Maternity Units Seriously Short of Staff

A report by the Commons Public Accounts Committee has said most maternity units do not have enough senior doctors, with poorer care at weekends leaving women at higher risk of complications. The report said women and babies were being left at higher risk of infections and injury at weekends because of shortages of staff, with just 47 per cent of units having enough consultants, and a national shortage of 2,300 midwives. MPs said shortages of midwives and lack of beds meant more than a quarter of maternity units had to close to new patients for half a day or more between April and September 2012.

Half of maternity units are short of senior doctors warn MPs The Telegraph 31 January 2014

ADHD linked to social and economic disadvantage

A study by the University of Exeter Medical School discovered that a greater percentage of children with ADHD came from families below the poverty line than the UK population as a whole. The study found the odds of parents in social housing having a child with ADHD were roughly three times greater than for those who owned their own homes.The team also found that the odds of younger mothers having a child with ADHD were significantly higher than for other mothers. Mothers with no qualifications were more than twice as likely to have a child with ADHD than those with degrees, and lone parents were more likely to have a child with ADHD diagnosis than households with two live-in parents. 

Dr Ginny Russell, who led the study, said: "There is a genetic element to ADHD, but this study provides strong evidence that ADHD is also associated with a disadvantaged social and economic background.

"Some people believe that ADHD in children causes disadvantage to the economic situation of their family, but we found no evidence to support that theory. It's important to discover more about the causes of this disorder so that we can look towards prevention, and so that we can target treatment and support effectively."

Family poverty linked to children with attention disorder The Independent 26th November 2013

Pregnant women who snore give birth to smaller babies

Experts said snoring may be a sign of breathing problems which could deprive an unborn baby of oxygen. A new study led by Dr Louise O'Brien, from the University of Michigan's Sleep Disorders Centre found that pregnant women who snore are more likely to give birth to smaller babies. The study found that chronic snorers, who snored both before and during pregnancy, were two thirds more likely to have a baby whose weight was in the bottom 10%. They were also more than twice as likely to need an elective Caesarean delivery, or C-section, compared with non-snorers. Snoring is a key sign of obstructive sleep apnoea, which results in the airway becoming partially blocked, said the researchers, whose findings appear in the journal Sleep. Dr O'Brien added: "If we can identify risks during pregnancy that can be treated, such as obstructive sleep apnoea, we can reduce the incidence of small babies, C-sections and possibly NICU (neo-natal intensive care unit) admission that not only improve long-term health benefits for newborns but also help keep costs down."

Pregnant women who snore give birth to smaller babies, study reveals The Mirror 31st October 2013

Maternity leave: 50,000 women a year don’t get jobs back

Up to 50,000 women who take maternity leave each year are unable to return to the jobs they left behind because of discrimination by employers according to figures analysed by the House of Commons library. The research found that as many as 14 per cent of the 340,000 women who take maternity leave every year find their positions under threat when they try to return. Some are told that they cannot do their old job part-time and are forced into roles with less responsibility while others are effectively constructively dismissed. Those who do return to the same job sometimes find it harder to get promotion, leading to a growing pay gap between men and women in later life.
Maternity Gap - The Independent 27 August 2013

Postnatal depression more likely after unplanned pregnancy

Women who get pregnant unintentionally are four times more likely to suffer from postpartum depression, according to new research. The study, published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, found that postpartum depression was more likely in women with unintended pregnancies at both three and twelve months after birth.
The study, conducted at the University of North Carolina prenatal clinics questioned participants about pregnancy intention at 15-19 weeks gestational age. The increased risk was highest at 12 months and indicates that this group of women have a long term risk of depression.
When age, education level and poverty status were factored into the results, women with unintended pregnancy were still twice as likely to have postpartum depression at twelve months.
Louise Silverton, director for midwifery at the Royal College of Midwives, said:
"We are seriously short of midwives in England and we know that postnatal care is suffering because of this. We are hearing of midwives having to make fewer postnatal visits, if at all. This is a concern because the problems this research highlights may go undetected and the consequences of this can be serious, for the women, for families and for the health service."

Unintended pregnancies increase the risk of postpartum depression - Female First 8th May 2013

Low MMR Vaccination Rates Put Measles Eradication Plans Under Threat

Outbreaks of measles are putting Europe's commitment to eliminate the disease by 2015 under threat, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned. Levels of vaccination have been too low in some countries, particularly in rich western European nations. It says catch-up vaccination campaigns, such as the one launched in the UK, are needed across the continent. Experts said it was not too late to hit the target, but "extraordinary" effort was needed.

Measles causes high fever and a rash and can be fatal.

Threat to Measles Elimination Plans - BBC News 7th May 2013

Hospitals 'are ignoring advice on caesarean sections'

Advice drawn up by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (Nice) says elective caesareans should not be performed until after 39 completed weeks so that the baby's lungs can develop fully. Otherwise, babies can suffer neonatal respiratory morbidity – serious breathing problems – which can prove fatal.
But a report out by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, which represents the UK's 11,500 maternity doctors, reveals that the procedure is carried out before 39 weeks in 37% of such births in England and as many as 52.5% in some hospitals.

