Author Archives: Frostie

NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards Call for Entries

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Francesca Russell

NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards call for entries

Applications are now open for the 2017 NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards.

Now in its fifth year, the Awards celebrate the hard work and inspiring stories of British entrepreneurs, not simply their financial success. There are 11 categories to enter in each host city – Cardiff, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh and London.

This year also sees the introduction of a new category for ‘Family Business Entrepreneur of the Year’, which will be awarded to those leading and excelling within a family business. Creator of the NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards, Francesca Russell, said: “Family businesses are often considered incompatible with entrepreneurship because they are usually tradition-bound and multi- generational. However, for family firms to continually prosper, they need to ensure that they pass on the entrepreneurial mindset and capabilities to create new streams of wealth across future generations.”

Francesca added: “Succession planning is also a big issue in business and, if handled well, can make a massive difference to the future viability of a company. Passing on the business baton to the younger generation is a challenge and we want to celebrate those who have successfully managed that transition.”

This year, the Awards have attracted a number of high profile judges including James Caan CBE, Hayley Parsons, founder of Gocompare.com, Tony Mascolo, co-founder of TONI&GUY, and Jeff Lynn, co-founder of Seedrs.

As well as attracting some of the highest profile business leaders in the UK to its judging panel, the Awards has also expanded its reach across five cities, up from two in 2016, and has secured sponsorship from a number of leading brands. NatWest is the headline sponsor for the Awards and MINI has recently renewed its support for 2017 and is sponsoring the ‘Creative Entrepreneur of the Year’ award.

Francesca continued: “2017 is an exciting year for the NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards. As well as increasing the number of regions that we can cover, we have attracted the best of the best in terms of a judging panel and sponsors. We are excited about the next phase and hearing the great entrepreneurial stories out there, waiting to be celebrated.”

In its five-year history, the NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards has celebrated some outstanding entrepreneurs who have gone on to become household names. Previous winners include David Buttress, former CEO of Just Eat, Julie Deane, founder of The Cambridge Satchel Company, James Watt, founder of BrewDog, and Alexander Solomou, founder and CEO of TheLADBible Group.

The NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards is open for applications, and you can enter here: www.greatbritishentrepreneurawards.com. The deadline for entries is August 18th, 2017.

 

 

Michael Palin Donates Archive of His Literary Career to the British Library

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Michael Palin and Rachel Foss at the British Library – photo by Tony Antoniou 

The British Library is delighted to announce the acquisition of the archive of writer, actor, comedian and television presenter Michael Palin.

The archive, which has been generously donated to the British Library by Palin, covers his literary and creative life during the years 1965-1987. It includes over 50 ‘Python Notebooks’ containing drafts, working material and personal reflections relating to Palin’s Monty Python writing. It also includes his personal diaries kept during this period, and project files comprising material relating to his film, television and literary work, including correspondence, drafts and annotated scripts relating to subsequent Python projects.

Rachel Foss, Head of Contemporary Archives and Manuscripts at the British Library, said of the donation:

“We are thrilled that Michael Palin has chosen to donate this fascinating and wide-ranging collection to join the British Library’s holdings of contemporary archives. Michael’s contribution to comedy, film and television over the past 50 years has been enormous, in particular through Monty Python which has had an unparalleled influence on British comedy and internationally. We’re looking forward to making it available for researchers, students and everyone with an interest in post war popular culture. It’s particularly exciting to think that the comedy talent of tomorrow may find inspiration from this collection.”

Michael Palin said of donating his archive:

“My work has been inspired by, and created in, this country, so I’m very pleased that my archive has been accepted by the British Library, and that they will make it publicly available, so that future generations will know not to make the same mistakes again.”

The collection will be available to view in the British Library Reading Rooms from spring 2018. For more information on how to become a Reader, please visit the British Library website.

You can see Michael Palin in conversation with Joan Bakewell at the British Library on Wednesday 6 September 2017, discussing his wide-ranging career. To buy tickets, please visit our What’s On pages.

