Hospital makes a bee-line for honey in helping new mums heal faster
Honey is being used to help new mums who have had perineal tears recover after childbirth.
The women at Southend Hospital are among the first in the UK to be treated with 100% medical grade Manuka honey for this and after a six month-evaluation the sweet solution has shown real promise.
As well as lowering infection risk, it helps wounds heal better and reduces the chance of them reopening. The result? More than half of mums who used the honey haven’t needed to return to hospital.
Sarah Cridland, Perinatal Pelvic Health Specialist Midwife, said: “Manuka honey is known for its powerful healing properties. It's anti-microbial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory and helps skin repair itself faster. It’s been used in healthcare for decades, mainly for wounds and ulcers. But now, it's being used in a completely new way - to support perineal healing.
“It’s a proactive way to help mums recover, naturally. With the use of the medical grade honey we are seeing faster healing, fewer infections, fewer women coming back with problems and much happier mums.”
One of those is Bonita Wright, from Rayleigh, who needed an episiotomy, a cut in the perineal skin to make more space for the baby to be born, during her last birth. But at that point the use of honey for healing was not an available option.
She said: “My care at Southend had been great but my stitches came apart and I was in severe pain and was just petrified at how long my recovery would take. This time round using the Manuka honey has changed all that and it has been a completely different experience.
“Anyone who experiences a tear, I’ve told them to get it as it is so good to help you heal and we are very lucky to have Sarah as a great advocate for the NHS. Pregnant women are so vulnerable, so it is great to be able to have something so simple and so natural to make such a difference to your recovery. It has a real positive impact on your mental health at what is such a stressful time.”
That positive experience of using honey was echoed by another mum, Andrea Gooch, from Hockley, who said: “I used the honey for about eight weeks and although at first it was a surprise to be given it, I was really positive about anything I could do to reduce my chance of infection. Knowing I didn’t have one was a huge boost psychologically.”
After creating such a positive ‘buzz’ during its use at Southend Hospital, the Trust is now looking at rolling it out across its other sites in the near future.