Mum to be here...
There has been a few interesting pregnancy-related bits in the news this week.
Firstly, research suggested that there was a link between epidurals and problems experienced in breastfeeding. As usual, it is not really as easy as a direct link since many of the people who had epidurals had c-sections and other assisted delivery techniques which may also contribute to the woman having a delay in commencing breastfeeding which may impact future success. I guess everything has its benefits and drawbacks and it is up to every set of prospective parents to weigh up their own priorities and decide what is right for them. Our midwives introduced us to the concept of BRAN analysis (Benefits, Risks, Alternatives, Nothing) to support informed decision making about pregnancy and labour.
Next up was the news that 43 British maternity units could be at risk. Admitedly this news did come from the Conservative Party who just *may* have something of an agenda... It kind of wouldn't surprise me if there was something to this as we were told that our local hospital has a fetal monitoring unit that only opens in the daytime and at night patients either go home or have to be transferred to the labour ward and transferred back in the morning! The local hospital where my mum lives has also moved from being a full consultant-led service to being a midwife-led service. This means that anyone with anything other than a routine delivery has to be transferred to a hospital 28 miles away (yes, I fully realise that our American readers are now laughing at the idea that 28 miles is far... hey - we live on a small island!!!)
Last up (so far - who knows what they might come up with tommorrow) is the news that the Expert Advisory Group on Nutrition has come out in support of mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid. The Food Standards folk are now going to have a public consultation to see what the nation thinks. The options under consideration are:
Although fortification would mean greater compliance with recommendations to take folic acid during pre-conception and early pregnancy to reduce levels of neural tube defects, it isn't as easy as going with fortification as an automatic good since there are other issues bound up with essentially force-feeding everyone folic acid. The fact is that we simply don't seem to know enough about the effects this will have on the population. The full consultation report indicates that higher folic acid intake could potentially increase the risk cancers of the bowel and colon, mask vitamin B12 deficiency which itself can lead to anaemia and nerve damage. There is also research to suggest that the rate of multiple birth also increases with folic acid supplementation which could have significant effects for both those undergoing assisted conception such as IVF and also the wider population.
There is an awful lot of research and consultation to plough through but at the moment my gut instinct is that promotion and health education is the way to go until more research has been done into the long term effects of fortification.
But remember kids, I'm not a doctor so read it all and make up your own minds...
There has been a few interesting pregnancy-related bits in the news this week.
Firstly, research suggested that there was a link between epidurals and problems experienced in breastfeeding. As usual, it is not really as easy as a direct link since many of the people who had epidurals had c-sections and other assisted delivery techniques which may also contribute to the woman having a delay in commencing breastfeeding which may impact future success. I guess everything has its benefits and drawbacks and it is up to every set of prospective parents to weigh up their own priorities and decide what is right for them. Our midwives introduced us to the concept of BRAN analysis (Benefits, Risks, Alternatives, Nothing) to support informed decision making about pregnancy and labour.
Next up was the news that 43 British maternity units could be at risk. Admitedly this news did come from the Conservative Party who just *may* have something of an agenda... It kind of wouldn't surprise me if there was something to this as we were told that our local hospital has a fetal monitoring unit that only opens in the daytime and at night patients either go home or have to be transferred to the labour ward and transferred back in the morning! The local hospital where my mum lives has also moved from being a full consultant-led service to being a midwife-led service. This means that anyone with anything other than a routine delivery has to be transferred to a hospital 28 miles away (yes, I fully realise that our American readers are now laughing at the idea that 28 miles is far... hey - we live on a small island!!!)
Last up (so far - who knows what they might come up with tommorrow) is the news that the Expert Advisory Group on Nutrition has come out in support of mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid. The Food Standards folk are now going to have a public consultation to see what the nation thinks. The options under consideration are:
Option 1 - Continue with the current policy of advice to women
Option 2 - Increase the effort to encourage young women to take folic acid supplements (folic acid a synthetic form of the vitamin folate, used in supplements and as a food fortificant) and changes to diet to increase the consumption of folate-rich foods
Option 3 - Encourage industry to fortify more foods with folic acid on a voluntary basis
Option 4 - Recommend the mandatory fortification of bread or flour with folic acid
Option 2 - Increase the effort to encourage young women to take folic acid supplements (folic acid a synthetic form of the vitamin folate, used in supplements and as a food fortificant) and changes to diet to increase the consumption of folate-rich foods
Option 3 - Encourage industry to fortify more foods with folic acid on a voluntary basis
Option 4 - Recommend the mandatory fortification of bread or flour with folic acid
Although fortification would mean greater compliance with recommendations to take folic acid during pre-conception and early pregnancy to reduce levels of neural tube defects, it isn't as easy as going with fortification as an automatic good since there are other issues bound up with essentially force-feeding everyone folic acid. The fact is that we simply don't seem to know enough about the effects this will have on the population. The full consultation report indicates that higher folic acid intake could potentially increase the risk cancers of the bowel and colon, mask vitamin B12 deficiency which itself can lead to anaemia and nerve damage. There is also research to suggest that the rate of multiple birth also increases with folic acid supplementation which could have significant effects for both those undergoing assisted conception such as IVF and also the wider population.
There is an awful lot of research and consultation to plough through but at the moment my gut instinct is that promotion and health education is the way to go until more research has been done into the long term effects of fortification.
But remember kids, I'm not a doctor so read it all and make up your own minds...
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