The UK National Health Service (NHS) maternity services are promoting disposable nappies by default, undermining the Government's waste strategy and denying parents a fair choice, according to the pressure group the Womens Environmental network (WEN).

Defra (The Department of the Environment) has a target of converting 155,000 households to real nappy use by April 2006, as part of its efforts to reduce household waste. Yet, WEN reports, in most hospitals, parents have little or no access to information and education about real nappies.

In a report, Nappies and the NHS - waste prevention and a fair choice for parents, published in Real Nappy Week on 29th March, WEN recommends ways in which the Department of Health and the NHS can end this contradiction. Where parents are given a fair choice, nappy waste is reduced and parents, health services and local councils all make savings, concludes the report. And it points to many good examples of real nappy education and use in NHS hospitals: at least 23 hospitals around the UK are using cloth nappies on maternity wards.

Ann Link, Coordinator of WEN said, "In the majority of maternity hospitals throughout the UK, disposable nappies are the only nappies demonstrated in ante-natal classes, given out free in Bounty and other freebie packs and in use on maternity wards. As the first point of contact for expectant parents, the NHS plays a highly influential role in the choices made by new parents. Informed choice is encouraged in healthcare and should extend to offering parents an informed choice of nappies. A few paragraphs about 'terries' in Department of Health babycare publications are not enough to balance the insidious promotion of disposable nappies in the NHS."

Exclusivity clauses in contracts between the NHS and Bounty (and other similar schemes) place further restrictions on parents' access to fair information. A gift pack promoting cloth nappies and other 'alternative' products has been prevented from being distributed alongside Bounty in hospitals.

Disposable nappies add to NHS costs. WEN estimates that disposing of nappy waste is costing the NHS about 88p per baby - roughly equivalent to profits from the Bounty Bag system. Hospitals can reduce these costs through the use of real nappies on-ward.