Thursday, October 14th, 2010
Expectant mums in Birmingham are being invited to learn more about giving their babies a healthy start to life with a series of sessions in the east and north of the city.
As part of their antenatal care, mums-to-be and their partners can go along to the sessions at Erdington Health and Wellbeing Walk-in Centre, at 196 High Street, Erdington, on the first Wednesday of every month from 9.30am – 12noon. Expectant mothers in Washwood Heath can drop in to the workshops at Anthony Road Children’s Centre in Alum Rock on the third Wednesday of the month, also from 9.30am – 12noon.
The workshops will help parents think about feeding choices, learn about bonding through feeding and meeting baby’s needs, and find out how to tell feeding is going well.
Jewant Singh, Breastfeeding Co-ordinator at NHS Birmingham East and North, said: “Our friendly antenatal sessions are all about getting new born babies off to the best start in life by meeting their needs, as well as giving women the chance to meet other mums and make new friends. Mums are free to bring dad, grandma, or a friend along too!”
For more information, call Jewant Singh on 0121 380 9270.
Ends
Enquiries
For more information, please contact Sarah Millard, NHS Birmingham East and North External Communications Manager, on 0121 380 0620.
Notes to editors
NHS Birmingham East and North is one of 152 primary care trusts (PCTs) within the English NHS. As a PCT, it is responsible for the wise investment of public money to ensure health improvement, access to health services and where appropriate the provision of health services to a local population of some 438,000 people, across 17 wards in north and east Birmingham.
We organise and fund the delivery of health care with the involvement of local people, maximising health outcomes for every pound spent, referred to as commissioning.
Posted in Adults, Erdington, General public, Health improvement, Maternity services, News, Parents, Pregnant women, Press release, The services we offer, Washwood Heath, Women | No Comments »
Monday, February 1st, 2010
Nearly two-thirds of drinkers in West Midlands think only binge drinking harms their health
A new campaign backed by major health charities warns drinkers of the unseen health damage caused by regularly drinking more than the NHS advises.
The £6 million Government funded campaign shows the damage that is being done to drinkers’ organs while they are drinking in a pub or at home.
This was launched by Public Health Minister, Gillian Merron last week and is part of the cross-Government strategy to tackle the harms that alcohol causes.
The Department of Health has developed the campaign in association with Cancer Research UK, the British Heart Foundation and the Stroke Association to create the series of stark TV, press and outdoor adverts showing the harm that regularly drinking more than two drinks a day can cause. A website has also been launched, www.nhs.uk/drinking, featuring interactive tools to arm people with the information they need to make healthier choices.
A new YouGov poll launched to coincide with the campaign shows that nearly two-thirds (62%) of drinkers in the West Midlands misguidedly believe that alcohol only damages your health if you regularly get drunk or binge drink.
The survey of over 2,000 adults also found that, nationally, 83% of those who regularly drink more than the NHS recommended limits of 2-3 units a day for women (about two small glasses of wine) and 3-4 units a day for men (about two pints of lager) don’t think their drinking is putting their long-term health at risk.
With 10 million adults in England estimated to be drinking above the recommended limits, this is equivalent to around 8.3 million people potentially unaware of the damage their drinking could be causing.
Although 87% of West Midlands drinkers surveyed knew that drinking alcohol is related to liver disease, far fewer realised it is also linked with breast cancer (5%), throat cancer (30%), mouth cancer (28%), stroke (38%) and heart disease (63%), along with other serious conditions.
Scientific evidence shows:
- you could be three times more likely to have a stroke and three times more likely to get mouth cancer if you’re a man regularly drinking more than two pints of strong lager a day; and
- you are 50% more likely to get breast cancer and twice as likely to have high blood pressure, which could lead to a stroke or a heart attack, if you’re a woman regularly drinking two large glasses of wine or more a day.
Public Health Minister, Gillian Merron said:
“Many of us enjoy a drink – drinking sensibly isn’t a problem. But, if you’re regularly drinking more than the NHS recommended limits, you’re more likely to get cancer, have a stroke or have a heart attack.
“With alcohol misuse damaging so many people’s health and lives, the Government has teamed up with Cancer Research UK, the British Heart Foundation and the Stroke Association to produce this hard-hitting campaign. It’s important to show drinkers the unseen damage alcohol can do to your body.”
Andrea Docherty, NHS Birmingham East and North’s Consultant in Public Health added: “Just because you’re not going out binge drinking, don’t assume you are drinking safe levels. You may not think it’s much drinking a glass or two of wine every night – but it all adds up and can be the equivalent of a binge drinking night out.”
ENDS
Enquiries
For more information, please contact Niki McGrath, NHS Birmingham East and North External Communications Manager, on 0121 380 0620.
Notes to editors
1. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2023 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 13th – 15th January 2010. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all English adults (aged 18+).
2. To help people check whether they are drinking within the recommended limits, the NHS recently launched a Drinks Tracker, available to download to your computer desktop, mobile phone or iPhone from www.nhs.uk/alcohol.
3. 10 million adults in England estimated to be regularly drinking above the recommended limits according to NHS Information Centre Statistics on Alcohol, 2008. Visit http://www.ic.nhs.uk/ for more information
4. Men regularly drinking more than two pints of strong lager a day are three times more likely to have a stroke and three times more likely to get mouth cancer Department of Health analysis of ‘Corrao,’ 1999
5. Women regularly drinking two large glasses of wine or more a day are more likely to get breast cancer and twice as likely to have high blood pressure, which could lead to a stroke or a heart attack. Department of Health analysis of ‘Corrao,’ 1999
6. Office of National Statistic figures show that over 9,000 people died of alcohol related causes in 2008. http://www.statistics.gov.uk
7. The World Health Organisation estimates that 20% of alcohol-related deaths are from cancer and 15% are from cardiovascular conditions such as heart disease and stroke, while 13% are from liver disease. (Rehm, J, Room, R et al 2004, ‘Alcohol’, Comparative quantification of health risks: Global and regional burden of disease due to selected major risk factors, WHO, Geneva, www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/cra/en/)
NHS Birmingham East and North is one of 152 primary care trusts within the English NHS. As a PCT it is responsible for the wise investment of public money to ensure health improvement, access to health services and where appropriate the provision of health services to a local population of some 438,000 people, across 17 wards across north and east Birmingham.
In summary we organise and fund the delivery of health care with the involvement of local people, maximising health outcomes for every pound spent – this is often referred to as commissioning.
Posted in Adults, Alcohol, General public, Health improvement, News, Press and media, Press release, The services we offer | No Comments »
