Are you sleeping in a side-lying position? So, I’m here to tell you the truth about side-lying sleeping in pregnancy. One of the most common questions pregnant women ask is about side-lying sleeping. Women are anxious about harming their babies by sleeping in any other position that is not side-lying. The result? Tired and anxious …
I used my TENS machine throughout my early labour phase (which lasted 36 hours!) and well into my active labour phase, right until I stepped in my birth pool. My TENS machine was an ABSOLUTE lifesaver! Whilst it didn’t take away the sensations completely, it made them more manageable and took away the intensity. When …
Perhaps you’ve already heard of the importance of the pelvic floor. It acts like a hammock for our internal organs. It holds up our uterus, bladder, intestines, (basically all your abdominal organs) in place. Throughout pregnancy with your uterus and baby growing and becoming heavier extra strain is placed on the pelvic floor. A weak …
Something is happening! I love reading birth stories, and especially those of home births. So thought I would share the story of how Sienna arrived earthside! My surges started at 2am on Sunday. I had had a brilliant evening beforehand when my cousin came by for dinner – our first post-lockdown get-together. We ended up …
One of the most common concerns for women is the thought of tearing during childbirth. In fact, a quick google search using the keywords “how to reduce the risk of tearing during birth” shows about 380,000 results in 0.47 seconds! Occasionally, during the crowning of the head or birth of the shoulders the skin and …
Collecting colostrum is sometimes termed colostrum harvesting. This is when you hand express colostrum before your baby is born. In a survey in 2016 (by Gestational Diabetes UK), a whooping 77% were not happy with the information and support giving around colostrum harvesting at their hospital. This is one of the reasons why I talked …
My Pregnancy Journey: First trimester My first trimester went by oh so slowly and I was definitely experiencing some common first trimester discomforts. Since we weren’t telling everyone yet, it meant I had to deal with these discomforts without letting on. Below I share these and give you my tips on how to deal with …
There is a growing trend in eating your own placenta for health benefits – this is called placentophagy. You may have heard of some people eating their own placenta and raving about the benefits. Or you may get squeamish at the thought of eating an organ that your body has made! In my last instagram …
What is optimal cord clamping? And why does it differ to delayed cord clamping? Your placenta is an amazing organ that feeds your baby with nutrients from your own oxygenated blood. It also removes your baby’s waste products. At birth, a third of your baby’s blood is still retained inside the placenta and it takes …
I am starting to think of the essentials to pack for my hospital birth bag. Whilst doing research I have come across some common items, which in my opinion are a mistake to pack. Keep reading if you don’t want to make these common mistakes when packing your hospital bag. I’m planning to have a …