The RCOG's report says the overall proportion of elective C-sections performed before 39 completed weeks has fallen from 61% in 2000-01, but still stood at 30.3% (20,674 babies) in 2011-12.
Belinda Phipps, chief executive of the National Childbirth Trust, said: "NHS practice on this is damaging and isn't helpful to babies. Hospitals' preference for doing so many elective C-sections before 39 weeks leads to morbidity and mortality in babies, because the babies' lungs aren't properly developed and so they stand a higher chance of being resuscitated and also of ending up in neonatal intensive care."
2 May 2013 The Guardian

Shortage of midwives means some women get more postnatal visits than others

Almost two-thirds of new mothers feel let down by the NHS after giving birth, according to a report. In some places women get three postnatal visits at home, while in neighbouring areas new mothers will see a midwife just once. The report from the National Federation of Women’s Institutes and NCT said the vast majority of maternity units are having to cope with shortages of midwives.
Belinda Phipps, chief executive of the NCT, said ‘We are extremely concerned about the shockingly high number of women who have been let down by their maternity care.
‘It is equally worrying to see that the level of care given to parents varies so significantly by postcode.’
Cathy Warwick, chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives, said ‘We are 5000 midwives short in England. Without enough midwives to cope with the increasing demands on maternity services I fear that we will not see the situation depicted in this report improving.
‘Postnatal care has been an area of concern for some time. This is a vitally important period for women who need support, guidance and advice when they return home after giving birth. Too often resources are taken away from this key area leading to fewer visits by midwives and less contact with them for women."
2 May 2013 The Daily Mail

Mild Iodine Deficiency in Womb Associated with Lower Scores on Children’s Literacy Tests

A longitudinal study, published in Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, examined standardized test scores of 228 children whose mothers attended The Royal Hobart Hospital’s antenatal clinics in Tasmania between 1999 and 2001. The children were born during a period of mild iodine deficiency in the population. As 9-year-olds, the children who received insufficient iodine in the womb had lower scores on standardized literacy tests, particularly in spelling. However, inadequate iodine exposure was not associated with lower scores on math tests. Researchers theorize iodine deficiency may take more of a toll on the development of auditory pathways and, consequently, auditory working memory and so had more of an impact on students’ spelling ability than their mathematical reasoning ability.

newswise.com 30 April 2013

Breastfeeding advice ignored by most mothers

Department of Health Statistics released

Reading the press release, 75% of children had complementary foods introduced into their diets before 6 months of age. The Telegraph chose to confuse introducing formula milk with introducing complementary foods.

Read the full press release here

Extract from Telegraph article below

Mothers are advised by midwives and health visitors to breastfeed exclusively for six months if they can, eschewing mixing in formula milk or starting them on solids until that age. But a survey of the parents of almost 2,700 babies and toddlers across the UK has shown very few indeed adhere to the official guidelines.
It discovered that 96 per cent of parents started weaning their children before six months - meaning that, at the very most, only four per cent breastfed exclusively for that period. Of the three-quarters of mothers who breastfed to some degree, 57 per cent gave up before the baby was three months old, and a further 22 per cent by six months. The report suggests parents are either not aware of the guidelines - or are choosing to ignore them.

The Telegraph 13th March 2013

One in seven women are made redundant after maternity leave

A new poll found that one in seven of the women surveyed had lost their job while on maternity leave; 40% said their jobs had changed by the time they returned, with half reporting a cut in hours or demotion. More than a tenth had been replaced in their jobs by the person who had covered their maternity leave.

It is unlawful to dismiss or otherwise disadvantage an employee for a reason related to her pregnancy or maternity leave. Campaign group Maternity Action provides advice to women and is trying to get the government to monitor unlawful discrimination. Before the recession, the Equal Opportunities Commission estimated that 30,000 women lost their jobs each year as a result of being pregnant, and campaigners believe that figure has risen dramatically.

The Guardian 9th March 2013

Rise in birth rates - but Mothercare loses market share

The UK is experiencing its biggest baby boom since 1971. The Office for National Statistics said last week that 723,913 babies were born in 2011, with hotspots in the south-east of England seeing birth rates up by more than 50%.  But Mothercare is losing market share to the likes of Tesco and Asda at one end, and upmarket boutiques such as Petit Bateau and JoJo Maman Bébé at the other.

Honor Westnedge of retail analyst Verdict says: "We've seen the average age of first-time mothers increase, and older mothers tend to spend more on their children because they have more disposable income. Nothing is too good for their baby." The number of first-time mothers aged over 35 has jumped by 44% over the past 10 years, with those over 40 up 84%. Average spending in infantswear has gone up over the same period from £334 a child in 2002 to £435 in 2012. With the market now worth £1.4bn a year, it's no wonder supermarkets are increasing their ranges of bibs, vests and outfits.

