Call The Midwife ‘should come with a health warning’
Popular TV show Call the Midwife needs a health warning, academics have said. Experts from King’s College London and the University of Liverpool said television programmes showing “inaccurate birthing practices” should require safety recommendations for viewers to avoid misinterpretations by the public. Researchers analysed 87 births shown in 48 episodes of BBC’s Call The Midwife, This Is Going To Hurt and Channel 4’s One Born Every Minute. They compared how the depiction of these births compared to modern guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice). The births largely compared favourably to modern care guidance, the authors found. We saw too early cord clamping in most televised births but no programme informed viewers about the safety aspects Prof Susan Bewley But a third of the time depictions of midwives and doctors clamping the umbilical cord were shown inaccurately or dramatised, according to the paper which has been published in the journal JRSM Open. Researchers said that without a safety warning to inform viewers otherwise, the general public and healthcare professionals could think the clamping practices they see are correct. Nice guidance states that women should not have the umbilical the cord clamped earlier than one minute after the birth unless there is concern about cord integrity or the baby’s heartbeat. But the academics found that in 21 instances clamping appeared to happen immediately or too early. Susan Bewley, professor emeritus of obstetrics and women’s health at King’s College London, said: “Millions of viewers watch programmes like Call The Midwife every week to be entertained but the line between fact and fiction is blurred. “We are impressed that UK television shows have accurately depicted some changes in childbirth over the last century, but on the other hand they have also provided the public with a picture of poor-quality care when it comes to clamping during childbirth. “These inaccurate depictions could influence how people see real-world care. “We saw too early cord clamping in most televised births but no programme informed viewers about the safety aspects. “When showing outdated practices, broadcasters have a public health duty to inform viewers that this immediate medical intervention is no longer recommended. No broadcaster would show the sleeping positions associated with cot-death without comment.” Andrew Weeks, professor of international maternal health at the University of Liverpool, added: “Health professionals know that midwives and doctors should not interrupt the flow of blood to the newborn baby nor separate the mother and baby without a pressing reason, and yet this is what is being shown on popular television programmes as common practice. “Incorrect depictions like this, however routine, can lead to misinterpretations of correct practice by the public. “This illustrates the need for safety recommendations when TV dramas show birthing practices and procedures that are outdated and inaccurate.” A spokesperson for Call The Midwife said: “Call The Midwife is a drama, not a documentary, and is set half a century ago. “It is highly accurate to the period it depicts, and shows how childbirth has changed radically over the years.” The study was published as the charity Lullaby Trust, which raises awareness of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), highlighted infection prevention among newborns. It said that parents should avoid letting other people kiss their baby and should always ask people to wash their hands before touching a newborn. “Even infections that cause mild symptoms such as a common cold in adults and older children can be life-threatening for babies,” said charity chief executive Jenny Ward. Read More Halloween: 10 wicked ways to kit out your haunted house Black magic: Go back to black this season with the catwalk-inspired trend How to prep your home for when the clocks go back Menopause campaigner Mariella Frostrup: ‘I look forward to a future where women gradually stop feeling so ashamed’ More girls miss school and college due to their periods than colds, survey finds More girls miss school and college due to their periods than colds, survey finds
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2023-08-17 10:51
Imagination and hard work in children trumps obedience – research finds
Imagination trumps obedience when it comes to what the public thinks are important qualities in children, according to new research. But while British attitudes have changed in the past three decades, children being taught good manners at home is still highly rated among the majority of people, the wide-ranging survey found. Some 85% of people in 2022 saw good manners as especially important for children, down only slightly on the 89% who said so in 1990, research by the Policy Institute at King’s College London (KCL) showed. Good manners are still the quality we want to see most, there has been an increasing emphasis on the importance of hard work, and we’re also among the very most likely to value unselfishness Professor Bobby Duffy Obedience is now far less valued, the analysis of the long-running World Values Survey (WVS) found, with just 11% of those asked last year citing it as being an especially important quality for children to be taught, down from a peak of 50% who felt that way in 1998. More people now think qualities including independence and hard work are important things for a child to be taught, with the former up to 53% last year from 43% in 1990, and the latter having risen from 29% to 48%. Around four in 10 (41%) people said determination and perseverance were important, up from 31% three decades earlier, while more than a third (37%) felt imagination was important, up from less than a fifth (18%) in 1990. Tolerance and respect for others are still among the qualities seen as very important, coming just behind good manners at the top of the list, but it is now seen as less important that a child is taught to be unselfish, the research found. More than half (56%) of people thought it was especially important for a child to be taught not to be selfish back in 1990, but that fell to 43% last year. Of the 24 countries surveyed, the UK is among the most likely to value unselfishness in children and among