Mothers are doing their bit to save money on the brink of a global recession and are turning to Cloth Nappies ( also known as real nappies) as an alternative to disposable nappies.

Advocates of Cloth nappies are focusing on the large financial benefit, a saving of $2500 per child of using cloth nappies versus disposable nappies.

The average child will need between 4000 to 6000 disposable nappies until toilet trained.

As well as the financial benefits of using Cloth nappies, mothers are increasingly attracted by the environmental benefits.

One cup of crude oil is used to make each disposable nappy.

Disposable nappies contain chlorine to make them white.

Four and a half trees are cut down to keep one baby in nappies for thirty months

The carbon footprint of a baby in disposable nappies is 62 kilos of CO2 more than a baby using cloth nappies.

In the UK, eight million nappies are thrown away every day of the year, and each nappy takes between 200 to 500 years to degrade.

The UK has just opened its first nappy recycling plant in Birmingham. The multi million pound plant is capable of processing 30,000 tonnes of nappies every year. Currently around 800,000 tonnes of used nappies finds its way into landfill in the UK – which is enough to fill Wembley Stadium eight times over.

So why is it that with such a compelling financial saving and environment argument, that everyone isn’t switching to real nappies over disposable nappies.

It seems that cloth nappies have had an image crisis, with people associating them safety pins and with steaming dirty buckets of nappies.

Sue from www.goodpregnancyguide.com explains how out of date this memory is, “Modern cloth nappies don’t use safety pins and there is no need to soak them. Modern washing machines easily handle a week’s worth of cloth nappies at a 40 degree wash. A waterproof cover is used over the cloth nappy to help them fit snugly.”

www.goodpregnancyguide.com has just launched a new forum for women who want to share their ideas and experiences of using cloth nappies and other ways of saving money with other women and have been looking for a way to easily do this.

For more information on using cloth nappies, cleaning cloth nappies, and other pregnancy subjects visit our New Forum and discuss what’s on your mind with other women.

The pill called Menevit contains a number antioxidants and minerals such as vitamins C and E, folic acid, garlic oil, selenium, and lycopene.. The pill is claimed to help the one men in twenty men affected by male infertility. One in six couples have difficulties with fertility and conceiving, with the male being responsible for a third of cases.

The pill has been developed by Dr Kelton Tremellen from Adelaide University and will be sold over the counter from pharmacies.

Dr Tremellen explained that in trials based on 60 infertile men, two thirds were given the pill daily for three months before starting on IVF. The result of the trials showed that those men given the pill had a significantly higher pregnancy rate than the control group, with 38.5% of embryos resulting in a pregnancy at 13 weeks, compared to 16% for the control group.

Dr Tremellen said that the pull works by neutralising the body’s free radicals that break down the DNA in sperm which leads to a greater risk of infertility, miscarriage or birth defects. The creation and number of Free radicals in the body is  affected by drinking alcohol, smoking, and environmental pollution.

The debate continued as Anne Clark from Fertility First explained that a recent trial based on 86 patients in her Hurstville Clinic, Sydney, Australia had showed that combing taking supplements with a lifestyle change had reduced DNA damage in sperm in four out of five men.

Anne Clark from Fertility First said a trial of 86 patients in her Hurstville clinic showed combining supplements with lifestyle change reduced sperm DNA damage in 80 per cent of men.

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The small study carried out within 10 days of the birth of 61 babies born between 28 and 32 weeks gestation was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Fonds de la Recherche en Santé de Québec. It was published in BMC Pediatrics, a peer-reviewed medical journal.
The premature babies were selected for the study based on the basis that they would all have to have blood taken using a heel prick on at least two occasions within four days of each other. The babies were split into two groups, one group had bloods taken while their mothers held them, and the second group had blood taken while in the incubator without
The baby’s pain was measured using the Premature Infant Pain Profile (PIPP) scoring system that measures pain based on heart rate (pain makes the heart rate increase), three facial movements, and the blood oxygen levels (which decrease with pain).
The authors of the research conclude that skin-to-skin contact with the mother decreases pain response to heel prick in premature infants born between the ages of 28 and 32 weeks.
The study would suggest that where ever possible the mother holds her newborn baby close to her while their may be having an examination, medical procedure or are uncomfortable. However, with the special care that premature babies receive, it may not always be appropriate for the baby to be held cuddled against her skin

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The research by Dr Deave from the Centre for Child and Adolescent Health at the University of West England, said about the importance of their findings, “important message is that it is the persistence of depression, as well as the intensity of antenatal depression, that has an impact on the child.”

The study found that 14% of the 11,000 women studied were depressed on at least one occasion antenatally only, while 5% of women were depressed on at least one occasion postnatally. A total of 1.4% women were found to be depressed both antenatally and postnatally.

The authors of the research said their findings could better help health workers to treat pregnant women. “The findings add to the growing body of research, suggesting that the psychological wellbeing during pregnancy has important consequences for child development”.

“Therefore, obstetricians, midwives and GPs can play an active role in assessing and identifying depression during pregnancy.”

The study’s results highlight the prevalence of depression during pregnancy and postnatal depression. The study also reinforces the need for health care workers and Doctors to be alert for the symptoms of depression during pregnancy.

However, depression may only be one factor in causing developmental delay, which could be due to several factors such as medical, genetic or environmental factors. The study did not look at the development of the children past 18 months, so apparent delays in development at this age might not reflect their later development.

Expectant mothers or mothers concerned about having or developing depression during or after pregnancy should discuss it with their health care professional.

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The research was carried out by Martin Weber and colleagues from Great Ormond Street Hospital and the Institute of Child Health at University College London and was based on the autopsy records for babies who had died unexpectedly and whose death was unexplained. The research does not suggest that there is a link between the common bacteria, called Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, but suggests that there may be some kind of association.

This research does not prove that these bacteria are the cause of cot death. The researchers say that the presence of the bacteria may be an indicator that there is another cause of cot death. For example, they suggest that “overheating or impaired infant arousal” which are already known to be associated with sudden unexplained death in infants.

The current recommendations to help prevent cot death remain as; don’t smoke around the baby, put the baby to sleep on their back, and keep the baby at a comfortable temperature without covering their head.

Premature girls who received formula milk were eight times more likely to require hospital treatment for respiratory illnesses. While breastfeeding premature baby girls was found to have a positive impact in preventing chest infections, the study found that breastfeeding had no impact on premature boys.

The research was carried out by Dr M Inés Klein at Fundación INFANT, Buenos Aires. The study was based on a small group of premature low weight babies and looked at the proportion that required hospital treatment for bronchiolitis, which is a common chest infection in babies aged less than a year old.

M Inés Klein, the lead author of the research said of the results, “A better understanding of the protective components in breast milk is important for strategically improving maternal nutrition”

The researchers concluded that non breastfeed premature girls may be a group that is particularly susceptible to chest infections, and the results are only applicable to low birth weight premature infants. As the researchers say, “the protective role of breastfeeding against severe respiratory infections in healthy term infants is well established”