- Southport Pregnancy Club.
Southport Pregnancy Club is helping young mums get the best care
from Southport Pregnancy Club. Southport Pregnancy Club is proving a real success in helping young mums get the best in antenatal care and postnatal support, as well as being a place to make new friends.
Midwives from Southport & Formby District General Hospital (DGH) are present at the Club each week to provide antenatal checks and run information sessions. These are carried out in a relaxed and friendly environment, which is encouraging the young women who are all under 21, to stick to getting the best care for themselves and their babies.
The Club was launched in July, in collaboration with sure start and the Neighbourhood Renewal Scheme. Other agencies involved in the initiative include: Public Health Nurses and Health Visitors, Parenting 2000, Youth Services and National Childbirth Trust. Young mothers were also consulted about what they wanted from the project.
The Club was set up to address issues arising from the high level of young mums in Southport. Before it came on the scene, there was not a service like it in existence in the town. Last year, figures from sure start revealed that out of the 185 babies delivered in the area, 60 of these were to mums under 21. It was also discovered that only a tiny percentage of the women attended parenting classes, as they felt stigmatised for being young.
Other problems faced by young mums include: a low incidence of breastfeeding, high incidence of premature births and low birth weight babies, and a high risk of maternal mortality.
Southport DGH Midwife and Neighbourhood Public Health Nurse, Lindsay Hobbs, said:-
" A young mum is informed about the group by personal invitation once she has booked for antenatal care. We try to follow up this invitation with a phone call and send details of the programme to encourage her to come along. Mums can also self refer if they wish.
If a mum has difficulties with transport then we try to arrange for someone to pick her up. We are delighted with the way the club is developing, and the link with maternity services means mums are greeted with a familiar face once they go into hospital. The links with other agencies has also meant that we have been able to provide a varied programme."
Getting in the know, Information sessions at Southport's Pregnancy Club, which meets every Friday, have covered a vast range of subjects all geared to meeting the needs of mums and their babies.
19-year-old Jill Basterfield and her four-week old son David James are one of 16 mums and babies to benefit so far from attending the Club. Jill said:-
"I look forward to the Club every week and have learned so many things that will be good for me and my baby. It's a really friendly place to be."
21-year-old Patricia Swanepoel could not agree more. She added:- "I am far more knowledgeable about looking after myself and my baby Jessica, thanks to the Club. I also know that if I am feeling down in the dumps I can get everything off my chest. We are like one big supportive family and often meet up outside of meetings too. I would recommend the Club to anyone. It's the best decision I could have made."
Information sessions at the Club have included,
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Local information on housing, benefits and sources of support after the birth
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all about the birth and the role of your birth partner
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Parenting skills
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What to do if your baby is unwell or stops breathing
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Healthy eating and cooking on a budget
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Smoking cessation
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Basic first aid and home safety
Getting back into education and employment
Each week, everyone attending the project is encouraged to put forward any ideas they might have for the information programme.
The Pregnancy Club is free-of-charge, but there is a small raffle each week of baby goodies to raise money for tea, coffee and juice.
Anyone wanting to know further information about Southport's Pregnancy Club should call 01704 704616 and ask for Anita, Chantellete or Lindsay.
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NWDA LAUNCHES TOURISM REVIEW
- The Northwest Development Agency (NWDA) has launched a project to develop a groundbreaking new vision for Tourism in the region. From next April, England's nine RDAs take on new responsibilities
for the direction and development of Tourism. The NWDA is determined to be ready with a clear, and widely accepted new vision of what the Tourism sector can achieve.
The new strategy is being developed in partnership with a specially created Tourism Forum for England's Northwest, chaired by Mike Shields, Chief Executive of the NWDA. Other Forum members include the North West Tourist Board, Cumbria Tourist Board, Northwest Cultural Consortium, North West Regional Assembly, Government Office North West, and key individuals involved in policy development and Tourism promotion from around the region.
In announcing this vital initiative, Bryan Gray, Chairman of the NWDA said:-
"Tourism is one of the priority sectors for the Agency. When the new strategy is published early in 2003, it will play a crucial role in ensuring effective support for this key industry. A successful and vibrant tourism sector helps the whole region by strengthening the image we present to people outside the Northwest. The links between competitiveness, export success and tourism are increasingly being recognised as important. The Agency is committed in its support of Tourism, which we believe will help us in delivering the Regional Economic Strategy."
James Berresford, Tourism Sector Head for the NWDA added:-
"The new strategy will be of the utmost importance to the region; it needs high levels of imagination, it must be visionary, and it must be inclusive. Tourism contributes over £3.5 billion to regional funds, but is an increasingly competitive area. If the region is to succeed in building on the tremendous assets it possesses, a clear target is essential, around which all those involved can combine to work together effectively.
The aim of the strategy will be to strengthen and secure the region's tourism icons, while generating growth and new jobs in planned and sustainable ways. One way of doing this is by focusing on quality and on increasing the value provided to the many visitors we already attract. With exciting cities like Manchester and Liverpool and destinations such as the Lake District and Hadrian's Wall, England's Northwest has the basis for an outstandingly successful tourism industry."
In an interview with Southport Reporter, James Berresford told us that; "The cost will play a key part in the review. With have already undertaken, with partners, a resort re-generation study, which includes Sefton and Southport. There are some important findings within that study, which is in its final draft stage, which will of course be assimilated into the wider regional strategy and action plan. We are hoping to do three key elements in the regional study that is economic mapping of what the value of tourism is. We are hoping to do international bench marking to compare performance of other parts of the world, and do some futures work, that is actually where the tourism industry might by in ten or so years time, and what the demands might be and plan accordingly for the changing trends and needs. The tourism industry needs to take a long hard look at the future and what it is going to be. We are trying to do that and that is we are going to do. Clearly, the role of the coast is key in all of that as to what will be people's leisure habits will be in the future. So that the coast in particular is geared up for those changes."
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