Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what further steps they plan to take to improve the diet of pregnant women and new mothers.

Parents receive health and lifestyle advice, including advice on diet, weight control and physical activity, from their health visitor as part of the Healthy Child Programme.

For parents, the Government provides online advice on maternal nutrition via the NHS Choices website and the Start4Life website.

The Your Pregnancy and Baby guide on NHS Choices includes information about a healthy diet in pregnancy. Start4Life produce a range of information booklets with advice for parents, including Healthy Habits for Baby and You which provides information and advice on eating healthily and exercise in pregnancy.

The Government’s statutory Healthy Start scheme aims to provide a nutritional safety net to the most nutritionally vulnerable pregnant women, new mothers and children under four years old in low income families. The scheme provides vouchers for basic healthy foods (milk, fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables) and infant formula milk. This encourages healthy eating the scheme covers approximately half a million pregnant women, new mothers, and children under four years old in low income families throughout the United Kingdom.

We currently have no plans to extend the current dietary advice given to pregnant women and new mothers.