Pregnancy Packs :)

[LaurenCaddy]

Just wondering if we all know about all the packs and things available for Pregnant Ladies?

I've put together a little list of what i've picked up, what was in it ect, so just add your own, or if you haven't heard of one you can go get it. After all it is free and they do come in handy with all the info!

1. Bounty Packs - 4 in total - Get the first at your 12 week appointment, which has Bounty's 'You and Your Pregnancy', a week by week guide full of information for expectant mums. Sample magazines and information on laundry, nutrition and clothing. Your Mum-To Be Pack voucher to collect your next free pack. Second you collect from Superdrug or Boots. It contains Bounty?s ?Baby Product Guide?, a useful guide to help you make product choices for your lifestyle and budget. Samples, such as sudocrem, Fairy non bio tablets for washing, swimming nappy and a small pack of wipes. Money off coupons. Advice and information. Next in the Newborn Pack when you give birth, followed by the Family Pack for after you've had your baby. should give it to you on the ward i believe.

1. Emma's Diary Packs - 3 in total - I picked up the first 2 today, Mum To Be & Bump To Baby, and they practically have the same stuff in. But the Vanish Sensitive Gel pouches are brilliant, 1 in each pack, and the Cocoa Butter Formula samples, 6 different sachets and 1 sample 50ml bottle, over the 2 packs are brilliant. Lanisoh Breast Pads - 2 pack in 2nd pack. A pack of 4 Mamia Newborn nappies in each. A pack of 24 Mamia sensitive baby wipes in each. Tiny samples of bio oil in each with a little pregnancy guide. Various vouchers including, discount code for thebabyshow, Aldi, Ocado, PixiPhoto, Vistaprint. Verbaudet magazine. Pick up from Argos or Boots. Go to Emma's Diary to download and print vouchers. Also when you join online, you get £150 worth in vouchers off baby items from Argos.

1. Cow & Gate - Little cow teddy and various information packs. There's also a 24/7 careline for any questions you may have as well as email and live chat with other mums, and experts.

1. Aptamil - A little polar bear teddy, 4 sachets of different flavoured teas, and various information packs.

1. Boots Baby Club - Exclusive offers, like double points on baby items, 8 points per pound spent, and a free changing bag when you buy a pack of newborn nappies.

1. SMA Nutrition - Personalised know-how emails. Interactive weaning meal planner. ?How to? videos and useful Helpsheets in 7 different languages

Information on feeding, mother and baby nutrition, baby care and SMA products.

1. Tesco Baby Club - It will bring you deals and bargains relevant to your stage as well as real mums' stories and tips as well as product reviews. Parents' parking permit for Tesco stores. Members-only area on the baby club part of the website.

1. Asda - Pretty much same as Tesco, but with out the parking permit. Plus there in store baby event is brilliant.

Anymore to add?? :)

I got a free Huggies newborn pack with Asda with 27 nappies and two full size packs of wipes, worth £5. Not bad at all!

Sainsburys do one too, you get a free pack when you buy nappies, not sure what's in it though

I love the free packs!! esp after having the baby, Its like a nice little reward lol(i know i know the baby is the reward but still...free stuff!!!) I got a lovely towel for when baby is born with a hood in my bounty pack plus tons of washing powder,wipes etc. My fave tho was a full bottle of simple moisteriser :) x

Ooo with the little hat in Discolite, i forgot about that! Thanks for adding :)

Also i forgot:

1. Kidsmart - Join for free. If you shop through Kidstart, you get cashback that can go straight into an ISA/account for baby. It varies depending where you shop, but Mothercare for example is 4% cashback, House of Fraser is 3%, there are loads of big names. It all adds up :D

I'd be wary of handing your details over to Bounty. This thread is shocking reading www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/1641617-just-had-a-run-in-with-the-maternity-ward-bounty-photographer?msgid=36134143

Pretty much sums up lots of things I have heard from friends about them so I doubt it's isolated incidents.