 

 

5 Reasons You Should Avoid Celebrity

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Do you dream of becoming rich and famous? You might want to stop at “rich” and leave fame alone. Being a sought-after celeb might look glamorous and exciting — who doesn’t want to be adored by millions? — but the truth is that fame can be a lonely, confusing, and even frightening condition.

Paparazzi

reasons to avoid celebrity

Image via Flickr by Gribiche

How would your day have been different today if a team of photographers had been waiting outside your house when you woke up this morning, hoping to grab an unflattering or compromising photo of you? They’re ready to swarm you if you try to go for a walk, or run to the store for milk, or if you’re just tired of being cooped up inside. Want to go out for a few cocktails? They’re standing ready to capture and publish anything you do, so be careful. And this isn’t just happening occasionally; this is your new daily reality now and it never ends.

Rumor Mills

Now imagine that your old flame, or your new beau, calls and asks you out to lunch. Those photographers are waiting to sell photos of your lunch date to a tabloid. If you become famous, everything you do (and a lot of things you don’t do) will be written about, discussed, repeated, analyzed, and picked to death by the press and your fans. Are you ready to have your dirty laundry aired in public every day? That’s the celebrity’s reality.

A Target for Hackers

Do you worry about identity theft and cyber crime? If you become famous, your data becomes a highly lucrative target for hackers. While these criminals might want your bank account numbers, they are even more interested in your private messages, intimate photos, and other personal business. Your most private moments become valuable when you are famous, and they are always under siege.

Superfan… or Stalker?

Many celebrities have had scary run-ins with fans, and a few have even been murdered. Miley Cyrus’s stalker tried to enter her house with scissors and told police that he was married to the singer. A woman claiming to be God once showed up at Justin Timberlake’s house, claiming they were destined to rule together. Madonna’s superfan stalker jumped a fence at her home and said he was going to either marry her or slit her throat. He went to jail and later to a mental hospital, but Madonna had to fear for her life again when he escaped the hospital and was missing for a while.

Trust No One

Would you like to be surrounded by friends who might just be using you to get close to fame and fortune? So-called friends of famous people often sell stories to gossip magazines or lead scandals to the press. Celebs often don’t know who to trust and have a lot of trouble maintaining friendships and relationships.

Public life seems glittery and alluring, but the truth is fame has a dark side, too. Isolation, mistrust, fear, and complete lack of privacy are a high price to pay for celebrity status.

 

 

Mind Over Sugar

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Dementia affects more than 850,000 people in the UK and it is set to rise to over 1 million by 2025!*

However, not many people know that there is a strong link between sugar and Alzheimer’s. Almost 70% of people with type 2 diabetes are now known to develop Alzheimer’s, compared with only 10% of people without diabetes! 

Dr Marilyn Glenville, the UK’s leading Nutritionist explains this phenomenon in her latest book Natural Solutions for Dementia and Alzheimer’s, “The high levels of insulin block a group of enzymes that would normally break down the beta-amyloid proteins responsible for the brain plaques in Alzheimer’s. Although high levels of insulincan have this effect, confusingly the brain also needs insulin for its cells to flourish and survive. Your brain has its own supply of insulin – if this supply is hampered in any way, and levels of insulin in the brain fall, brain degeneration is the result. So, as with most things in Nature, we don’t want too much or too little of something – it’s all about homeostasis; that is, balance.”

Naughty clumps

Dr Glenville explains, “It’s thought that changes in insulin function in the brain are the cause of beta-amyloid (a protein fragment) plaque build-up. Beta-amyloid itself is not a problem. In fact, it has a vital role to play in transporting cholesterol, protecting against oxidative stress, and aiding immune function. Problems occur only when the beta- amyloid proteins start to form clumps.”

Can sugar affect your memory?

