The pPOD team had their termly library day today at South Kensington Library. The morning consists of the team working on various projects followed a team lunch and afternoon presentations. Today, Jill presented on her trip to Australia which was funded by the Winston Churchill Foundation. Highlights of her trip included visiting mother and baby units, residential opportunities for new parents and ways families are engaged in services. A key focus for Australian services is the way in which they include dads. Jill spoke of a particular project called 'SMS for dads' which sent 3 texts a week to either expectant or new dads. The topics included dad's own health and wellbeing, their relationship with their new baby and their relationship with their partner. Read more about Jill's trip here.

Ellen also discussed the paper she has recently reviewed for the Mental Elf and her blog can be found here. The team discussed how tricky it is to find the effects of cannabis when the participants often use tobacco and alcohol. It would be fantastic if future research could try and control for other variables i.e. maternal diet.

The team were so delighted to have a surprise visit from the youngest pPOD member yet!

Cannabis use during pregnancy: little known about impact on child or maternal health
 
Ellen Grimas summarises a systematic review on prenatal exposure to cannabis and maternal and child health outcomes, which highlights the lack of high quality research in this area. Read her blog here.