A Week in the News - 6th December 2013

This week's news was quite slow in general, the autumn statement providing some interesting news yesterday. The news that hit the world was the death of Nelson Mandela at the age of 95. He is well renowned across the world, and whilst he might cause a bit of debate amongst some people he will be fondly remembered by many. A true inspiration for millions of people. We also saw storms hit the East coast last night, with Norfolk suffering particularly badly from flooding. Our focus turns to the news that featured in the world of pregnancy and babies though.

Forced Caesareans, Parental Leave and Childcare Costs

There was a rather shocking story coming from Essex this week that an Italian mother had been forced to undergo a caesarean in order for her baby to be born. This was also covered across various news outlets, including the Daily Mail. This is a bizarre story, and one which would bring horror to mothers across the country if it happened to them. It seems like this should not have happened, and without knowing the whole story it is hard to tell who is in the wrong. But needless to say this is a shocking story and one that will surely send more problems throughout childrens services in the UK which have been under immense pressure in recent years due to their mistakes.

EDIT: Court findings suggest that the caesarean was undertaken for safety of mother.

Under new rules, covered in The Telegraph, parents will be able to share leave after the birth of their child. There are some big changes there which would take too long to go into here, but it seems like things are slowly becoming more even, and fair, on parents. That can only be a good thing, right?

Interestingly, whilst the parental leave changes are welcomed more childcare changes leave parents worse off again. The Telegraph believe that changes could lead to parents being £2000 worse off a year by the end of 2018 as tax relief doesn't match the changes in inflation. This is something which should be rectified, but it remains to be seen whether the government will make any changes.

Birth Rates, Childbirth and a Cool Baby

In the last year, teenage birth rates have fallen by 8%. This is an interesting change as rates have fallen by about 28% since 2007. This suggests that education seems to be working in our schools as rates fall. Will they continue to fall? Experts suggest that education needs to continue to evolve and grow with our children though, and hopefully this will be a key aspect in the future.

A mechanic in Argentina has created a revolutionary product to replace forceps - by inflating a plastic bag inside the uterus. It seems like the machine has gone through various tests and has been proven to work, and if that is the case then I'm sure there will be mothers and babies across the world who can't wait for this invention to reach their hospital. It looks like it could be a complete change to difficult births.

Finally the good news story of a boy who had to be cooled and then warmed after his birth. It is a heartwarming story, and fantastic news for both the baby and their parents.

See you next week!

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.

share this page with friends and family

Tweet