As well as helping you to regulate your blood sugar, insulin regulates neurotransmitters, brain chemicals that aid learning and memory. If you become insulin resistant, not only will your body struggle to control its blood sugar, but your neurotransmitters will be unable to function as normal, with fallout for your brain function. Dr Glenville adds, “Studies showing the effects of insulin resistance on the brain support the importance of reducing sugar in your diet and show that just having higher levels of sugar (glucose) from eating too much sugary food is a risk factor for dementia even if you don’t have diabetes.”

In fact sugar’s impact on the brain goes beyond the effects of insulin. Dr Glenville says, “Being on the blood-sugar roller coaster also increases levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and this, over time, increases inflammation in the brain, speeding up the deterioration of brain and memory function.”

To keep your brain healthy and young for as long as possible we’ve asked Dr Glenville to share with us her 12 step program to quit sugar:

Spring clean your cupboards. Clear out temptation. Biscuits, chocolates and sweets are all for the local food bank. And remember that you’ll find sugar in savoury foods, too – pasta sauces, soups, ketchup, breakfast cereals and many more are all culprits. If you have a sweet tooth, the hidden sugars in savoury foods will be easiest to give up first. Replace them with your own homemade salad dressings, pasta sauces, soups, granola and so on. Grit your teeth and be ruthless with those cupboard stocks.

Stop adding sugar to drinks and food. You may be doing this on autopilot, the way some people salt their food before tasting it. If you still take sugar in tea or coffee, for example, wean yourself off it half a teaspoon at a time. If you sprinkle sugar on your pancakes or cereal in the morning, try a handful of fresh berries instead. Your taste buds will adapt surprisingly quickly.

Read the labels as you shop. Every 4g of sugar per ‘serving size’ is 1 teaspoon of sugar. The NHS says that added sugar can comprise up to 5 per cent of your daily calorie intake – that’s 30g (7 teaspoons) a day. The World Health Organisation (WHO) wants to limit added sugar (including honey) to just 6 teaspoons a day. I say to keep it as low as possible – no added sugar should be the ideal 80 per cent of the time, and then the other 20 per cent on special treats at special times won’t matter.

Use your scales. It’s important to know what the manufacturer’s assumed serving size is compared with what you would serve yourself. For example, a 30g serving of cereal may be much smaller than you would typically eat – but if it already contains 11g sugar, how much would your own bowl contain?

Don’t skip breakfast. Skipping breakfast makes you far more likely to reach for a coffee and a cake at 11am because your blood sugar will have plummeted. You may feel moody, irritable, tense and not able to concentrate. Always eat breakfast and make it a mixture of protein and carbohydrate – avoiding sugar-laden breakfast cereals at all times!

Try a bowl of porridge sprinkled with ground nuts and seeds. The porridge oats give sustained energy and the nuts and seeds add protein to help further lower the GI.

Or, have an egg on wholemeal or rye toast with grilled tomatoes. This very low-GI breakfast provides a good amount of protein from the egg whites, omega 3 fats in the yolks, and good-quality complex, unrefined carbs from the bread – all in all a power-breakfast of energy that will sustain you until your healthy mid- morning snack.

Eat little and often. So, you get to 3pm and you feel sluggish and tired and every part of your body is screaming to have something sweet to keep you going until teatime. Think about how you’ve eaten over the course of the day – did you have breakfast? Did you allow yourself a handful of nuts mid-morning? Did you eat lunch? Eating little and often is the best way to avoid blood sugar dips that lead to cravings – usually for sweet things.

Avoid extreme diets … at least while you are trying to adapt to a no-sugar regime. This is because fasting will make it harder to avoid blood sugar dips and the cravings that come with them. Once you’ve cut sugar from your diet as much as you can, you’ll even find that you may lose weight naturally, which will remove the need for dieting altogether.

Watch out for caffeine. This stimulant and can trigger a roller coaster of stress hormones that feel a bit like sugar highs and lows. Even though it may feel like an appetite suppressant, in the end caffeine will boost your appetite and trigger sugar cravings. It’s all about removing the temptation to reach for the biscuits.

