to be annoyed RE healthy pregnancy grant

[RedRedWine1980]

Especially as someone on facebook has mentioned going to Zara to spend it....is this just another ridiculous waste of public funds or what?

Just out of interest - would it have benefited most people during their pregnancy or after baby arrives? And even though it is a health-in-pregnancy grant, who used it for that (veggies/fruit/medical/holistic treatments etc) and who used it as a bonus for buying baby stuff? Genuinely interested!

sterrryerryoh seeing a MW during pregnancy is supposed to be the benefit of it

It's not to be spent on healthy things. If you actually read the form the midwife is signing to say that you've attended your ante natals and listened to ADVICE on health in pregnancy.
The money is then yours to spend how you wish.

Oh yes, salbysea - sorry, I don't know much about it - I think that's the problem, though, isn't it? As there are so many women who obviously haven't connected with a midwife, for whatever reason, it's almost like a bribe to ensure that they do - like a lot of things, it comes from a good place, but the implementation seems to have been a bit ropy?
Trafficcone - what does the form say? Sorry for hijacking/asking - I'm just really interested

What a stupid waste of public money. Its cheaper to cook basic healthy meals from scratch than to eat junk anyway so whats the point. If it was around when I was pregnant I would have more than likely just bought a new pram or something too.

i dont consider the nuchal scan to be a gimmick, i had the nuchal scan and the blood test, they looked at the heart, kidneys,stomach,umbilical cord, the brain, checked the baby had all its fingers and toes and also looked for certain hernias and checked the baby didnt have any markers of major chormosone abnormalities, they were also able to rule out some major heart defects. obviously it doesnt guarantee the baby a clean bill of health, but it does pick up 85-90% with a chromosone problem and gives the chance of an earlier diagnosis, rather than waiting for the triple test at 16wks which isnt as reliable.

i consider it to be money well spent and this is the third pregnancy where i have paid for it.

depending on where you live the test is offered for free, if i lived in the next county i would get it for free, it just so happens that i dont under my local health authority, although they ARE planning to give it to all in the next 6mths.

i have the form in my notes, i may look and see what it actually says!

4madboys, the nuchal scan is a screening test, not a diagnostic test, which if it detects a higher risk puts parents under pressure to decide on a risky diagnostic test which can result in the miscarriage of a healthy child.

If there's no known risk factor which puts the mother at a higher risk anyway, I consider it a costly gimmick. But you can sell anything to the worried well, I guess.

The grant is an incentive to access antenatal care and all that that involves

If you need incentivising to seek out antenatal care then you aren't the type to spend the money on the baby or fruit/veg anyway if you ask me.

That's what I was thinking mamatomany

Are there actually any figures on how effective the grant is in improving the uptake of antenatal care?

WidowWadman - I genuinely hope there aren't any figures because if there are that means another £30k has been spent on somebody sat in an office collating the data.

mamatomany - but that's nonsense! If you don't look at whether an intervention has a positive or negative outcome, you can't know whether the money is well spent or should be invested elsewhere.

If it could be shown that the hip grant improves uptake of maternity care and thus reduces costs caused by poor/lack of antenatal care by as much or more than the scheme costs then it's money well spent.

If it doesn't (and I suspect that that's the case it should be scrapped.

i am aware that it is a screening test, one that i am happy to have, knowing that if i get a high risk result i will have a cvs test to determine if there are any problems with the baby. because my partner and i would want to know.

i have to say each and every time i have had the scan it has been explained to me very clearly that it is a screening test and does not offer a guarantee and there has been no pressure to have either the diagnostic test or a termination. they have simply stated that if i am high risk i CAN have the diagnostic test and then if i want to i could choose to terminate the pregnancy. it was all presented very clearly each time, with today being no exception and i am fully aware of the risks of a cvs anyway through my own research. it is my choice to take, its not about being worried, its about making informed choices as to what suits myself and my family best.

same as i have made an informed choice to have natural labours including a physiological third stage, all the way along i take informed decisions regarding my pregnancies, i dont consider them to be gimmicks at all.

Throwing good money after bad, as I said before if you need £190 to make you see a midwife for your own well being if not the baby's, there's something very odd/wrong with you.

See, this is why all measures to increase revenue and decrease the nation's debt will have to be by force.

Everyone admits it's a waste of public money, then immediately says they hope they get it .

So basically it's a bribe to get people to book in with a MW even though I would think most people do that anyway? I can't imagine why you wouldn't unless you're not meant to be here, in which case £190 isn't going to make you do it either.

Even though the grant's not necessarily for healthy food surely it is supposed to be spent on the baby?

I can't imagine it's going to last.

nappyaddict - there's no conditions set on what it's spent on, just "for your costs in the run up to your baby's birth". The leaflet was decorated with pictures of a pram and cot iirc. I spent mine on council tax.

It's a daft idea, especially considering that early pregnancy is the most important time for the baby's development and yet you can't claim the grant until you're nearly into your third trimester. A silly gimmick, and I was also a little at the posters displaying all sorts of stuff you could buy that is definitely nothing to do with healthy food.

That being said I've claimed it and got the money, and it will be spent wisely. I'll be surprised if it isn't axed.

Eh, I think I actually did spend it on food. For example, I used it to fund my crumpet habit (couple of months when I threw everything else up). I did my best to eat healthily, but I had to work around very bad all-day-sickness, so it was good that money wasn't so much of an issue, as it could have been. There's some difficulty involved in trying to eat healthily when everything makes you vomit, so money for nice food was nice.

The remainder was spent on breastpump hire, and food after birth, when my appetite suddenly came back, and I felt constantly hungry.

Actually, by the time this pregnancy's over I'll have probably spent the entire £190 on Rennie's (don't get on with Gaviscon so can't get prescription). So it is being spent on my health in a roundabout way.

And not in an awful way but surely all these handouts people recieve now only encourages baby after baby etc because they know they'll get a big lump sum of money for nothing

Hope it is scrapped

And not in an awful way but surely all these handouts people recieve now only encourages baby after baby etc because they know they'll get a big lump sum of money for nothing

Hope it is scrapped

This definitely has to be one of the first cuts, I took the money and spent it on a buggy! It comes through so late it wouldn't make a difference on how healthy you were in pregnancy.