Mothers-to-be are receiving too much care in pregnancy, causing them inconvenience and anxiety and possibly reducing their chances of having a normal birth, official guidance said yesterday.
There are too many checks and measures during the nine-month antenatal period that serve no useful purpose and are based on ritual not science.Better care, but less of it, would improve the experience of the 600,000 women who give birth each year, the guidance, published by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice), says. The fifth seed was clearly outplayed by the Briton in the opening set but recovered to claim victory despite failing to find his best form.. It is an ambitious goal for the British No 1, who has been suffering from a cold, with only one more tournament after this one, the Tennis Masters Paris. Henman will next face the Czech lucky loser Tomas Zib, who disappointed Swiss fans by overcoming the junior French Open champion, Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6 , 7-6.Earlier, Switzerland’s Wimbledon champion and the No 2 seed here, Roger Federer, began his campaign for a first title on home carpet with an easy 6-1, 6-3 victory over his compatriot, Marc Rosset.Jiri Novak overcame an early scare to move into the second round with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-0, win over the British qualifier Arvind Parmar. “It is also great for my confidence to beat a player like Verkerk, who is in the top 20 and to beat him so comfortably.”Still without a coach, Henman is looking to break back into the top 20 by the end of the season.

He won the title in 1998 and 2001, and reached the final in 1999 but finished as runner-up to Karol Kucera.”I’ve had a lot of success here and that’s given me confidence coming here,” said Henman, the former world No 4 who has dropped to 32 in the ATP entry rankings because of a nagging shoulder injury this season. “The English not only have quality, but they cheat in the loose and at the line-out,” he said. “In the past, people reproached us for getting round the rules. Now, it is England’s turn.” Brunel accused Martin Johnson, the England captain, of “playing the man rather than the ball” at line-outs, while Laporte singled out Neil Back, the Leicester flanker, for criticism. “He gets in positions where he should be penalised, and we have talked about this with the referees,” he said.And Berbizier? “England have often waged this kind of propaganda war, so it serves them right,” he commented Happy days.. Tim Henman had little trouble dispatching the seventh-seeded Dutchman, Martin Verkerk, 6-2, 6-3, in the opening round of the Swiss Indoor tournament last night.

So, too, did Fabien Pelous, the long-serving lock forward, and Pierre Berbizier, the scrum-half who played for France in the 1987 World Cup final and coached them to third place in 1995.Pelous appeared the most upset. Bernard Laporte, the Tricolore coach, and his assistant, Jacques Brunel, joined the Wallabies in complaining about English chicanery in the contact areas. “It is the one thing Samoans feel they have given to the world, and it needs support and understanding.” In the light of all this, the sudden appearance of France on the anti-England bandwagon already packed with purple-faced Australian pundits seemed more than a little ridiculous. Boe wants the board to take a second look at player eligibility – “There are wonderful Samoan players who will never be seen on the international stage because they have played seven-a-side rugby for New Zealand,” he said, incredulously – and would welcome a new, more inclusive tours policy that would allow the island unions to maximise income.”Rugby is not just a game in Samoa, but a cultural phenomenon,” he pleaded. This development has confirmed Boe in his suspicion of the NZRFU and their motives in respect of their Pacific neighbours. New Zealand have never played a Test match in the islands – a sporting scandal of significant proportions – and by holding dozens of Samoan-qualified players to strict provincial contracts, they have effectively drained the pool of available talent. “It is quite clear that the NZRFU wants Samoa as a feeder union,” Boe said.Because the islanders have no voice on the IRB council, there is little immediate prospect of a move towards re-establishing a competitive balance between the haves and the have-nots.

They cannot walk away from this.” Strong words, honest words And Boe has paid a price for his outspokenness. Initially loaned to the Samoans by his principal employers, the New Zealand Rugby Football Union, he has now been informed that his contract back home will not be renewed. I look at what England have and I don’t envy them at all, because I’ve coached at Super 12 level in an environment where things run like clockwork and I know that there are more important things in life. But if Samoa and teams like them are continually disadvantaged by being denied access to their players and to regular competition at the top level, they will fall away. The International Rugby Board have a responsibility to the global game. This present Samoan team cannot be compared to the teams of 1995 and 1999, because we do not have the number of senior players we had then.