Most couples can anticipate the birth of a first child with joy. After, they then make the transition from being a couple into a family, but there are some who find this a difficult and complex step to negotiate. The preparation for a baby’s arrival is not just about buying the equipment babies now
The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID) today announces its latest advice that breastfeeding your baby can reduce the risk of cot death. The advice, released to launch FSID’s cot death awareness drive Save a Baby Month which runs from 1-31 May, is based on research which showed that babies who were
My first-born, Emma, was 14 months old. I had enrolled in a course, and, with the feeling of my life opening up again, had begun to wean. It was at that time that I read a book called Mothering Your Nursing Toddler. Starting with the assumption that extended breastfeeding is satisfying for both mother
Supporting Our Babies by Showing Our Breasts. The Federation of Commercial TV Stations has performed a welcome back-flip on its rating of an Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) Community Service Announcement. It shows a mother breastfeeding her baby. Its initial assessment and PG rating, with the implication that the sight of ‘too much breast’ might
The information available to women once they have a baby is sadly lacking. All the focus of information is mainly on pregnancy and birth. The postnatal period begins from birth and ends when the baby is six weeks of age. The postnatal period is a very special time when women undergo the transition into
Breech babies are present with their bottoms down and their heads up. When a woman is 28 weeks pregnant, her baby has a 25% chance of being in the breech position. As the pregnancy progresses, the likelihood of a baby staying in the breech position gets smaller. At 33 weeks of pregnancy, there is
The incidence of caesarean births is on the rise. In the past caesareans were not common, but now in Australia almost 1:3 women will give birth by caesarean. Australia greatly exceeds the World Health Organisations recommendation that the caesarean birth rate should not be greater than 10-15%. If a woman gave birth by caesarean,
This is Joshua's birth story. Lack of information or choice, premature labour, medical crises, insensitive or undignified care can all conspire against an active birth and a positive start to mothering. Jane Palmer describes how her son's birth didn't go according to plan. Unsuccessful External Cephalic Version (ECV) I was 35 weeks pregnant and
by Linda Robertson Our story of infertility started in 2001. My husband (Jim) and I had been married for nearly four years. We decided that we were now ready to embark on the journey into parenthood. Jim and I had always wanted to have a family (like most couples). But, as young newlyweds, we
This is Susan's birth story - No epidural, no pain medications, forceps, fourth-degree episiotomy After a perfect pregnancy, my due date of November 5 2001 came and went. I decided not to be induced unless there was a medical reason. There never was. I also planned to go natural, even though it was my
