales.
Are milk companies creating this type of panic to increase its sales. Headlines last week on BBC website were;
“Baby milk rationed in UK over China export fear”
(BBC news online 8th April 2013 Last updated at 19:20)
Nestle have denied any evidence of bulk buying for export (Baby Milk Action 2013)
“We have confirmed that there are sufficient stocks of infant formula for the UK and parents should continue to buy formula milk as usual.”
The Department of 13th April 2013
Some of the women we work with may not even be aware of this in the news as many do not have access to the internet so therefore may not really affect them.
For more information follow the link below
The singer Pink is quite happy to talk about Breastfeeding her daughter Willow and has spoken about it often in the press. So when her Husband Carey Hart posted a picture on Twitter of his wife feeding their daughter last week I thought it was a good thing. In my view this is the way forward with regard to encouraging young mums ‘especially’ to Breastfeed because of celebrity culture we need more celebritites appearing in the media showing that Breastfeeding is normal. The media tends to show the extreme images of Breastfeeding e.g women feeding their 4 year old in public, which does put people off. Take a look here Pink
The BBC documentary “Why Poverty” looks at women from different countries in the world, and their experience of childbirth. The programe shows how each country deals with childbirth and infant mortality.
Here in the UK we have a very good ante natal service and although we do have issues within the NHS regarding tackling infant mortality, this shows how good the NHS is and the documenary compares some of the extreme conditions women in other countries face, for example, Sierra Leone has a high Infant Mortality rate,and shows a pregnant lady travelling for days to get to a medical centre only to lose her baby and die herself. Watch the video here
Why Poverty
Of all our social institutions, the family is perhaps the one with which we are most familiar. As we proceed through our lives, our experiences within the family give rise to some of our strongest and most intense feelings. Within the family context lies a paradox, however: although most of us hope for love and support within the family — a haven in a heartless world, so to speak — the family can also be a place of violence and abuse. MARILYN POOLE, Family: Changing Families, Changing TimesFarah (not her real name) was physically and emotionally abused by her partner for many years. As Farah was from a Pakistani heritage she was made to believe that this is the norm of every Asian family. Farah grew up witnessing the same tribulations in her mothers life. Her father used to beat her mother for minor reasons such as; there is mess on the floor which is not cleaned. After questioning her mother Farah’s mother said this is the fate of all women and this is what all men do. Farah grew up witnessing this violence between two people who taught her about life …………….and this is what she was taught, a womans place is in the kitchen, and if she makes a mistake she needs to be punished. Now Farah is living through the same horror, not realisng this is unacceptable and inhumane. She has a belief ingraved in her from her family that it is normal to live inthis kind of a relationship……
The green pages on a pregnant woman’s notes? You probably won’t have paid much attention to them but they contain every detail of the woman’s health and medical history. They tell health professionals how the woman is, how she was, her complaints and her problems. Seem pretty serious? They really, really are!
Imagine then, coming over from another country and not having a clue about what they say or what the doctors think is wrong with you. This happens, it happens more than you think and it’s something that can be very scary with people deciding what is best for you on what is written on these bits of paper.
I have just been dealing with a heavily pregnant woman, Shabana (not her real name) who is a Pakistani lady and arrived in Britain with her partner, unable to speak English and terrified of having another miscarriage after already going through the trauma of it 3 times before.
The green notes, told the doctors about her miscarriages, they told them how much of a priority she should be, they say how vulnerable and at risk that this lady is and yet she was unable to speak up on her own behalf to tell them that she was scared of it happening again.
Shabana was left with no interpreter, and therefore no way of communicating with the doctors, nurses or indeed anyone else Shabana was thrust into this position not long ago. She was scared, she was vulnerable, she couldn’t tell the people who were helping her how she felt and guess what? She miscarried, again.
Why was she not represented when the doctor spoke to the consultant? Why was she not asked if she was scared? Why wasn’t she given the procedure that the evidence on the green notes pointed too?
Too many whys.
Something has to be done…
Kalvinder talks about the support she got from Gateway.
Being pregnant is supposed to be a happy time, but it can be very difficult. We help mums deal with practical and emotional problems so they can concentrate on keeping healthy – and having healthy babies. After she found she was pregnant Kalvinder came to Birmingham from Southampton to be near her family, but there were problems. We helped her sort out a complicated benefit situation, helped her find somewhere suitable to live – and every problem solved meant there was something less for Kalvinder to worry about – and that’s what our job is all about.
In yesterday’s Guardian, an article on domestic violence highlighted the suffering women are experiencing due to cut backs to funding for women’s aid and other domestic violence support team within the community. The service is one of the primary support services for women who are experiencing this common oppressive practice. Domestic violence is said to peak, or is triggered during pregnancy as this is a vulnerable stage of life. This issue has a detrimental impact on women’s health and possibly her unborn child depending on the severity of the situation.
As Pregnancy Outreach Workers we support women with such isssues and have seen where they have developed anxiety, emotional and psychological issues, and mental health difficulties. However, one must remember, it is not just the physical act, it is also threats, emotional abuse and domination, bullying, oppression and restrictions. Therefore pregnant women should seek urgent support if experiencing these difficulties, so they can get urgent and appropriate support from their Family Support Workers, Pregnancy Outreach Workers, their GPs, Midwives and other professional workers who can refer or signpost them to domestic violence/abuse agencies.
HERE WE GO AGAIN COME AND JOIN US AT OUR DROP IN GROUP ON 31st January 2012, 2pm-4pm. Venue St Georges Community HUB
Great Hampton Row, Newtown, B19 3JG
Bus Route to Venue 46,74,75,8
Meet and greet other moms to be (Open sessions)
Refreshments available
Relaxation with soft background music
small talk/ share ideas and Techniques on various issues.
Get information on pregnancy issues, which is of concerns to new moms, such as breast feeding, babycare, smoking cessation,diet and nutrition, parenting skills/craft and other social and emotional issues.
This session is also open to our past clients from 2007 up until 3 months ago, as we welcome your feedback. So come and share with us your stories and experiences, and pass on valued information and techniques to new moms.
Every woman attending will be entered in a free raffle ticket prize draw.
please direct your enquiry to Jacque on 07825383657 or Pauline 07825383669
Pregnancy Outreach Workers Facilitates a a drop in group for first time moms, this helps moms with essential informations on issues or concerns they wish to know about, also they get to meet other women and share experiences , not forgetting the benefits of time out for moms.
I just wanna say thank you 4 everything, you was so much help when I was pregnant. The baby is getting sooooo big now!
Nikita J is discussing. 
Pregnancy Outreach Workers 
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