To think that GPs shouldn't be promoting this sexist, outdated rubbish?!

[NotTheNiceLadyDoctor]

I've namechanged for this, for reasons that will become obvious!

I'm a GP in the Midlands. I'm also currently 23 weeks pregnant with my first child. When I had my booking appointment with my midwife back in July, she gave me a big pack of stuff, which included Emma's Diary. For those of you who haven't had the grim experience of reading this particular publication, it's a booklet which mixes medical information about pregnancy with the fictionalised pregnancy diary of an idiot called Emma. The diary is peppered with all kinds of offensive comments and attitudes. The diary section normalises unhealthy attitudes towards weight gain and body image, and promotes pregnancy breast growth as a happy perk because it'll make men fancy you more, rather than because your boobs are preparing to feed a baby. Emma becomes so forgetful at work that she can barely do her job and wishes she'd gone on maternity leave as early as legally possible. It also promotes very dated attitudes about gender and relationships.

If you don't have a copy to hand, my Twitter thread last month gives a flavour of the kind of crap Emma's Diary is filled with: twitter.com/DrHFRyan/status/1025280307015168000

Incredibly, this offensive, misogynistic, outdated publication is still being officially endorsed by the Royal College of General Practitioners. I have a huge, huge problem with this as a GP. I don't think that family doctors should be normalising these kinds of attitudes about pregnancy, body image, and gender roles.

Personally, I'd like nothing more than for Emma's Diary to fall off the face of the earth, but as a compromise, I'd feel a lot happier if the Royal College of GPs wasn't associated with it in any way. Can I please ask you to sign my petition if you feel the same way?

www.gopetition.com/petitions/stop-rcgp-endorsing-emmas-diary.html

If you happen to be a doctor - I know there are a few of us on here! - you can also read my blog for Pulse magazine on the subject: www.pulsetoday.co.uk/views/blogs/dr-heather-ryan/a-right-royal-mess-why-is-rcgp-still-endorsing-emmas-diary/20037467.article

(To be clear, I am very much speaking in my personal capacity here, and not as a representative of my GP surgery or any of the organisations I'm involved with.)

That twitter thread is epic ! Suggest GPs print it out and give it to their patients instead of the Emmas Diary.

God, I just read your Twitter thread and what a load of old guff!

I have the Ready Steady Baby book, which I think is a Scottish-only thing, but it's very pragmatic and non-patronising. I've found it really useful.

www.readysteadybaby.org.uk/index.aspx

(I should add that I meant Emma's bloody Diary was a load of old guff, not your interpretation!)

At the time I was pregnant with DS1, there was a bloody awful advert for Fybogel, starring Smug Pregnant Woman and her equally smug parents. They had lovely cosy chats about the wonders of Fybogel and its stool-softening qualities ("We're the Fybogel family!")

Apart from the fact that I would rather tear off my own arm than discuss such things with my own parents, I liked to imagine that Smug Pregnant woman and her Fybogel-addicted minions were Smug Emma and her own DPs.

So thank you, OP, for reminding me

@celebelly Someone on Twitter told me about Ready Steady Baby, so I checked it out online. It's great - it's pragmatic, and addresses its readers like intelligent adults!

Didn't they get done recently for breaching data protection (either DPA98 or GDPR, can't recall which)

Agree! Why don’t they endorse BabyBuddy and Best Beginnings instead?

Another one who can’t believe they are still giving this out, I remember being given a copy 20 years ago and finding it very patronising. Mind you, one Health Visitor at our baby group meeting reminded us of the importance of putting our ‘lippy’ on before our DH’s returned home in the evening!

I am going to have "NO BOUNTY REPS" in capital letters in my birth plan!
Good luck with that one. My experience was my birth plan was ignored (if read at all).

Also remember complaing about the water aid ad (probably Bounty) as I felt that throwing a leaflet about tiny babies dieing through lack of clean water into the hands of a woman who was tired and emotional having given birth a couple of hours earlier was tantamount to blackmail.

Had the Emma's pack but think the freebies and vouchers got put to one side and the rest ditched the rest as pretty crap after no more than a cursory glance.

Have signed.

Your thread amused me greatly! Signed the petition.

The twitter stuff is great. Made me laugh.

Ready Steady Baby is excellent, especially the prem stuff. Nice that they don’t think we’re too fragile to be pre-warned about things which can go wrong.

my eldest is 21 and it was shit then

YANBU OP

I only got the packs this time because of the free stuff- which is crap so wish i hadnt bothered

Never read it- sounds shit

I learn I may suffer from "carpel tunnel syndrome" (sic)

I hope you don’t get it. I have carpal tunnel right now and it’s horrible.

Definitely agree Emma’s diary needs replacing with something more up-to-date. Found it generally unhelpful and very patronising.

@burdog Emma's Diary data breach: www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-45128677

I don’t understand why they couldn’t be handed out by registrars along with the BC when a birth is registered

They’ve got that covered. The Bounty reps here have the forms for registering a birth, claim you have to fill in their form to get one.

I must have received Emma's Diary, but I mustn't have read much of it (some of what you say rings a bell) because from what you recount I would have flown off the handle at the misogyny of it!
I DO remember all the commercial crap - holy hell BOUNTY, my hate for them cannot even be put into words!!!!!

So the NHS still give out copies of Emma's Diary, but they STOPPED 'Birth to five' which new parents would actually find helpful ?? I think they stopped giving it out the year before I first gave birth. Too expensive, apparently. Northern Ireland download version here:
www.publichealth.hscni.net/publications/birth-five

The Bounty reps here have the forms for registering a birth, claim you have to fill in their form to get one

Which is obviously rubbish, as I’ve never encountered a bounty rep due to never going to the postnatal Ward! We’re not eligible for child benefit but you can download the form online can’t you?

Op that is amazing to hear and that cocktail sounds so nice I think I was guzzling pimms and vodka and redbull most weekends to try and actually enjoy the ttc instead of worrying

Signed. What a crock of shite Emma’s whatever was ..,

I can't get too worked up about it to be honest but your twitter thread is funny. I can't get too worked up about it as when I had it I skim read it and didn't find much useful in it so didn't bother but for other people maybe it works.
What does wind me up is the promotion of breast feeding via reward payments of shopping vouchers or being plastered across a bus with patronising images effectively saying breast is best, we all know that but what is needed is help and support to make it work not being kicked out less than 24 hours after giving birth.

Its written like take a break!

The worries before the 12 week scan.
Beat that for pregnancy paranoia!
Go you, Emma!

I had pregnancy paranoia.
Or in fact, I actually think that either:

• I made a rational judgement based on statistics that my pregnancy might not progress or
• I knew, in a non woo way, a my brain is actually connected to my body way, and it could be my brain could interpret physical changes on some level that something was up.

My pregnancy paranoia was in fact getting to a 12 week and going home with an appointment to come back for an abortion pill to encourage undeveloped 5 week sized foetal matter to move along.

Pregnancy paranoia my arse.

I never read Emma’s Diary though - utter shite. I’ve got a brain, thank you.

I have RT your twitter thread because it's brilliant. I had never seen or heard of Emma's Diary before now (my DS is 11 but I was living in France for my pregnancy and labour).

I honestly am completely astonished that such utter drivel is being systematically provided to expectant mothers.

NB for future pregnancies pop over to France, they wouldn't dream of telling a woman not to eat soft cheese over there, (my pregnancy happened in the camembert region of France and it was one of only 4 foods I could stomach during eternal morning sickness) also their hospital facilities in maternity units are phenomenally better than the UK and the staffing ratios too.