Maternity

Bump the Habit

A website has launched in Humber, Coast and Vale area to help pregnant women stop smoking – with their loved ones also encouraged to quit at the same time to help them succeed in kicking the habit.

Humber, Coast and Vale, an area which includes the cities of Hull and York and large rural areas across Northern Lincolnshire, North Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire, has one of the highest smoking at delivery rates in England with 14.4% of women in the area known to be smokers when they give birth, compared to a national average of 9.8%.

Smoking is harmful to your unborn baby so quitting is the best thing you can do to give your child a healthy start to life. It can be challenging to give up but it’s never too late to quit – even if you’re in the latter stages of pregnancy.

When you stop smoking you reduce your risk of complications in pregnancy and birth, and are more likely to have a healthier pregnancy and healthier baby. Stopping smoking also reduces the risk of stillbirth and sudden infant death syndrome, also known as cot death.

The Bump the Habit website contains lots of information and features to help pregnant women give up smoking, including a service finder tool which shows where their nearest stop smoking service is located to enable easy access and improve their chances of successfully quitting as you’re up to four times more likely to quit with their expert help and advice.

It also includes real-life stop smoking stories, a myth-busting section and an area for health and care professionals which contains guidance from national organisations.

There are also financial benefits to stopping smoking, with the average packet of 20 cigarettes costing £11.15, and the Bump the Habit website features a quitting calculator which works out how much money you would save if you were to give up.

A person who smokes 20 cigarettes a day could save almost £340 per month on average if they were to quit – which could pay for the redecoration of the nursery, or for a new television (for all those sleepless nights).

For more information, please visit www.bumpthehabit.org.uk.

The Humber, Coast and Vale Maternity website

A website which serves as a comprehensive online guide to pregnancy, giving birth and beyond has been launched in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

The Humber, Coast and Vale Local Maternity System has created www.humbercoastandvalematernity.org.uk to support people who are thinking about having children, who are already pregnant or who have recently had a baby.

The website has been designed to be a single point of information for people wishing to learn more about maternity services in Humber, Coast and Vale area so they are able to choose the most appropriate place to receive care based on their needs.

Among the interactive features on the website is a map which shows the hospitals, midwifery units and birth centres where you can give birth in Humber, Coast and Vale, and the different facilities they offer. The website also features a timeline which explains how your baby is growing and developing during the course of pregnancy.

The website also features lots of antenatal and postnatal information to help you and your family and friends, including advice on what you should do when you find out you are having a baby, what to expect during the various stages of pregnancy, advice on staying healthy while pregnant and signposting to the many different support services available in your local area.

The Humber, Coast and Vale Local Maternity System is a partnership of organisations, women and their families working together to deliver improvements in maternity services in Hull and East Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire, Vale of York and Scarborough and Ryedale.

The vision for maternity services in England, as outlined in the Better Births report in 2016, is for them to become safer, more personalised, kinder, professional and more family friendly; where every woman has access to information to enable her to make decisions about her care; and where she and her baby can access support that is centred around their individual needs and circumstances.

For more information, visit www.humbercoastandvalematernity.org.uk.

Every Mum Matters

Having a baby is a major life event for mums and dads, and it’s natural to experience a range of emotions during and after pregnancy. But if these feelings start to have an impact on day-to-day life, it’s time to talk to someone.

Perinatal mental health issues – those which occur during pregnancy or during the baby’s first year – affect one in five women and could have long-lasting effects on the woman and her family if left untreated.

But many perinatal mental health issues are treatable and recognising the signs early and seeking support promptly improves recovery and outcomes for mums and their babies.

The Every Mum Matters campaign has launched in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire to support new and expectant mums and their families to be able to recognise symptoms of perinatal mental health problems early and encourage them to seek help promptly. Specialist services and support are available in these areas.

Visit the website www.everymummatters.com.