Focus on good health in pregnancy: experts invited to parliament
Slimming World and the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) have been invited to an event in Parliament to talk about the importance of promoting good health in pregnancy as the foundations for a healthy family.
Louise Silverton CBE, Director for Midwifery at RCM, and Amanda Avery RD, Assistant Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics at University of Nottingham and Consultant Dietitian to Slimming World, will be the guests of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on a Fit and Healthy Childhood on 6 July.
The APPG is chaired by Baroness Floella Benjamin OBE and attracts a wide and active membership of parliamentarians and external organisations. The group exists to inform policy decisions and public debate relating to all aspects of childhood health and wellbeing, including obesity.
In 2012, Slimming World and the Royal College of Midwives joined forces in a unique alliance partnership to support pregnant and breastfeeding women in managing their weight.
The partnership brought together the world-class midwifery and maternity expertise of the RCM and Slimming World’s five decades of experience of helping people to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
We all know that giving children the very best start in life is vitally important for their futures. Good health in pregnancy is the foundation for this.
Louise Silverton will talk to members of the APPG about the crucial, yet sometimes unrecognised, role that midwives play in the public health arena. Louise said: “Midwives are normally the lead professionals at the start of life. Following a wide ranging study exploring midwives knowledge of, and involvement in, the public health agenda, RCM responded with the 'Stepping up to Public Health' model.”
Amanda Avery will stress that what happens to children in their earliest moments, even before birth, is critical to health in later life and may influence the risk of chronic diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Phil Royal, secretariat for the APPG, said: “We all know that giving children the very best start in life is vitally important for their futures. Good health in pregnancy is the foundation for this. We are delighted to stage this important opportunity to press for a better appreciation of the challenges.”
Slimming World was founded by Margaret Miles-Bramwell (OBE, FRSA) in 1969. There are now more than 18,000 groups held weekly across the UK and Republic of Ireland via a network of 4,000 community-based Slimming World Consultants, who receive specific training in the role of diet and physical activity in weight management, as well as sophisticated behaviour-change techniques.
Slimming World’s healthy eating plan, Food Optimising, is based on the science of satiety and energy density. Our phased activity programme, Body Magic, eases members into activity until it becomes an intrinsic part of their daily routine. The principles behind Slimming World’s philosophy are based on a deep understanding of the challenges faced by overweight people and a recognition that those who struggle with weight carry a double burden, the weight itself and a burden of guilt and shame about their weight. Slimming World’s programme integrates practical, up-to-date advice with a highly developed support system based on care and compassion, and Consultant training focuses on facilitating behaviour change in a warm and friendly group environment. Consultant training is delivered through the Slimming World Academy. Slimming World also invests in a comprehensive research programme to develop its support for long-term weight management. The group support provided by Slimming World is recognised as effective by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the NHS.
For more information about Slimming World’s approach visit www.slimmingworld.co.uk or call 0344 897 8000.
For the Press Office please email public.relations@slimmingworld.co.uk