Money for pregnant women to buy fruit and veg ....

[ComeOVeneer]

thoughts?

Mmmmmm, I see what people are saying that fruit and veg are cheap. I think they're cheap and certainily cheaper than meat.

But its even cheaper to have 2 slices of toast and a packet of crisps. Bag of chips fro mthe chippy for under £1, you're not going to be able to make anything out of veg for less than that.

As part of my midwifery training I wrote an assignment on eating habits of pregnant socio-economicly deprived women and the research was eye opening stuff.

Many women don't have fridges or cookers or access to a supermarket. They have no car and the supermarkets are out of town, they can't afford a taxt and the bus is too difficult with other toddlers in tow. So they have to shop in corner shops where there isn't much veg and what there is, is more expensive.

But this money isn't going to stop people spending it on more rubbish food.

Look at it calorie wise.

Some women eat just enough to keep them going, and spend as little money as possible on it.

Calories per penny are higher in things like biscuits, chips etc. If you are hungry, I mean properly hungry, not well fed and peckish, and you have 20p, you won't buy an apple. You'll buy a packet of value biscuits, because it will satisfy your hunger for longer than an apple.

That's how poor paople get fat, IMO.

I didn't fail at breastfeeding.

I didn't fail at breastfeeding, my dd went hungry for weeks because I wouldn't give it up and go on the formula. I was constantly getting pressure from NCT types to continue and it was bullshit. My baby was very weak and floppy and being hungry didn't help her. I didn't fucking fail at breastfeeding back off.

breastfeeding makes you lose all the baby weight, hahahahaha, just let me pick myself up I fell off my chair laughing - I must weigh 2 stone more than I did 3 years ago, my ds2 is 19mo, I am still feeding him, I fed him almost hourly for 8mo and pretty often after that. BF may help you lose babyweight, but it certainly isn't a given for all women.

Sorry, but I think this is a complete waste of money.

We have ate healthily in the past on very little money, if we shoped wisely, fruit, vegetables and cheap cuts of meat.

If your eating rubbish I cant see that £200 is going to make you eat any more sensibly, just £200 more to go on rubbish or worse, cigarettes, drink or drugs.

The money would be better off spent on more midwives, better training.

Do we have huge numbers of unhealthy babies being born due to poor diet in their mothers?

I get Healthy Start vouchers. I think they are a great thing. I've always eaten well, cooked everything from fresh etc but fruit is actually quite expensive (I often used to munch on a carrot instead as veg is cheaper) and it does allow me to buy more than I normally would. Dp starts work tomorrow so we will lose the vouchers and even though our income will be increasing I think the fruit consumption will have to drop a bit.

Oh and ds is 8 months, was bf to 6 months, still is bf and eats healthily yadda yadda yadda

I'm composing myself now, having read another of my offendor's post:

"Bright women already eat fruit and veg. (even if they are on benefits.) The stupid women will not change their ways."

She's obviouly really bright then

If someone wants to eat healthy, then they will make the effort to. Fruit and veg aren't THAT expensive.

Its a matter of education. If someone is so ill educated that they aren't eating a sensible diet, they aren't going to change their ways at 7 months.

Eating five portions of fruit and veg a day is not that hard to do. Our local market can sell you loads of types of fruit really cheaply. There is no reason that people are forced to go to Tescos. People on benefits have all the time in the world to go to their local market and shop around.

The cost of things like internet access/ ciggettes, alchol could pay for a fair amount of fruit a month. Its a matter of what you choose to spend your money on.

I can't see much of it being spent on wholesome food....

'Breastfeeding makes you lose all baby weight.'

I wish (and most of my friends wish as well)

"People on benefits have all the time in the world to go to their local market and shop around."

Here she goes again.

reallytired are you going to apologise to me for suggesting that I failed to breastfeed whilst my daughter was failing to thrive?

MrsM, Although not on benefits I am SAHM and certainly don't have all teh time in the world to wander around my local market. Never mind it's a pain in the arse to get to and no free parking, unlike the supermarket...

