NUH News Summer edition
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18<br />
FeatureStory<br />
Pocket Midwife provides ‘new parent<br />
packs’ to new mums<br />
Pocket Midwife<br />
Women who give birth in our<br />
hospitals are being given a free ‘new<br />
parent pack’ as part of a new project<br />
running in conjunction with our<br />
successful Pocket Midwife App.<br />
Launched in partnership with Boots and<br />
the baby club Emma’s Diary, the project<br />
aims to provide new parents with baby<br />
information as well as some specially<br />
selected mother and baby products, to<br />
help start their baby’s first few weeks with<br />
confidence.<br />
More than 5,000 of the free Pocket<br />
Midwife packs have been delivered to our<br />
maternity units at QMC and City Hospital<br />
as part of a six-month trial of the scheme.<br />
The packs will be offered free to all<br />
mothers, without any obligation for them<br />
to sign up to offers or promotions<br />
Each Pocket Midwife pack contains top to<br />
toe wash; breast pads; wipes; stretch-mark<br />
spray; nappies and nappy rash cream;<br />
eczema cream; and a lullaby book.<br />
Every pack also contains a postcard<br />
highlighting Nottingham Hospitals Charity<br />
and details of how families may wish to<br />
donate, an idea suggested by new mums<br />
through our 'Friends and Family Test'<br />
(patient) survey.<br />
Jules Gudgeon, <strong>NUH</strong> Maternity Matron<br />
and inventor of the Pocket Midwife App,<br />
said: “We see so many new mothers in our<br />
hospitals and know there is a real demand<br />
for products and baby advice that parents<br />
can take away after they have given birth.<br />
The products have been specially chosen<br />
by our midwives who support thousands<br />
of new mothers every year.<br />
“It’s our way of saying congratulations on<br />
the birth of your new baby.”<br />
The Pocket Midwife pack was launched<br />
almost a year on from the successful<br />
Pocket Midwife App - which is free from<br />
the iTunes App Store or Google Play, and<br />
has already been downloaded by more<br />
than 9,000 mums.<br />
The App contains general pregnancy<br />
information that is useful to all prospective<br />
parents and their families, but also contains<br />
information specific to <strong>NUH</strong>, such as our<br />
own maternity leaflets and useful contact<br />
telephone numbers.<br />
Other features include a pregnancy<br />
calendar, which describes the baby's<br />
development and changes to the woman's<br />
body, a contraction counter to support<br />
women and their birth partners in early<br />
labour, and even a 'selfie gallery' to log the<br />
progress of their growing bump.<br />
Nick Watts, Partnerships Director at<br />
Emma’s Diary, said: “Pregnant and new<br />
mums have relied on Emma’s Diary as a<br />
trusted source of information and advice<br />
for more than quarter of a century. We<br />
are committed to working with healthcare<br />
professionals and are delighted to be<br />
working with Pocket Midwife to deliver a<br />
new parent pack, which will surely offer<br />
new mums great value as well as practical<br />
advice on all aspects of baby care and child<br />
health and development.”<br />
Both the Pocket Midwife pack and the<br />
Pocket Midwife App have been developed<br />
with support from the Trust’s Better for<br />
You change programme. The Pocket<br />
Midwife App was funded by Nottingham<br />
Hospitals Charity.<br />
Jamie Kerruish, Category Director for<br />
Healthcare at Boots UK, said: “We’re<br />
delighted to be supporting Nottingham<br />
Hospitals and Pocket Midwife. Having<br />
a baby can be one of the most special<br />
and equally most daunting times and<br />
we want to help families feel confident<br />
in the important transition from hospital<br />
to home. Nottingham is at the heart of<br />
Boots, and we’ve been supporting families<br />
here since our very first store opened on<br />
Goosegate over 165 years ago. We hope<br />
that the new Pocket Midwife packs will be<br />
a real help and source of local information<br />
and guidance for new parents in those first<br />
few exciting weeks.”<br />
Local mum Vicky Malia, 30, from Newton,<br />
gave birth to her second child (Rory) at City<br />
Hospital in May. She was one of the first<br />
mothers to receive one of the new Pocket<br />
Midwife packs.<br />
Vicky, who also works at <strong>NUH</strong>, said: “You<br />
can’t remember everything when you pack<br />
before going into hospital. You inevitably<br />
forget something or baby’s arrival takes<br />
you by surprise. I think it’s a really nice<br />
idea to take pressure off mums and this<br />
will further add to the great experience of<br />
giving birth.”<br />
@nottmhospitals<br />
facebook.com/nottinghamhospitals
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