OC Support UK^TM

It was with much regret two years ago that I had to close the telephone Helpline because it was simply too much for me to manage. Since then the website has coped with the enquiries for information about OC and people have been able to email me if they have had questions about the condition. But I still believe that sometimes you just can’t beat being able to talk to someone and this is why I have decided to try to reinstate the Helpline. And that’s where I need your help.

My initial thoughts are to have a small group of around 4-5 people who will act as point of contacts for callers and who will each have a mobile phone. There will also be a Group Coordinator to help facilitate the group and act as a mentor. Each contact will receive full training and will probably only have to be available one week in every four. The service will be audited to see how useful it is by the use of questionnaires to people who contact it.

I’d really love to get this going and if you feel you could be one of the contacts do please contact me for further details. My suggestion is that you should be at least two years post-OC and that it’s easier to manage if your children are at school, but that’s in an ideal world – I started the Helpline with one child under four and kept it going even when I was in hospital having my second son, Tim, so I am in no position to be strict about this. I guess I am just wanting to make life easier for everyone – the memory of standing in the loo with one foot on the door to keep the kids out while trying to have a conversation with a distressed mother-to-be trying to get a diagnosis of OC still remains!

Like all other Helplines it will not only rely on the willingness of people to be contacts but will also require financial assistance to implement and maintain. I estimate that start-up and running costs for the first year, including training (for which travelling expenses will be given), will be around £1,000 so if you don’t feel you would be able to become a contact but could make a donation towards the Helpline do let me know.

I’d love to get the Helpline off the ground by next spring or even earlier if we have a good response, so I look forward to hearing from you all about what you think of the idea.

Warmest wishes as always

Jenny

Do you know what’s in the pregnancy textbooks about OC? Well, I had a quick look today (11 October) and out of three books there was only one very cursory reference! We need to address this so that we can make sure that these books include it in future editions and I need someone who would be prepared to play detective for me!

If you have some spare time to be able to trawl all the places where they might sell pregnancy books, your job will be to make a note of the book, author and, more importantly, the publisher and year of publication so that I can send a generic letter highlighting their omission (or incorrect information). I did this with the Bounty pregnancy book back in 1993 and managed to lobby a few other publishers, but the OC work has become so big now that this is something I haven’t be able to keep on top of.

If you think you can help could you let me know and I will contact you to discuss how we can raise awareness of the condition and, possibly, reduce the risk of stillbirth by ensuring that all publications mention OC.

Jenny