Bye bye Bounty...

During my 'booking in' appointment prior to the birth of my third baby due in August, I was dutifully handed a doorstep sized Bounty Pregnancy Information Pack.  Let's just get it out there right now - I despise Bounty.  I despise their infiltration of maternity and antenatal wards, I despise their shameless targeting of vulnerable women, I despise their business of selling details and most of all I despise their godlike status among maternity staff.  

So, this blog is focused on my final point - their godlike status among maternity staff.  During the appointment the Midwife trundled out to a giant cupboard which was taking up a huge amount of space in the antenatal department, and returned with the pack.  Along with the pack came the following instructions "Here is your Bounty pack, this is full of  information about your pregnancy including a list of foods to avoid, and a booklet on antenatal screening that you need to read." When I got home, I saw that an 'in house' foods to avoid leaflet had been added to the pack as well as a tests for you and your baby booklet.  

The next part was the part that sent rage deep down to my core, she said "It is vitally important that you put your hand held maternity notes into the Bounty folder so that they stay safe, clean and recognisable" ....

.... Woah woah woahhh.  Back up a bit there, is is "vitally important" that I become a waddling, talking, pregnant advertising machine for Bounty, is it?  THIS is exactly my issue - two things could be happening here, either the Midwife actually believes this nonsense herself and feels safe in the knowledge that she is passing on accurate information, OR she is told to say this to mothers by someone her senior who is involved with the finanacial gain from being a host hospital for the packs.

Either way, I don't subscribe to this.  I will not be a walking taking cash cow for such a vile company, so this weekend fired up by the suggestion that this environmentally damaging non-recyclable plastic wallet is "vitally important" I got my sew on and made myself this little wallet for the notes.  I am really pleased with it, and feel in a tiny little way that I have indeed *won*.