Say no to alcohol. Alcohol has an effect on your blood sugar, so look for drinks with lower sugar content. Spirits do not contain sugar, but their mixers usually do. White wine is more sugary than red, but on the other hand a white wine spritzer (made with sparkling mineral water) will be better for you than a full glass of red wine.

Add protein to starchy carbohydrates. If you eating starchy carbohydrates (pasta, rice, potatoes, bread) particularly if they refined remember that they are broken down into sugar – but protein (fish, eggs, cheese, nuts, seeds and so on) slows down the rate at which your stomach empties the food into the next part of the digestive tract and so it slows down the emptying of the carbohydrate, too. Add ground nuts and seeds to porridge for vegetable protein, or an omelette (animal protein) with brown rice.

Be kind to yourself. Live by the 80/20 rule: as long as you are eating healthily and avoiding sugar 80 per cent of the time you can have that occasional piece of cake without beating yourself up about it. This will also make it less likely you’ll obsess about sugar – and fall off the wagon altogether. You’re ‘allowed’ to have sugar 20 per cent of the time, so what’s the big deal?

Be smart about alternatives. Beware ‘natural’ sweeteners – some may be no better for you than sugar itself. The following, though, are all worth trying: maple syrup, barley malt syrup, brown rice syrup and coconut sugar.

*https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/info/20027/news_and_media/541/facts_for_the_media

 

 

9 Ways To Give Your Brain a HIIT Workout

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We spend hours at the gym or running and hiking to train our body and endurance.  But what about our brain? If you feel like your attention span is shortening you can stretch and strengthen it with simple everyday changes. 

Get more sleep

Not sleeping properly can not only affect our energy levels and looks but also our brain functions. Getting enough Zzz’s can help support learning, memory as well as regulate our mood or even appetite and libido. When looking at the brain of someone who is sleep-deprived, scientists have found reduced metabolism and blood flow in multiple brain regions.*

Be social

Making friends and socialising has a great impact on our emotional wellbeing as well as brain functions. How? When speaking to people and building relationships, you have to pay attention to what they say and then use your memory to recall information to be able to hold a conversation.

Pick up a foreign language

Did you know that learning foreign language can actually make your brain bigger? ** It can also boost your creativity and ability to focus. But most importantly, learning another language gives you ‘a cognitive reserve’ that helps to protect against the changes that can occur during ageing. Dr Marilyn Glenville, the UK’s leading Nutritionist and author of Natural Solutions for Dementia and Alzheimer’s explains, “Speaking a second language throughout your life could delay the onset of Alzheimer’s. Studies show that people who speak two languages may develop dementia more than four years later than those who speak only one language! Language learning leads to more neural connections. More neural stability and more resilience to neural damage.”

Using music 

“Research suggests that playing a musical instrument music when you are older can give you a 36% lowered risk of developing dementia and cognitive damage,” Marilyn says. Can’t play an instrument? Don’t worry, singing can you remember words easily too. “Think how easily you can remember the words of songs that you sang years ago – and yet how much harder it often is to remember a poem or piece of prose that isn’t set to music. Word sequences are far more memorable when they are sung rather than spoken,” Dr Glenville adds.

Start knitting

Apparently knitting is set to be the new baking. It isn’t just something elderly women do and it has recently become popular with celebrities. Apart from helping you to relax it can also boost your mental health as it stimulates almost all of your brain. When knitting, you need to stay focused, plan what you’re doing in advance and also use visual information and synchronise it with your movements.

Teach your body a new skill 

There is a range of techniques to keep your brain alert that doesn’t have to paper-based cognitive tasks. Dr Glenville says “Walking in a new park or taking up line dancing fire up new neural pathways that keep your brain in touch. Needing to remember the steps n a dance is also a wonderful workout for your brain – learning the flow and rhythm of the music stimulates cognitive activity, while learning and performing the steps is great for both your memory and your physical fitness. Active learning is the perfect complement for doing jigsaws, Sudoku and crosswords.” 

