Well, we have now reached the zenith of our discussion about pregnancy and nutrition. Called the 'Health in Pregnancy Grant' According to the BBC News, British pregnant women will be paid £200 from 2009 during their 29th week of pregnancy as an enticement to eat well for their babies.
Whilst there is no way to establish whether pregnant women will actually spend the one-off payment on 'good' food, women who would like to receive the payment must visit with a health practitioner to discuss prenatal nutrition before receiving the money. The measure has been put in place as a result of high infant mortality rates among women of lower socioeconomic groups.
Sure it's great that the British government wants to implement a program to help undernourished pregnant women. Yet, it is very clear to me that the British government is more interested in 'saving babies' than helping women to maintain good health for themselves, first and foremost. How is giving women money to women just over 10 weeks before birth going to make that much of a difference? If pregnant women cannot afford to feed themselves well during pregnancy what will happen after the baby is born?
There are a lot of factors that contribute to low birth weight and maternal diet is only one of them.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6984122.stm
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Here in the States we have WIC: Women, Infants, and Children. Moms and pregnant women receive checks for specific foods (dried beans/peas, low-sugar cereals, juice, dairy...) in specific amounts. Their offices also provide free sessions about grocery shopping, taking care of infants/children, nutritional counseling, and lactation consultants.
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