Braun Exactfit 5

If there's one thing when it comes to budgeting that I don't compromise on, it's my family's health. Recently my husband hadn't been feeling too well and had suffered from a couple of red spots in his eyes which we were advised could be a symptom of high blood pressure. As blood pressure problems run in his family he popped along to the doctor who told him it would be a good idea to keep an eye on it at home. Around the same time, I happened to be cruising through Twitter as I often do, and saw someone was on the look out for bloggers to review a blood-pressure monitor. Now, I'm not the sort to review just anything, but given that I was heavily pregnant and having my blood-pressure monitored also, I thought I'd volunteer us.

The closest either of us has ever come to using at-home medical equipment is Moo's asthma inhaler so this was all completely new territory for us. We were sent the Braun Exactfit 5 BP6200. At first I was really nervous about the thickness of the instruction manual, but on closer inspection I discovered it was in many languages, I guess it's true what they say; never judge a book by it's cover...or thickness, apparently.

Included is the monitor unit, batteries, two different sized arm cuffs, an instruction booklet and a little pouch to keep everything in safely.

The instructions were incredibly easy to follow and we were soon hooking it up to give it a whirl. It was a matter of seconds to connect the cuff and get it going to test ourselves. The unit saves your data (up to 60 measurements), and can save the info of up to two people (person A and person B) which is great for keeping an eye on your health, I thought this was especially true for pregnant women who are considered to be at risk for pre-eclampsia. The monitor also works out a daily average over 7 days which aids you in monitoring your blood-pressure figures. 

Here are my pros and cons...

Pros.

- Incredibly easy to use.

- Quick set-up.

- Multi-user function.

- Sleek and compact design.

- Large, digital screen that is brightly back-lit for ease of reading.

Cons.

- We both found that as the cuff inflated around our arms, it got much tighter than those used in hospitals and doctors surgeries though we wonder if this is because it is new out of the box rather than seen several years use at the hands if the NHS!

For further details visit www.braunbloodpressuremonitors.co.uk. Packed full of information and advice, Braun’s new microsite includes tips on controlling your blood pressure as well as practical videos showing you how to fit your Braun blood pressure monitor and understand your measurements. The Braun blood pressure monitors are available nationwide at selected Boots stores. Visit the microsite for further information.

The Braun Exactfit 5 BP6200 is priced at £99.99.

Clare

Please note we were sent this item for the purposes of review, however all findings and opinions are our own.

Cord Blood Donation

During pregnancy a lot of crazy things happen in your body; you grow a whole person, that's pretty amazing! With growing that person, you also grow a few extra bits that allow baby to live inside of you; your placenta and umbilical cord. Once baby is out and their own individual, separate from you, those 'extras' pretty much become waste. Midwives do say that you can keep and eat your placenta should you wish; it's not something that has ever appealed to me personally, but it is personal choice.

As these bits come out of your body, they contain blood and are highly rich in it too! This blood has a high content of stem cells which can help cure a variety of life-threatening illnesses by helping to restore a patients immune and blood-producing systems. Stem cells from 'cord blood' are very similar to those found in bone marrow and so are crucial in the battle against diseases like leukaemia.

The NHS run a cord-blood bank but only in a limited amount of areas. This is a public cord-blood bank, which means that should you 'donate' your blood, it becomes public domain and can be used on any patient, there are also private cord-blood banks which charge a fee (one-off and annual) which makes your blood available to you only. A lot of people opt to use a private bank by way of security incase someone in their family is taken ill with a stem-cell-taxable illness which is perfectly fine.

That said, when I found out about this, I really wanted to donate my cord blood to the NHS. I give blood, I'm an organ donor and as a parent, I would like to hope that if one of my children was taken ill, someone would've donated something that could save them. I can't afford to store my cord blood privately, and I personally feel that it being available to everyone is better than it only being available to me. My Grandmother died from Leukaemia and so this is something important to me.

Unfortunately, I am not within the catchment area (though if I still lived in Hertfordshire, I would be), so as it stands, this is sadly not an option for me but it might be for you! Please take a look at the website if you're interested!

Clare