Set yourself little challenges 

Dr Glenville suggests the following simple games to give your brain a workout: “Counting backwards from 100 in 2s, 3s or 4s is a good one, and you can make it harder by doing something else at the same time, such as tapping your foot. Or try the ‘tip-of-the-tongue’ game – think of a theme, such as ‘food’, and name as many items relevant to the theme as you can in one minute.” Most people can do 30. Can you double it?

Write things down

Studies have shown that the act of writing something down forces your brain to recall it in a way that typing on your computer or phone does not. ***

Laugh 

Who doesn’t love laughing? It not only lifts your mood but it’s also a great calorie burner. However, researchers have also discovered that laughing can also minimise the damage that stress hormone, cortisol can cause (it damages certain neurons in our brain and affects learning ability as well as memory). On top of that, laughter produces wave frequencies similar to true stare of meditation.****

 

*www.brainfacts.org/about-neuroscience/ask-an-expert/articles/2015/what-happens-to-your-brain-when-you-are-sleep-deprived/

**https://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/sep/04/what-happens-to-the-brain-language-learning,
***http://mentalfloss.com/article/52136/11-simple-ways-improve-your-memory

****http://www.laughteronlineuniversity.com/laughter-good-for-brain-meditation/

 

The Modern Day Pregnancy Hospital Bag | Then And Now

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giving birth, birth, childbirth, the truth about giving birthWith over two decades of experience of pregnancy and birth, and more than 650,000 users every month, Emma’s Diary, the essential pregnancy support resource has been able to look back at key trends to compare the contents of the modern day hospital bag compared with that of 20 years ago and the contrasts are remarkable.

No need to carry a camera

One of the big differences is that we no longer need to carry a camera in our hospital bag today, providing we have our phone and charger, most cameras on mobile phones are so good today that we don’t need both.  Equally, the convenience of reading a book on our Kindle or tablet eliminates the need for a physical book and doubles up as a way to communicate with family and friends online.

Clean eating trend

The trend for clean eating has also seen the choice of snacks and drinks change dramatically over the years, with high-energy drinks, fresh smoothies and snacks such as vegetable crisps and protein bars being popular in 2017.

CDs replaced with streaming music on our devices

The devices we use to listen to music (a popular past time for women in labour) have also changed beyond all recognition as we have moved from portable CD players (and the need to carry CDs in our hospital bags) to streaming music on our mobile phones and tablets.  Although our tastes in music may have evolved, using music to help soothe and relax us during labour is still an important element.

Some things never change

We still need disposable pants and they still look as ghastly as they always did!  Baby clothes, mitts, maternity pads, nursing bras, slippers, toiletries, tissues and baby wipes are still very much part of the modern day hospital bag.

According to Emma’s Diary – here are its top 15 contents for mums to be hospital bags from 2017 and 1997 (20 years ago).

 

2017 Mum’s Hospital Bag Contents:

  1. Mobile 4G smartphone/iPhone
  2. iPad/tablet
  3. Music downloaded to your phone and earphones (Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You, Bruno Mars’ That’s What I Like and The Weekend’s Starboy have been chart toppers this year)
  4. Lip balm (such as Burt’s Bees)
  5. Snacks and drinks (water, smoothie, isotonic drink, vegetable crisps)
  6. Kindle (Into the Water and Caravel are popular books this year)
  7. Baby wipes
  8. Birth ball
  9. TENS machine
  10. Slippers, socks, nightwear
  11. Maternity Pads
  12. Baby clothes and nappies
  13. Nursing bras
  14. Disposable pants
  15. Toiletries and hair brush/clips

 

