Latest news with #maternitysupport
BBC News
5 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Sunderland children's hub 'relieves pressure' on parents
Parents living on maternity pay say a centre providing free support and activities for children will relieve the pressure on "struggling mams". The family hub, which offers services including health advice, breastfeeding drop-in sessions and children's play, has opened in Sunderland's Thorney is the fifth to open in the city, with the staff employed by Together for Children which runs children's services for Sunderland City Council. Danielle Moore, mother of ten-month-old Ozzy, said it was invaluable as many new parents could not afford to meet the costs of entertaining children. Ms Moore said: "You feel stuck inside seeing the same four walls every single day, it's something different."At other places there are things you have to pay for and sometimes having to entertain your child at these places could become a struggle." Leah Morrison is receiving maternity pay after giving birth to nine-month-old Niall and said it was important to have somewhere to get support without having to pay. "It's really good to see other mams in the same boat, taking about teething, weaning and everything that goes on with being with a new parent," she said."Maternity wage can dip down quickly so knowing there is something free we can come to every single week is amazing." Jamie Scott, interim head of family hubs for Together for Children, said it was a "universal offer" and open to "any family in the city, whether parent or carers" of any said: "[Before this] families would engage with services independently, so they might come to a family centre to engage in activities and then a clinic to see a midwife, whereas now we have everything under one [roof] and we can really support their needs without the need to go to multiple venues." In January 2025, the Labour government said £22.4m of funding would be made available for the expansion of family hubs across the country. The scheme was initially rolled out under the Conservative BBC Sunderland on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Caithness campaigners welcome UN report on maternity services
A campaign group for improved access to maternity support in Caithness has welcomed UN recommendations on health services in rural areas. The community-led Caithness Health Action Team (Chat) has been leading calls for the restoration of a consultant-led maternity service in Wick.A report by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has raised concerns about "high rates of maternal mortality" and "disparities in access to sexual and reproductive health services" affecting women and girls in remote Highland said it provided as many gynaecology and maternity procedures as it could in Caithness General Hospital. The Geneva-based UN committee has been examining a number of issues related to human rights across the United a section on sexual and reproductive health rights, the committee said women and girls in "peripheral and remote areas" were adversely affected by maternal mortality and disparities in access to sexual and reproductive services and recommended that the governments of the UK "increase efforts to ensure equal access to maternal health services" for migrant women and women from ethnic minority groups. It also recommended that facilities be properly equipped for antenatal, perinatal and postnatal care, "particularly in rural areas". The report went on to say that the availability of sexual and reproductive services should be strengthened, particularly for women and girls in rural and remote areas. 'Extra support' Chat has been campaigning for consultant-led maternity support to return to service was replaced by a midwife-led unit in 2016 because of safety concerns. People in the north Highlands can face round trips of 210 miles (338km) or more to give birth in campaigner Iain Gregory said the UN report provided "a huge amount of extra support" and he hoped the intervention would bring changes to the current said the UN committee considered written submissions by Chat in the process of writing the report.A spokesperson for NHS Highland said it provided as many gynaecology and maternity procedures as it could in Caithness General health board added that it had increased the midwifery team in Wick, with high risk or complex cases continuing to be referred to Scottish government said it was considering the recommendations of the report carefully.
