NEW PHASE OF THE SWS

Earlier phases of the Southampton Women’s Survey (SWS) have helped us to understand the things that influence the way children and young people grow and develop. We now want to find out about the lives of the SWS young people in late adolescence and early adulthood. We are interested in learning about diet, physical activity and other health behaviours as well as experiences with education, social media, and relationships with friends and family. We are inviting SWS young people to complete our survey when they are aged 17 to 19 years of age. We are writing to mothers to ask them to help us by passing on letters and questionnaires to their sons or daughters. Young people will also have the option to complete the questionnaire online. Preliminary work we did last year suggests that questionnaire completion online or on paper will take 15 to 20 minutes. Young people will receive a £20 Amazon gift voucher following completion of the questionnaire.

Please contact us if you think you are eligible, and are interested in taking part. Our Freephone number is: 0800 7834503 or email: sws@soton.ac.uk sws@soton.ac.uk

We are very grateful for your continued support for the SWS.

Alcohol intake make be linked to premenstrual syndrome

The paper “Premenstrual syndrome and alcohol consumption: a systematic review and meta-analysis” received a great deal of media coverage including newspaper articles in The Southampton Daily Echo; The Daily Mail; The Scotsman; The Daily Telegraph; The Sun; The Kuwait Times; Science Daily and The Scottish Daily Mail. For further information see the University of Southampton’s press release

Professor Hazel Inskip was also interviewed on Radio 1 and Radio 5 Live.

Competition – OLDER Category

1st Prize

Faith Pressey

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2nd PRIZE
Holly Dadson

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3rd PRIZE
Sam Mackenzie

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4th PRIZE
Hannah Wiffin

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Runner Up
Aeryn Giles

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Runner Up
Amy Keall

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Runner Up
Antony Maynard

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Runner Up
Isabel Palmgren

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Runner Up
Loobie Lisa-Marie Bailey

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Runner Up
Mason Coster

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Runner Up
Nicole Jackson

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Runner Up
Sofia Mahmood

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Competition

In March 2012 we organised a colouring competition for the children in the SWS, in two age categories. The children were asked to produce a picture on the theme of “The Southampton Women’s Survey and ME!”. We received many very colourful pictures and  were able to award prizes to some of the artists. Congratulations to all the children who took part for their imaginative representations of their experiences in the study.

OVERALL WINNER – Elizabeth Cook

 

 

 

 

 

 

Details of the winners in the younger and older categories are on the accompanying links

We would like to express our sincere thanks to everyone who kindly donated the following prizes for our competition winners:-

Family ticket to Paulton’s Family Theme Park (www.paultonspark.co.uk)
Family ticket to Longdown Activity Farm (www.longdownfarm.co.uk)
Family ticket to Manor Farm Country Park (www.hants.gov.uk/manorfarm)
Four family tickets to Solent Sky Museum (www.spitfireonline.co.uk)
Family ticket to Pyramids Centre (www.pyramids.co.uk)

 

 

Photography Exhibition

Magda Segal, a professional portrait/reportage photographer, has taken photographs of about 50 women who have participated in the Southampton Women’s Survey. Magda spent a day with the women and documented their lives in a series of pictures. Photographs of twelve of these women were exhibited at the Southampton City Art Gallery and then at the Two10 Gallery in London. Six of these were displayed again at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in London.

 

Southern Daily Echo

Photo courtesy of the Daily Echo.

In early September 2005, the SWS featured twice in major articles in the Southern Daily Echo. In their weekend magazine on September 3rd a three-page spread focused on the photographs of SWS women taken by Magda Segal. The photos captured aspects of the lives of some SWS women and 18 photographs were reproduced in the magazine, along with a commentary about the photography project and a description of the SWS.

Subsequently in the Tuesday “Living” section of the Echo on September 6th, five pages were devoted to the SWS. In addition to a detailed description of the study, three SWS participants described their experiences of being part of the study, and the study coordinator, Hazel Inskip explained how she got involved in running it.

A description was also given of some of the additional studies that are being conducted in the SWS to investigate infant lung function and allergies, protein metabolism, bone development, pre-menstrual syndrome, and depression. A further six photographs taken by Magda Segal were also included.

These articles provided the SWS with valuable publicity. The Echo has been very supportive of the SWS over the years and has published a number of articles about the study, these last two being the most extensive. Keeping the public’s interest in the study is important for maximising participation. Only if women and their children feel that the study is important and understand how highly valued their contribution is, will they be willing to continue to take part.

HRH The Duchess of Cornwall visits the MRC, ERC

The SWS is based at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit at the University of Southampton, previously known as the MRC, ERC (Epidemiology Resource Centre). This was established in 2003 following reconfiguration of the MRC Environmental Epidemiology Unit.

Like the Environmental Epidemiology Unit which preceded it, the Resource Centre is closely associated with the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Southampton. It is housed in the same building within the grounds of Southampton General Hospital, and was formally opened by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall on 23rd May 2005.

Baby is one in a thousand for medical research survey (Ref 02/75)

A Southampton woman taking part in a unique medical research survey in the city has just given birth to the 1,000th baby born to women participating in the project.

Kerrie Bennett is one of thousands of local women taking part in the Southampton Women’s Survey, which aims to examine the influences on the health of young women aged 20-34. Her baby girl, Neve Marie Sawyer, was born on 21 May and weighed 10lb 2oz.

The Southampton Women’s Survey started in 1998. Since then the team of researchers based at the University of Southampton has interviewed 12,000 women in their homes, and followed 1,000 women through pregnancy.

The Survey builds on work conducted by the Medical Research Council at the University, which has shown that growth from the very earliest days in the womb affects health in adulthood, particularly the risks of heart disease, diabetes and osteoporosis. The health of a woman before she becomes pregnant may well have long term effects on her child.

Southampton has been chosen as the best place for this study as it is representative of the whole country in many ways, and women in the city have been keen to take part. Those who have been interviewed and subsequently become pregnant are asked to participate in a second part of the study, which looks at the growth of the foetus.

Kerrie Bennett, the mother of the 1,000th baby, said: ‘I really liked taking part in the Southampton Women’s Survey. I particularly enjoyed the scan pictures. It’s good to take part in medical research to help improve future health.’

Dr Hazel Inskip, the Survey co-ordinator, said: ‘Women in the city have been enthusiastic about the study and we are very grateful to all who have taken part so far, and particularly those who have allowed us to study them in pregnancy too. The results will help us improve the health of young women and their children.’