1997 Mum’s Hospital Bag Contents:

  1. Portable CD player (or the minidisc player launched in 1992 for those gadget lovers!)
  2. CDs/Mini discs – (Blur’s Beetlebum, No Doubt’s Don’t Speak and Spice Girls’ Spice up your Life were all chart toppers this year!)
  3. Paperback book (Cold Mountain and Harry Potter were popular
  4. Mobile phone (probably a Nokia 6110 or similar)
  5. Camera (film, polaroid or first digital if you were into gadgets)
  6. Snacks and drinks (water, Orbitz drink, bag of Doritos 3D)
  7. Lip balm (such as Nivia)
  8. Tissues/cotton wool balls
  9. Slippers, socks, nightwear
  10. Maternity pads
  11. Baby clothes and nappies
  12. Nursing bras
  13. Disposable pants
  14. Toiletries and hair brush/clips
  15. Address book (with contact numbers)

 

Mum of two and Marketing Director at Emma’s Diary, Faye Mingo commented: “It’s been great fun looking back at the change in contents of the hospital back of 1997 compared with today.  So much has changed and yet so much is still relevant today.  What is probably the most astonishing is the change in the way we communicate and connect with others and how that has had a direct impact on what we now take into hospital, whether that’s related to the music we listen to, the books we read or how we converse with others – times change!”

 

www.emmasdiary.co.uk

 

 

It Happened To Me: I’ve Been Judged For Not Wanting Babies

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don't want children, childless, child free

We all love true life stories. They make us feel like we are not alone.  We can all identify with a bit of true-talk after all. Not only that, being open and honest about real things that happen to real women is the fastest way to smash taboos and get us all talking about tricky topics. There’s no such thing as an over-share. Frost and femcare subscription brand Pink Parcel teamed up to bring you this great personal story from a woman who does not want to have children. We have spoken to Louise on her experience of being judged for not wanting children. In a world were even celebrities like Jennifer Aniston and Cameron Diaz are constantly questioned about their wombs it is time to normalise what society likes to imply is a taboo.

 

Here, Louise, 38, tells Pink Parcel about her decision not to have children…

“My mum was a childminder so I grew up in a house full of babies. A travel cot sat permanently in my bedroom for their daytime nap, I’d sit and eat breakfast with a toddler or two at the table, and you couldn’t move for nappies and feeding bottles. It would drive me and my two sisters crazy because we were forever tripping over Lego. By the time I moved out of the family home, I was totally babied-out and I knew all that was involved in caring for tiny children. To be honest, it didn’t look that much fun so having one of my own was the last thing on my mind.

“But that was ok because I’d never been particularly maternal anyway. In school, friends would talk about how many children they wanted when they were older and I’d think, “how do you know you want that now?” Having babies was an abstract concept for me, something I felt totally removed from. That feeling never really changed as I grew older.

“I went out with my first boyfriend from aged 16 to 20. He was two years older than me and we broke up because he wanted to get married and settle down. I baulked and ran from that relationship. I felt way too young for marriage and because he knew he really wanted a family in his early twenties, it was never going to work between us. We were totally incompatible with our life goals.

Never broody

“My twenties passed in a blur and I had such a great time. I worked hard, drank a lot and travelled a lot. Sometimes on work trips, sometimes for fun – I love getting on a plane and going somewhere. Life for me is about cramming in as many different experiences as I can, whether that’s with a boyfriend or as a single girl when I was between relationships.

“Out of the five serious boyfriends I’ve had, three of those have children with previous partners. I’m not sure whether this is just a coincidence or whether I gravitated towards men with kids because it safeguarded me from needing to give them children straight away. I knew they weren’t in a rush to have any more so it took the pressure off me to make babies. I also got to enjoy time with their children, without any of the responsibility. Not that the “stepmother” role was a walk in the park.

“Then, as I hit 33 and 34, I noticed that my social media feeds completely filled up with bumps and newborns – it seemed everyone was having babies at that time. Meanwhile I still had zero inclination, I just didn’t feel any urge. Instead my list of places that I wanted to travel to grew and my job goals seemed to get more ambitious. I was living with my partner and we were happy and committed, I just didn’t want to be a mum. He didn’t have children and maybe he thought I’d possibly change my mind, but he didn’t push it. I did feel like I had to justify my reasons to strangers though. In any social situation, I’m now always waiting for the “so, have you got kids?” question. I have some stock answers ready to roll out.