Although I feel I am getting off the point, this needs to go to the midwives as others have said.

Has anyone seen anything about the new idea of having 'mentors' for young/poor mothers that will visit every fortnight from 16 weeks until the babies are 2 to educate them? HV's are supposed to be doing it as there is a shortage of MW's, surely this money could be spent on this instead?

In which case I think you deserve an apology from someone too.

The thing that struck me about this proposal was - yet again - the growing focus on the unborn baby and the 'policing' of the expectant mother's behaviour (like the 'no alcohol at all in pregnancy' thing a few months ago).

Isn't it important that we all eat our 5 a day+? What about when the child is born, are they going to continue the funding so that they eat a healthy diet? All this focus on the unborn makes me a bit and the proposal is sooooo vague it's useless.

Reallytired, you're out of order on many fronts.

Personally I think this is quite patronising. Surely the money would be better spent on providing good dietry advice when women become pregnant instead of telling them to eat fruit and veg after 7 months? Education is the key, not money. Why can't we be treated as adults who are able to make choices if given the advice we need? This goes for people on benefits as well as middle class women with a good income. Why is it assumed that people on benefits somehow don't understand how to look after themselves?

"reallytired are you going to apologise to me for suggesting that I failed to breastfeed whilst my daughter was failing to thrive? "

I am sorry that you take it personally. I think that nhs do not give pregnant women/ new mothers enough support. Women just don't stand a chance.

Many women are discharged within 6 hours of giving birth. The community midwify service is a joke and women do not get the help they need.

With no free ante natal classes, virtually no postnatal care from midwives is no wonder that women can't get breastfeeding to work. To make matters worst, health visitors do fewer visits.

Are you sorry that I took it personally or are you sorry because you offended people who can't breastfeed because their babies have other problems, or that you offended me because you are saying that if I had breastfed I would now be slim, or that people are stupid if they don't eat 5 portions of fruit and veg a day?

Too right you're sorry that I took it personally.

What do you do with your time, if you are on benefits? What takes up your time?

Vegetables don't have to be fresh. Frozen veg is a lot cheaper and nutricous. Other ways of getting fruit and veg into your diet include fruit juice.

There is plenty of information on the importance of exercise and a good diet. Some people just choose to ignore it. They then wonder why they are over weight.

Walking to the shops and leaving the car would help with the battle with the bulge. There is no need for gym membership (especially as many people pay for gym membership and don't use it.) Playing football in the park with your children, lugging shopping are all good forms of exercise.

It is a matter of simple maths. If you eat more calories than your body uses then you will get fat. Breastfeeding uses up 500 calories a day. Obviously if you eat to excess and do no exercise then you will stay fat. Its hardly rocket science!

'What do you do with your time, if you are on benefits? What takes up your time? '

Not that it's any of your business but:
I have a toddler to entertain, she doesn't take kindly to being taken to a boring market while there is a park and beach to go to.
I have a house to clean and look after, I have better things to do with my time than traipse across town to the market spending time parking/getting the bus.

Why do you assume that because people don't have jobs they have naff all to do all day?

I can see you are trying to make a point, which is kind of in agreement with everyone else on here, I just can't see why you feel the need to make it in such an aggressive manner.
Are you a personal trainer? Or are you my mother?

lol "are you my mother!"

I just hope you don't do a job that actually involves working with people. Life is not simple, it appears that you are.

It was people like you, with simplistic views on breastfeeding for all, that made my baby (and me) suffer. Life was bad enough, but having someone come and tell me "it really isn't rocket science" makes me despair.

I find it interesting that you cannot apologise for offending me.

Saw this earlier on the news and did wonder what would be said on here.

Does everyone get it or just people on benefit.

Banning crap food in this country would be a better way to stop people eating crap to start with.

I think the idea is absolutely fucking ridiculous and as a taxpayer I will be parting with some money somewhere along the line, to fucking pay for it.

Roll on the next general election.

Now are there any sensible parties to vote for......................