A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF A PREGNANT MOTHER ON BENEFITS
This week Helen will be putting herself in the shoes of a pregnant woman living on Income Support, to see if it is possible to sustain a healthy pregnancy on state benefits. Read her diary.
The mother of two will be living on sums equivalent to Income Support for one week, while attempting to eat the balanced diet recommended by doctors for pregnant mothers. [1]
Helen said, “Current benefits arrangements mean that a 24 year old pregnant woman could be left living off just £45.50 Income Support per week. [2]
“With this she must buy clothing, household goods, heating and fund any transport costs. This leaves £21 for food.”
“And she must also attempt to eat a healthy and balanced diet that provides all the nutrients that are needed by her baby.
“I want to see whether it is really possible to do this on just £3 per day.”
Helen will be starting the week by going food shopping in Bishop Auckland. She will also be keeping a daily diary of her experiences.
“In recent years we have become more and more aware of the importance of a healthy pregnancy for a child’s development, Helen added. “And we know, for example, that low birth weight babies face a range of disadvantages and problems in later life. [3]
“It will be fascinating to see whether it is possible to eat properly on Income Support, or whether we are storing up social problems for the future by failing to adequately support the poorest pregnant women.”
[1] The Food Standards Agency recommends a varied and balanced diet for pregnant mothers, including plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables and foods rich in protein, such as lean meat, chicken and fish. Supplementation of certain vitamins and minerals is also recommended:
[2] Income Support is an income-related benefit for people aged from 16 years up to age 60 that are on a low income. The amount you receive depends on your circumstances but the weekly amounts for single people are as follows:
Personal allowances for single people (April 2006)
aged 16-17 £34.60
or depending on their circumstances £45.50
aged 18-24 £45.50
aged 25 or over £57.45
For Helen Goodman’s experiment she is disregarding housing and council tax costs on the assumption that they would be funded by Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit respectively. “Deductions for clothing, heating and other costs will be made according to the approximations given by the Family Budget Unit of York University for a single person aged 22-30 (low cost but acceptable standard).
[3] Recent research from the Fabian Society found that low birth weight babies suffer significant disadvantages from the beginning of their life:
- they are 40 times more likely to die in their first year
- they are more likely to have a low IQ and learning disabilities
- they are more likely to have behavioural problems at school
- and their future life chances in terms of educational achievement, low earnings and unemployment are measurably worse.
Low birth weight at birth is caused by poor maternal health particularly poor maternal nutrition and smoking during pregnancy.
Studies have also shown that a mother’s poor diet in terms of calories and iron means a child with greater risk of diabetes and high blood pressure. Inadequate nutrition can mean stunting at birth and early symptoms of heart disease.
Filed under: Uncategorized on October 2nd, 2006