“My older sister had one beautiful daughter in her twenties and my younger sister hasn’t had children yet, but she’s getting married this year so who knows, she might be next. My mum has been very vocal about her disappointment with our grandchild output – she thinks it’s weird because we’re such a close family. As much as it upsets her though, I can’t make babies just to keep her happy.

“I’ve been asked a few times if I hate children and that makes me so sad, not to mention angry when I think about the rudeness of that question afterwards. I love children and actually think by not having any of my own I can appreciate all the lovely, sweet things about them. I played a massive part raising my niece and I’m godmother to two adorable toddlers and a 3 month-old baby. I like nothing better than hanging out with them, giving them cuddles and treating them to things. I take my role in their life really seriously so the thought that I hate kids is frankly an insult.

Family values

“In the last year or so, I’ve really made peace with a future that’s without children. I’m aware that this choice will massively impact my life when I’m an old lady when I’ll need looking after ­– that’s usually the job of your children. I’m confident though that times have changed. With so many families living away from each other or being estranged, friendships have become just as important as family and I know they’ll be people to look out for me, even without having my own children.

“I do a little fist pump when women in the public eye set the record straight about not having kids. Jennifer Aniston and Cameron Diaz are a good example – they refuse to be seen as a sad old failures, or any less of a woman just because they decided not to procreate.

“There are some women who want to have a baby and will do everything to make that happen no matter what. Others need all of their ducks in a row before they can make that leap. For me, my ducks were never in a row, so I never leaped. Sometimes it’s not just one reason that leads to a woman being childless, but instead a series of small choices over ten years or so. It is what it is.

“Ultimately, my womb belongs to me and whether or not I want to grow another human in it is my choice. It’s nobody else’s business.”

 

 

Screening programme reduced life-threatening infection in newborn babies by over 80%

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breastfeeding, benefits of breastfeeding, mum, baby, what age to stop breastfeedingA leading London hospital dramatically reduced the rates of a life-threatening infection in newborn babies thanks to a simple screening test.

New research published today from a pilot study[1] at Northwick Park Hospital reports that screening pregnant women for group B Strep (GBS) reduced the rate of these potentially deadly infections in their newborn babies by 83%.

The results, published in the prestigious BMJ Open come just days after the National Screening Committee said there was “insufficient evidence” to introduce GBS screening for mums-to-be in the UK.

Yet in countries that have introduced antenatal GBS screening – recognised internationally as best practice – rates of these infections have fallen by significantly, by 70-90%.

Group B Streptococcus (GBS or Strep B) is the UK’s most common cause of life-threatening infection in newborn babies, causing sepsis, pneumonia and meningitis, and claims the life of one baby a week.

Previously Northwick Park Hospital had one of the highest rates of group B Strep infection in newborn babies in the country, almost three times the national average, despite following national guidelines.

To combat this worrying figure, Dr Gopal Rao, Consultant Microbiologist at Northwick Park Hospital, decided to set up the screening programme in his busy UK multi-ethnic community to see whether this would help reduce the rate of group B Strep infection in newborn babies.

Over 6,000 pregnant women chose to have the test. This involved taking two simple swabs (which the majority of women chose to do themselves at 35-37 weeks of pregnancy) – after being given information about GBS.

 

[1] Outcome of a screening programme for the prevention of neonatal invasive early-onset group B Streptococcus infection in a UK maternity unit: an observational study. Rao GG, Nartey G, McAree T, O’Reilly A, Hiles S, Lee T, Wallace S, Batura R, Khanna P, Abbas H, Tilsed C, Nicholl R, Lamagni T, Bassett P. BMJ Open 2017;7:e014634. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016-014634.