'Baby care brands raising prices at faster rate than inflation'

Baby care in Britain has become a tad more expensive as families have been hit with price rises far above the rate of inflation for baby items such as nappies and wipes.

According to data from the comparison website Trolley, some family favourite baby care brands have raised their prices at a faster rate than inflation rates.

The price of a 28-pack of Pampers nappies has jumped by 37 percent to £9.44 compared with the same time last year, according to Trolley, while Pampers baby wipes has increased by 26pc to £12.25.

Procter & Gamble, which owns the Pampers brand, had said in its last report to investors that its costs were vulnerable to changes in commodity prices, in particular paper-based materials such as pulp.

Parents have been confronted with higher prices at rival Huggies too, Trolley reported, as the price of Huggies baby wipes has climbed by 20 percent in the past 12 months to £10.17.

Telegraph quoted a spokesman for Huggies as saying that while the maker tried to offer its customers best value, significant rises in its production costs had made it necessary to increase prices on some of its products.

Apart from baby care products, prices of baby food are also on the rise.

The price of a baby food jar of spaghetti with tomatoes and mozzarella from HiPP has surged 21 percent in the past 12 months to £1.03, Trolley found.

According to a poll by the analyst YouGov, more than three quarters of new parents were worried about the cost of essential baby products. Over half are already struggling to afford new items, and close to three in 10 have either cut back, or gone without food themselves, to be able to afford essentials for their newborn.

New parents in Yorkshire and London were affected the most, where 69 percent and 59 percent respectively said that they were struggling to pay for necessities for their baby.