But Mothercare has a plan. A year ago Mothercare poached Simon Calver from film website LoveFilm as its new chief executive, with a nod to its online ambitions. Calver will also take the axe to many of Mothercare's high street stores, focusing on out-of-town shopping centres, where a trip can be a day out. Its flagship store in Edmonton, north London, now boasts a Costa Coffee shop, private ultrasound service and baby and toddler activities.

27th January 2013 The Guardian

1,120 new babies in East Cambridgeshire in 2011

In October, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released its annual statistics on births in England and Wales.

1,120 live births to East Cambridgeshire mums

Last year, there were 1,120 live births to women living in East Cambridgeshire. Congratulations if you were one of these mums! 

Across the whole of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, there were over 10,600 live births. Almost half of these babies were born to women living in the north east of the county (Huntingdonshire and Peterborough).

Rapid increase in number of babies in Cambridgeshire

Over the past five years, the number of babies born to mums living in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough has risen by 14.8 per cent - higher than the national average increase of 8.1 per cent.

Across Cambridgeshire, the biggest increase has been in East Cambridgeshire - a large increase of 22.3 per cent.

Across England and Wales, there have been a number of continuing trends

• The average age of women giving birth continued to rise. In 2011, the average age was 29.7 - the highest since records began in 1938;
• The percentage of births occurring outside of marriage reached a new record high (47.2 per cent). This has increased rapidly since the 1980s;
• At 25.5 per cent, the percentage of babies born to non-UK born women also broke a new record, with a strong increase since the late-1990s.

Defying trends, the fertility rate (the average number of children per women) fell in 2011 to 1.93, from 2.00 in 2010. This was the lowest rate since 2007 but remained higher than most of the 70s, 80s, 90s and early 2000s.

More information can be found on the ONS website

NHS paid £3.1bn in damages over 10 years for staff errors during childbirth

A report from the NHS Litigation Authority, which details the mistakes that occurred in 5,087 births in England between 2000 and 2010, has been described by maternity doctors as "staggering" and "a serious wake-up call".
It recommends that more senior maternity doctors need to be on duty more of the time in order to reduce the number of blunders, which can result in grave injury for the mother and brain damage to the baby. It often costs the NHS £6m or more to settle an action involving a brain-damaged baby, because their lifetime care needs as a result of their disability are so expensive.
The Guardian 27/10/12

Mathematical formula for predicting chances of pregnancy

Becoming pregnant is a matter of chance, meaning some people will succeed at the first attempt while other fertile couples may try for many months without success. But because women's fertility generally declines during their thirties, increasing age makes it ever more likely that failure to conceive is down to a medical cause and not simply bad luck. Now researchers have devised a simple formula to help couples understand their chance of becoming pregnant naturally, and judge when is the time to seek advice from a doctor. The model, described in the Public Library of Science ONE journal, was calculated using existing data from previous studies on pregnancy rates. A general rule of thumb used by doctors is that couples should try to conceive normally for a year before seeking help, but the new study suggests that by their mid thirties women may benefit from doing so sooner.
The Telegraph 4/10/12

Child Health Profile for Cambridgeshire

Child and Maternal Health Observatory, March 2012 (www.chimat.org.uk)

Child Poverty*: better rate than the England average

13.9% of children aged under 16 years living in poverty in 2009 (21.9% England)

*Poverty: % of children in families in receipt of either out of work benefits or tax credits where there reported income is less than 60% median income

Child Obesity: lower rate than the England average

7.6% of children aged 4-5 years (reception class) were obese in 2010/11 (9.4% England) while 15.8% of children aged 10-11 years (Year 6) were obese (19.0% England)

Breastfeeding initiation rates: much higher than average

In Cambridgeshire, 81.3% of mothers in 2010/11 initiated breastfeeding when their baby was born (74.5% England). By 6-8 weeks after birth, 58.4% of mothers were still breastfeeding

                                                                                                                                                                               

Rates of smoking in pregnancy: lower than average

11.0% of mothers in 2010/11 were smoking at the time of delivery – lower than the England rate of 13.6%

Levels of Children’s Tooth Decay: Similar to the England average

At age 12, the mean number of decayed, missing of filled teeth in Cambridgeshire children was 0.5 – slightly lower than the England average of 0.7 (2008/09)

Percentage of Children Achieving a Good level of Development at Age 5: Similar to average

60.0% of five year olds  achieved a good level of development within Early Years Foundation Stage Profile in 2011 (59.0% England)

Immunisation Rates: Similar to average

In 2010/11, 88.9% of children had received their MMR immunisation by age 2 (England 89.1%) while 96.2% had received immunisation against diphtheria, tetanus, polio, pertussis and Hib (England 96.0%)

Participation in Sport: Worse than the national average

48.7% of school-age children participated in at least 3 hours of sport/PE per week in 2009/10 (55.1% England)