I get alot of emails on the Bounty forums, about Pregnancy Magazines wanting to do articles and bits and pieces. Also had an email from someone from Sky looking to do a TV Series called Becoming Mum & Dad, a series about first time parents. I suppose they have a job to do, and we do all go out and buy a pregnancy magazine when we first discover we are going to have a little bundle of our own. I think like anywhere, you have to be smart with what details you give and what information you give. And don't be afraid to be insistent!

As long as everyone realises that you are giving your details to a company who sells them on to other companies.

Don't recommed the Bounty packs - read this thread.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/a1641617-just-had-a-run-in-with-the-maternity-ward-bounty-photographer

They're not free. You're selling your personal details very cheaply to receive marketing.

Quite honestly, it's pretty much all rubbish. Marketing spam that will hound you throughout your child's life!

If you haven't acquainted yourselves with the thread that FoofFighter has posted a link to, I would.

Lauren, it's all well and good saying 'be smart' and 'be insistent' but it's a different story when you're lying on a PN ward, not having slept for days, exhausted, exhilarated and quite possibly recuperating from some form of intervention (if you're on the ward, otherwise you'd have been packed off straight from delivery!) and that bloody Bounty woman beasts her way into your cubicle and tells you lies about getting your CB form.

Also one important thing to mention from that thread which seems to be a common theme is that that lie to new mums that they HAVE to sign up to Bounty to get a child benefit form and it's the ONLY way they'll get one. This is completely untrue.

Ohter than that, great idea for a post Lauren, sorry to have hi-jacked it

Flisspaps, i suppose i'm lucky, even if i am dead to the world, exhausted, or if something terrible was to happen, my OH would most definately stand up for us, my mother, whoms a midwife, would probally batter her, and my dad, ex police-officer, would be able to batter her with knowledge.

Not a problem FoofFighter, i never knew they even popped round, they never did with my sister, she was given her Bounty pack via midwives. And my mum after 7 kids never had any of the harrassment either with any of us. We could just be a lucky family. Its nice to know just in case however.

I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole, and since reading those previous threads, I'm not even going to advertise them for free by sticking my maternity notes in their folder as they'd like.

Not all hospitals let them in, am sure you can search online to find out which do :)

I wasn't given a bounty pack at 12 weeks and I am glad I wasn't, unfortunately didnt realise emmas diary are as bad, deleted myself from mailing list last week but had a call from eon today. told them to get lost but clearly my details have already been sold. OH has been told to rell them to do one if they try to take photos come the time. we also boycott p&g and the packs have a lot if their stuff in from what I have been told.

Lauren, they'll come round when those people aren't there to defend you. They don't stick to visiting hours. I'd suggest reading the thread linked to.

I would also recommend everyone read the thread above about Bounty. Some women have had truly horrifying experiences with them when they are vulnerable after birth, or in some cases are grieving after still birth. Bounty are simply in the business of getting your personal data so they can sell it on indiscriminately.

You can check here if your maternity ward has Bounty staff on site. Mine does and I've written in my birth plan that I don't want them near me, and have fully briefed DP

Otherwise agree with you twitchy that Boots is worth signing up to for the extra points!

Would like to point out, this ISN'T a thread/post about Bounty. The issue has been raised and is being discussed elsewhere, someone posted the link, i was grateful, end of. My post is about other bits and pieces you can find around, i'm not holding a knife to anyone's throat saying you must sign up. It's a list.

Thank you for this list, I keep meaning to sign up for more. Very useful!

I hate the Bounty packs with a passion and also find the formula company stuff abhorrent...it's completely illegal as they are not allowed to target mothers in this way. Be very wary of their "carelines", which basically exist to promote their products (try phoning one to say you're having problems breastfeeding and time how long it takes for them to suggest a bottle of formula...) Even if you don't mind them violating the WHO code for the promotion of infant milk products, bear in mind that there's no such thing as a free lunch - that Aptamil polar bear that you get "free" is one of the reasons that formula is so expensive compared to the actual cost of its ingredients.