|
BABY BLUNDERS
THE majority
of pregnant women in the UK don’t know what they should eat and
drink, with 1 in 10 admitting they even drank alcohol throughout
their entire pregnancy, a new survey has revealed. 60% of
women surveyed say they are unsure about what is safe to consume
during pregnancy.
With more than
600,000 births a year in the UK, that’s around 360,000 women who may
be eating the wrong foods, according to the survey by food company
Organix. The nationwide survey of 850 pregnant women and new
mums also found that 33% of those questioned received conflicting
advice about what they should eat or drink during pregnancy.
Of those who received conflicting advice, 18% said midwives gave
mixed messages; 13% blamed websites; 11% said friends were
responsible; 6% named health visitors and 2% said it was their GPs.
The study found 10% were confused about whether to drink alcohol,
while others were unsure whether cheese, shellfish, eggs, tuna, nuts
or caffeine were safe. The confusion over nutrition may
account for the fact that a whopping 95% were more tired than usual
during their pregnancy, with 34% saying they were tired all the
time. 25% said continuing paid work was the cause of their
tiredness. And exhaustion continues after birth: 41% of new
mums with kids under the age of 4 are tired all the time, with
looking after their children and lack of sleep named as the main
reasons for tiredness.
Despite recent Government recommendations that pregnant women should
cut out alcohol entirely, one in ten women surveyed admitted
drinking alcohol throughout their entire pregnancy. 50% of
those questioned said they didn’t drink at all while another 33%
stopped drinking once they discovered they were pregnant. The
remaining 7% drank alcohol in the early stages of pregnancy.
Lizzie Vann, founder of Organix, said:- “We work closely with
mums everyday, so we knew they were feeling tired both before and
after giving birth – but were still surprised that so many say they
are tired all the time. We carried out this study as part of
research to help us develop our new Mum’s Bar, a fruit and seed bar
designed especially for mums, so we were concerned by the third of
mums who say they eat less healthily after having their children
when this is the time they most need good food to keep them going!
And whilst 3 in every 4 think more about nutrition, they are clearly
confused about what to eat when they are pregnant.”
Having a child also made most women (79%) think more about food and
nutrition: 48% said they bought more organic food as a mum and 12%
said pregnancy was when they first began buying organic food.
A selfless 7% said they ate non-organic food but only fed organic
food to their children. Despite an increased interest in food,
34% said they ate less healthily after becoming a mum. They
said this was down to a lack of time to prepare meals; grabbing
unhealthy snacks on the go, and a lack of time to think about their
own needs.
WILLING SUPPORTERS INVITED TO NEW NSPCC CENTRE
THE NSPCC is
inviting people to find out more about the real difference that
gifts in wills make to the lives of vulnerable and abused children
in Liverpool. A reception will be held on Thursday 9 August at
the NSPCC's newly opened Hargreaves Centre on Great Homer Street in
Liverpool. In addition to finding out more about the history of the
NSPCC in Liverpool and the charity's work, guests will hear from the
NSPCC's Liverpool Therapeutic Service who helps children who have
suffered abuse. They use a range of different approaches and
creative therapies to help children come to terms with what has
happened to them.
The Hargreaves Centre also works with families who have suffered
domestic violence, and with women who are pregnant or who have young
families who are substance users. Guests will also hear about
ChildLine - a service provided by the NSPCC which will soon be
opening its first Liverpool base manned from the Hargreaves Centre.
Guests will then be able to find out more about leaving a legacy to
the NSPCC and enjoy a tour of the custom-made building - the largest
NSPCC service outside London.
Nigel Harbron, NSPCC community legacy manager, said:- "I would
like to invite people to find out more about the work of the NSPCC
in Liverpool. When talking with supporters I sometimes hear them say
that they wish they could do more, but have a limit to how much they
can donate. Leaving a gift has a lasting effect on children and
young people for generations to come. We understand that a
will is an important personal matter and not something that people
change lightly. There will be no 'hard sell' at the event - just an
opportunity for us to share with people who care about the NSPCC
just how vital legacies are to the charity's continued work with the
children and young people who need us. In 2006 legacies paid for
almost a fifth of everything we were able to achieve for children
and young people. That's one child in every five. I do hope that
local people will come along and find out more."
To reserve a place please contact Nigel Harbron on 01723 381 263 by
Friday 3 August 2007. |
GO
AHEAD GIVEN FOR £140m
ST HELENS REGENERATION SCHEME
PLANS
for a £140m transformation of a derelict and underused 50 hectare
site at Moss Nook, Sutton in St Helens have been given the go ahead
by the Secretary of State.
Property firm Banks Developments’ proposals will turn one of the
largest areas of neglected land in the town into a vibrant
1,200-home community, including high quality housing and amenities,
tree-lined boulevards, village greens and allocated open spaces.
The new community will include a range of 2, 3 and 4 bedroom
properties, ranging from apartments to detached houses, 10% of which
will be designated as affordable housing. It will be the
largest of 3 urban villages that have now been approved to promote
the continuing regeneration of St Helens, and will attract new
investment and employment opportunities into the local economy.
2 major pieces of
public open green spaces, surrounded by a network of smaller green
areas will be included, along with 3 Sport England-standard,
full-sized football pitches, a smaller pitch for junior players and
new changing facilities. Banks will also be making
improvements to nearby Sutton Mill Brook Park, and have also
designed a management plan for its future long term care. A
one-acre part of the site has been set aside for commercial
development, which is likely to encompass a number of small scale
retail units.
Banks will shortly be starting remediation work on the site, which
was previously used for various industrial purposes including coal
mining and concrete block manufacture. The company will be
keeping local people informed about the timetable for work as it
takes shape, and is now in negotiations with a number of development
partners. The first of these agreements is expected to be in
place within the next few months, and presuming everything goes to
schedule, the first residents could be moving into the new
development before the end of next year.
The Moss Nook scheme
was subject to a public inquiry held in November last year,
following its initial approval by St Helens Council. It is the
first stage of the realisation of ideas that were put forward in a
2003 study commissioned by Banks Developments, St Helens Council and
Helena Housing Association entitled, ‘Worsley Brow – Masterplan &
Implementation Programme’, which sets out a grand vision for the
regeneration of a total of 150 hectares of urban land.
Councillor Neil Taylor, St Helens Council’s Executive Member for
Urban Regeneration, says:- “This is a key component in the
ongoing regeneration of the Borough. This is a large site and the
scheme will be a great boost to the economy and the environment in
the Sutton area meeting a mix of housing needs, a tenth of which
will be affordable homes.”
Steve Williams, project manager at Banks Developments, adds:-
“We are pleased that the Secretary of State has approved the
application, which we believe will bring benefits to both the
immediate area and the surrounding region in terms of investment and
employment opportunities. We have worked closely with St
Helens Council for many years to create a scheme that realises their
ambitions for the site, and we are very excited at the prospect of
now making these ambitions a reality. The scheme has been
designed to integrate well with the surrounding communities, with
easy connections to local transport links, schools and other
amenities, and the green spaces we’ve included will inject new life
into the local environment.” |
