By Stacey Currie Growing up without my Mum was difficult in many ways. I missed out on all those mother-daughter chats, even the one about the birds and the bees. I wasn’t aware of the consequences of having sex and I didn’t know the symptoms of pregnancy. Also, I had no idea I was
A growing number of young mums and dads are turning to Playgroups for young parents for peer support and valuable socialisation through play for their children. Consequently these parents in their teens and early twenties, are setting aside a few hours each week to attend Playgroup with their babies and toddlers. What is Playgroup?
Talking to children has always been fundamental to language development, but new research reveals that the way we talk to children is key to building their ability to understand and create sentences of their own. The exaggerated speech we naturally use with young children is a special register – often called ‘motherese’. “We use
It is such an exciting time when your infant begins to learn to talk. It all begins with unrecognisable sounds and you’re quickly jumping up and down certain you heard the word Mum or Dad come out of your baby’s mouth. As children grow past this stage often parents start to worry about how
By Wendy Mackay One of the basics of rules of aromatherapy is that essential oils must be diluted to be applied to the skin. Making your own massage oil can be a wonderful way of using essential oils. Massage oils can also be used as body oils, as a way of moisturising and protecting
Breastfeeding is a highly emotive, politically charged topic within the maternal and child health care industry. There are many strong views around the ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs’ of breastfeeding which can leave new mums feeling conflicted, confused and under unnecessary pressure. Never the less as a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner, not a lactation specialist
We have known for sometime now that smoking during pregnancy can increase the risk of miscarriage, infertility, some pregnancy problems, premature birth, low birth weight babies, more babies dying before and after birth, increased respiratory problems and the risk of cot death. What has not been known until now is how smoking increases the
“When Belle was born I went through such a mixture of emotions,” says Angela. “On the one hand I had this beautiful baby, and should have been so grateful, but on the other hand I had all this grief about what I had missed out on and what could have been. When people asked
Waterbirth facilitates gentle, safe and empowering birth. This waterbirth photo gallery celebrates the wonderful option of waterbirth. Photos can say far more than words. Click on the image to see it at full size. We'd love to recieve your photos to add to this page. If you would like to submit your waterbirth photos,
While hospitals make claim to state-of-the-art facilities and the highest standards of patient care, many women leave these same facilities feeling broken and violated, the victims of birth trauma. While a relatively new term, rejected by many in the medical community, birth trauma has been linked to postnatal depression, anxiety, and feeding and bonding
