According to a report, expectant women are unable to afford attending appointments due to the cost of living crisis, resulting in stillborn babies. Researchers are urging for additional funding to ensure that pregnant women can attend crucial consultations and receive proper care. The Bradford District and Craven Health and Care Partnership and Bradford Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust conducted a review of maternity safety incidents and found that the current financial crisis is hindering some women from attending essential antenatal appointments, leading to adverse events like stillbirths.
One of the reasons cited for the increase in “did not attend” rates is the lack of money for transportation to hospitals. In addition, insufficient credit on phones has made it difficult for women to communicate with maternity services and make necessary arrangements for scans or appointments. The review also revealed the existence of “digital poverty,” where women with diabetes could not monitor their sugar levels overnight due to having only one phone charger in their house. Families with babies in neonatal units were even sacrificing food to cover the costs of visiting their infants.
The Bradford NHS has implemented various initiatives to address these problems, such as partnering with food banks to provide food at antenatal clinics and introducing freephone numbers for key maternity services. They have also attempted to mitigate travel costs by requesting free fares from the local bus service, but without success. Abbie Wild, the Best 1001 Days program manager, emphasized the difficulties families face in navigating the complex process of claiming reimbursement for travel costs and suggested using pre-paid public transport vouchers instead. However, national budget restrictions have hindered this solution.
Ms. Wild and her team are now advocating for a national policy that enables pre-paid travel for expectant parents. However, the decision lies with higher authorities, as funds cannot be reallocated locally. They believe that providing free travel during pregnancy could prevent poor outcomes and even save lives.
In response to this issue, a government spokesperson highlighted the commitment to ensuring access to high-quality care for all pregnant women. They mentioned the increase in support for expectant mothers through statutory maternity pay and maternity allowance, as well as the publication of guidance for local maternity systems and the establishment of a maternity disparities taskforce. The Department of Health and Social Care also pointed out other benefit payments available to parents and investments made in bus services.
Overall, addressing the financial burden faced by expectant women and improving access to essential appointments are crucial steps to prevent stillbirths and ensure the well-being of both mothers and babies.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
