News

6th September 2004

Tommy's National Pregnancy Week

A new survey marking the start of Tommy's National Pregnancy Week, which is running from 6 - 12 September 2004, reveals that mums are misinformed about pregnancy health and are taking unnecessary risks which could harm their babies.

The NOP survey of 1000 women with children under three years of age shows that mums are ill-informed about the risk of miscarriage and its implications, are unclear about diet health hazards and are needlessly smoking and drinking through pregnancy.

1 in 8 women believe it is not safe to have sex in the first three months of pregnancy. Shockingly, 91 per cent of these women feel that having sex in the first three months is more likely to lead to a miscarriage.

Charlotte Davies, who runs Tommy's pregnancy information line says, "This is a surprisingly large figure of mums who are misinformed as there is no evidence to suggest that sex in the first three months of pregnancy causes miscarriage".

A third of the mums interviewed have experienced a miscarriage and 1 in 10 say they felt guilty about it and felt that no-one knew what they were going through. A quarter said it made them feel more nervous about future pregnancies.

Charlotte says, "This is a massive proportion of women tearing themselves up over something they have no control over. It's vital that pregnant women have all the necessary information to hand to help them cope, which is why we provide Tommy's pregnancy information line on 0870 777 30 60, run by midwives".

The survey also showed that a quarter of mums 'eat for two' and many are misinformed about which foods to avoid during pregnancy. Two thirds said that they would eat Parma ham and swordfish but Parma ham is raw meat so carries a risk of toxoplasmosis, which can result in miscarriage or stillbirth. Swordfish should also be avoided as it contains high levels of mercury which could cause neurological damage to the baby.

Charlotte says, "There is no real medical reason to 'eat for two' - it's a common misconception; in fact, you only need an extra 300 calories a day when you're pregnant - which amounts to a light snack such as houmous and mixed salad in wholemeal pitta bread or a cereal bar and a glass of semi-skimmed milk".

To mark National Pregnancy Week, which is sponsored by Boots, in-store baby experts are planning activities in larger Boots' stores such as Pregnancy Awareness Days which are also planned to take place in hospitals and health centres across the country.

The days will be based on a 'healthy pregnancy lifestyles' theme and activities range from baby massage workshops to sessions on how to be fit for pregnancy, labour and beyond. Boots' stores are also selling a Tommy's Teddy for £6 through September 2004 - a donation of £1 for each teddy sold directly funds Tommy's vital research into premature birth, miscarriage and stillbirth.

• Will you take part in National Pregnancy Week? Share your feelings in Discuss, Debate and Deliberate
• Find out more at Tommy's