A Week in the News - 24th January 2014

It's the mildest winter since 1988 and although some areas of the country and still flooded, we've actually seen some more typical wintry weather this week with frosts hitting large parts of the UK. We've also seen another royal baby be named, this time Zara and Mike Tindall decided to call their daughter Mia Grace. We loved that choice of name, it is a good subject to bring us onto our round up of the news in the world of babies that caught our eye this week.

IVF, Nurseries and Smoking

An article in the Daily Mail looked at the problem with different health trusts denying women IVF treatment, continuing the postcode lottery across the nation. Six trusts in the UK do not offer IVF at all on the NHS, and this is definitely a concern for women who have turned to IVF. The article states that 75% of trusts will not offer women the recommended 3 courses of IVF either, which means that women struggling to concieve have a greater struggle, or will have to resort to private treatment. Of course this all comes down to money, and in the current climate the NHS is a key ground for cuts and privitisation. Just a warning, the comments on the article may anger you!

In a blog on The Telegraph Sally Peck looks at a report which claims that 'Our nurseries aren't good enough', a damning verdict provided by the Sutton Trust in regards to the free places being offered to children of disadvantaged families. Clearly, as Sally states, there is no point in offering free places if the nursery can't offer what the child needs. Whilst it may encourage parents back into work, if their child is learning less at nursery than they would at home, or is not being cared for as well, then there is a big issue that needs to be addressed.

Our final story from the Mail this week is one which will anger and disappoint a lot of you, a claim has been made that stress in the womb increases the chances of a baby being gay - we'll leave you to decide what you think of that. Needless to say, we think it's absolute garbage.

Raising a Child and Heart Disease

As reported across various news outlets, including The Guardian the cost of raising a child to their 21st birthday has risen to £225,000, a change of 62% since the first survey was done in 2003. A lot of this has to do with the change in university fees, but cost of living is rising across the board too. If you decide to send your child to a boarding school then the cost of raising your child on average rises by another £215k! With the financial outlook changing for a lot of young people today, many parents may find that the costs don't stop at 21 as more and more children stay at home.

Finally this week, a study has shown that baby heart-disease risk is shaped early in pregnancy, and that mothers-to-be should be thinking about their baby's health in the early stages of pregnancy. According to the study, a baby with poor growth in the first trimester may be more susceptible to problems later on in pregnancy or after birth. Make sure you have a chat with your midwife about how you can make changes to your diet and health during pregnancy, or check out our guides on pregnancy.co.uk.

See you next week, don't forget to follow us on Twitter!

About the author

James Brighton

Since 2011 James has been in charge of working with and organising all our writers to put together Pregnancy.co.uk and Babies.co.uk. Anna, his girlfriend, knows he will be an encyclopaedia of knowledge if she ever falls pregnant!

Click here to read my full biography.

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