Free period products available in public places in Wales
The products are available as part of the Welsh Government's £3.2m Period Dignity fund.
The initiative is not only providing essential period products in every school and college across Wales, but it has also extended its services to more than 100 public venues including libraries, leisure centres, food banks, sports clubs, and youth hubs.
Through this initiative, the Welsh Government aims to completely eradicate period poverty by 2027 and is determined that no one should miss education, work, or social activities due to lack of access to period products.
Flintshire's 'Reusable Period Product Parties' have been noted as a success.
The events provide free access to reusable items such as cups, pads, and period pants.
Councillor Mared Eastwood, Flintshire Council's cabinet member for education, Welsh language, culture, and leisure, said: "Holding Reusable Period Product Parties across libraries and leisure centres has helped to raise awareness and educate the community on reusable products.
"Switching to reusable products can support individuals in reducing their environmental impact."
The Welsh Government's cabinet secretary for social justice, Jane Hutt, also expressed her enthusiasm for the programme.
She said: "Period products are essential items and should be freely available to everyone who needs them.
"Flintshire's approach to offering reusable products in public spaces while encouraging open conversations about periods is helping break down stigma.
"I'm especially pleased to see period products becoming available during sporting activities, removing yet another barrier to participation."
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Wales Online
5 hours ago
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Man treks 70 miles across Welsh mountains with a fridge on his back in memory of his wife
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She was a mother to Charlie, 13, Alistair, 11, Arayah, 8, and, Evrah, 6. 'I was in laying in bed and was just getting educated by a surgeon who had just given me a full new hip reconstruction basically, and told me that I should be slowing down," said Matt. "He advised me I'm gonna break my body if I carry on doing what I'm doing. The challenge toook him through the challenging Clwydian Range (Image: @Fridge_freezer_man ) 'My wife was sat in the corner of the room laughing to herself, basically telling the surgeon you're talking to a brick wall, this man will do Llangollen Round with a fridge on his back next time.' For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here The Llangollen Round is a bi-annual event where participants take part in a 35-mile sponsored hill hike across the Clwydian Range through a route that takes them through every summit around the Vale of Llangollen. Participants can complete the challenge either in one or two days. Article continues below 'I replied instantly I'll do it twice and I'll do it with a fridge freezer on my back,' Matt continued. 'At the time I didn't probably didn't really think that I was going to fulfil the bet. It was a bit of a tongue in cheek joke back to her. We're not a normal family I would say. 'Going into November, we talked about it as a family because I said I might do the thing off and round again and she was like remember you've got to do it with a fridge freezer and the children were laughing and joking.' Unfortunately, Vicky passed away soon after, on December 23. 'Going into the end of January. The mountains became my church a little bit," Matt said. "I started running a little bit and getting up there and I said to the children I think I'm going to go and do the Llangollen Round and they instantly said, 'well if you're doing it you got to do it with the fridge freezer and do it twice'.' And that is how the 'One Bet' challenge was born. Though it took a few hours of consideration, Matt was ready to fufill the bet he had made to Vicky, and started a training regiment to condition his body for the task. Though it was initially something private that only Matt and his children knew, it became hard to keep the secret as people would often spot him train in the mountains with the fridge on his back. 'The truth be told, for a long time, me and the children, we kept it a secret. The training started and this, this fridge freezer guy became a bit of a myth locally,' Matt explained. 'People were starting to talk saying, 'Have you heard about this guy up in the mountains with a fridge on his back?' Then it got to a point where I couldn't keep it a secret anymore.' Matt became a local legend while he practised ahead of the challenge (Image: @Fridge_freezer_man ) The training was not easy either, as Matt had to prepare his whole body for the seemingly insurmountable task. 'The conditioning is called conditioning of shoulders, hips, body, the whole body so it can go repetitively so that the body could withstand it for the period,' Matt said. 'So long training, but then recovery and then very high strength endurance. That's what it is. 'Repetitive, repetitive, repetitive but then allowing the body to recover to then go to the next level. I planned my training very structured to allow me to get both my engine, my lung capacity, my heart rate to stay at a particular level, and my strength to be strong enough to carry the weight. 'So it was very much a hybrid challenge because you've got to be strong enough to carry the weight, but then obviously fit enough to do the miles.' The extensive training took its toll as well, but Matt was determined to see the challenge through. 'Not official yet, but it's more than likely I'll have to replace the hip again. The whole body is broken at the moment, but it'll be fine,' Matt said. 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Wales Online
8 hours ago
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‘My baby died after I was left alone by midwives in Welsh hospital'
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As part of her monitoring, it was flagged that when giving birth to Carys three years previously, her labour progressed extremely quickly after she was given pethidine and entonox pain medication, which she was administered again for Liliwen's birth. Stay informed on the latest health news by signing up to our newsletter here Liliwen was due on October 7 so Emily was booked in for an induction under PAPP-A protocols, but twice was sent home due to lack of bed availability. When Emily was eventually induced on October 9, as her labour progressed she was told there was no room in the delivery suite. Emily was given pethidine and codeine for pain relief and claimed she was left unattended with gas and air at around 11.50pm. At 2.15am on October 10 Emily recalls 'being in a cycle of puffing gas and air, passing out, and repeating'. She recalled: 'They took Liliwen away and rushed me up to the delivery suite, I had lost a lot of blood and needed stitches, IV fluids and a blood transfusion. All this happened while I was still on the induction ward with only curtains around my bed separating me from four other women. It must have been horrendous for them too.' Rhodri claimed he was not informed of what had happened at the hospital other than Emily had gone into labour. When he arrived he said he believed he was about to meet his newborn daughter. 'I got a taxi to the hospital and remember talking to the taxi driver excitedly about how I was about to meet my newborn child,' he said. 'When I got there and saw Emily, she was white as a ghost and in a bad way, she told me: 'I don't know if our baby is alive.'' The baby died at University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff in October 2022 and an inquest is due to take place (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne ) Although Liliwen was put on life support she died later that same day. Her cause of death was given as perinatal asphyxia (lack of oxygen at birth), congenital bacterial infection and placental problems. Since that time, Emily and Rhodri say they have struggled psychologically, and Emily – who was studying to be a nurse at the time she had Liliwen – has opted against a career as a registered nurse after the trauma she suffered on a hospital ward. While the couple welcomed their third child, a son named Ellis, in December 2024, Emily says the grief of the loss of Liliwen continues to cast a shadow over the family's lives. 'So many happy memories and special family moments are tinged with sadness," she said. "I dread family events and Christmas as Liliwen will never be there, she will always be the missing piece, her death should never have happened and that's hard to live with.' A spokesperson for Cardiff and Vale University Health Board said: 'Our sincere thoughts and heartfelt condolences remain with Liliwen's family during this incredibly difficult time. The health board is fully engaged with the inquest process and it would be inappropriate to comment further until the inquest concludes.' Article continues below