the least likely to value responsibility and obedience, researchers said. More people in Japan, Norway, Sweden and South Korea felt imagination was very important for children to have, while only five countries (Egypt, Philippines, Morocco, Nigeria and Mexico) were above the UK in valuing good manners in children. Professor Bobby Duffy, director of the Policy Institute at KCL, said: “The qualities we’d like to see instilled in our children are important signals of what we value as a society – and the very clear message from these long-term trends is the increased importance of imagination and decline in how much we prize straightforward obedience. “But this doesn’t mean we want a society of self-centred children – good manners are still the quality we want to see most, there has been an increasing emphasis on the importance of hard work, and we’re also among the very most likely to value unselfishness. “Instead, this is likely to reflect a more general shift towards valuing self-expression, while still wanting our children to be positive and productive contributors to society.” The 2022 data comes from a sample of 3,056 adults across the UK interviewed by Ipsos through a mix on face-to-face and online survey methods, but for the analysis of trends over time, data is nationally representative for Great Britain only due to a lack of available trend data from Northern Ireland, and is based on surveys of 1,000 or more adults. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live 7 ways you could be damaging your eye health without even realising Celebrities mingle with royals at glam Vogue World party in London Sienna Miller bares baby bump at celebrity and royal-studded Vogue event
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Busy Philipps says daughter Birdie no longer uses they/them pronouns
Busy Philipps has shared that her daughter Birdie no longer uses they/them pronouns. The Mean Girls actor, 44, recently revealed that her 15-year-old daughter is once again using she/her pronouns. Speaking to Page Six at the 2023 American Museum of Natural History Gala on 30 November, Philipps said: “The truth is Birdie has decided that her pronouns are she/her.” Back in 2021, the Freaks and Geeks alum shared that her then 12-year-old child is gay and uses they/them pronouns. In an episode of her podcast, Busy Philipps Is Doing Her Best, the actor explained that Birdie first spoke about her sexuality when she was 10 years old. “For those of you who are my friends listening at home, this is the first you’re hearing that Birdie is gay and out,” Philipps said at the time. “Birdie told us at 10 years old and we immediately... I mean obviously, I knew that Birdie knew.” During the podcast, the White Chicks star admitted she had avoided publicly discussing the topic to protect Birdie’s privacy. While Birdie gave her mother permission to speak openly about her identity, Philipps acknowledged that she still struggles when it comes to using her daughter’s correct pronouns. “I said: ‘You know, Bird, I’ve been doing a bad job with the pronouns,’” Philipps recalled. “Because Birdie said that they would like their pronouns to be they/them, and I haven’t been doing it, and I said because I have this public persona and I want Birdie to be in control of their own narrative and not have to answer to anybody outside of our friends and family if they don’t want to. “Bird was like: ‘I don’t give a f***. You can talk about how I’m gay and out, you can talk about my pronouns. That would be cool with me,’” she recalled her daughter saying, before admitting about herself: “I f*** up sometimes, but I’m trying my best at that, too.” In addition to daughter Birdie Leigh, Philipps shares 10-year-old daughter Cricket Pearl with ex-husband Marc Silverstein. In May 2022, the Cougar Town star revealed that she and Silverstein have been separated since February 2021 but contemplated how they’d publicly share their decision to divorce with the rest of the world. “It’s been a really long time that Marc and I have been separated,” she explained on her podcast. “Our kids know, our families know, our friends know, and we really discussed how we handle it publicly.” She continued: “The truth is there’s a conventional idea of what a person in the public eye is supposed to do when their relationship ends. It’s been very well established, right? You make a statement, you’re committed to remaining friends, ‘please respect our privacy and our family’s privacy in this time.’ But the truth is, who made that rule up?” Philipps said the thought of releasing a statement about their separation made both her and Silverstein feel “truly ill”. She added that “you can only do what’s right for you and your family, whether or not you have a public-facing life” and “you don’t have to follow a conventional idea just because it’s been done before”. The former couple ultimately decided the best way to “ensure the privacy” of their children was by not involving the public when they first separated. “We’re not fully processed, Marc and I. But we are in a place where we’ve had many conversations, and therapy talks and all of these things where we decided that it felt like it’s an okay time for me to at least say it on this podcast,” Philipps added. “We love each other very much. We have these beautiful kids together and there are a lot of things that really work about our relationship.” Philipps and Silverstein were married in 2007. She previously revealed in her memoir, This Will Only Hurt a Little, that she had asked her husband for a divorce in 2016. In an interview with Parents, Philipps cited Silverstein’s lack of involvement in parenting their two children as the reason why they almost split. Read More Rita Moreno says she combats loneliness by making friends at grocery store Strictly’s Amy Dowden shares health update after being rushed to hospital Sam Thompson admits fears about ADHD and parenthood on I’m a Celeb Rita Moreno says she combats loneliness by making friends at grocery store Strictly’s Amy Dowden shares health update after being rushed to hospital Sam Thompson admits fears about ADHD and parenthood on I’m a Celeb
2023-12-02 06:19
'Today’ host Carson Daly’s rarely-seen son Jackson, 14, shows off impressive cooking skills in new pics
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