A FAMILY has produced an educational CD ROM for midwives and nurses to help them deal with diabetes in pregnancy.

Mandy Cook, from Canvas Farm, Knayton, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, has been an insulin diabetic for 30 years and almost died after giving birth to third child, Claire, five years ago.

The Cook family set up ManDET (midwifery and diabetes educational trust) to raise money to provide better education for midwives on how to care for pregnant women with diabetes.

ManDET is now run as a memorial to Claire, who developed dilated cardio-myopathy in January 2000. She later underwent a heart transplant in Newcastle's Freeman Hospital, but died in June 2000.

The CD ROM was launched in front of doctors, nurses and midwives from across the North-East at Solberge Hall, near Northallerton.

Staff from the Friarage Hospital, Northallerton, were presented with the first copy.

Mandy's husband, Andrew Cook said: "Mandy had Claire and then 48 hours later she collapsed and we nearly lost her. It was after that when the midwives said they only had a basic knowledge of diabetes in pregnancy that we thought we had to try and produce something they can refer to if there is an emergency."

The family also fund raise for CHUF - the Children's Heart Unit Fund at the Freeman.

The CD ROM cost £8,000 and took two years to produce. It was put together by a Leeds-based multi-media company and will be sold to hospitals nationwide.

Mr Cook said: "We started with the fundraising to educate midwives about what can go wrong during pregnancy and what we have produced is a database that will be at the fingertips of the midwives if a mum with diabetes does come in. It will be updated by the hospitals as time goes on and is a vital reference point."