Supplements

Unless you are choosing practitioner grade supplements which are rarely available off the shelf, you will taking inorganic non absorbable forms of nutrients and spending money mostly on expensive wee and (if it's iron) mostly constipation.

Folic Acid - Most pregnancy supplements contain synthetic folic acid which we know increases the likelihood of baby having tongue tie which is a common reasons for feeding issues. Synthetic folic acid can also reduce the body's ability to utilise essential folate which is needed for healthy DNA replication which is obviously at the centre of growing a baby. Although it wouldn't be safe for me to generically recommend a supplement plan, working one to one together means you will get a personalised plan. If we are not working together my best advice is to look out for folinic acid, folate, or methyltetrahydrofolate on the label which are good forms of natural folate.

Vitamin D - The guidelines are for all women to take Vitamin D in pregnancy. I would add to that that it is important for all women to get enough sunshine in their pregnancy. Because Vitamin D is fat soluble, taking it in tablet form with a meal that contains no fat is useless. I would recommend Biocare's Biomulsion D which is well absorbed.

Reflux

Reflux prevention is much easier than reflux cure. Eating properly, having good emotional health, a healthy gut (which includes the mouth) environment and the right supplements are key to relfcu prevention. In order to optimise your health personalised plan is needed. Get in touch HERE to start working with me!

Toxins

Think about protecting your baby and avoiding inhaling or ingesting toxins such as paint fumes, pollution where possible, perfumes, harsh cleaning products, artificial sweeteners and flavour enhancers, excess caffeine and alcohol.

Successful Breastfeeding Starts In Pregnancy

Get informed now and read my FREE breastfeeding information page HERE

Scans - Things to Think About

Having a scan before 12 weeks is something to think about rather than just going with the norm. Dopplers (that the midwife uses to play the heartbeat sound) and scans create significant heat that penetrates through to baby. We know that the delicate cells of a developing baby can be harmed by overheating, the strength of the scan and the frequency will also have an impact. The 12 week scan is a relatively new addition to the pregnancy process in the UK and its medial rationale is questionable. It is very hard to tell much from this scan and often results in causing unnecessary worry about things like birth defects. It has a very high frequency of incorrect positives, meaning parents are told of problems with their baby when their baby is fine. The question is, would you anything different is there was a problem? There is also a huge amount of pressure to tell everyone after this scan and not before. The build up and worry pre 12 weeks in itself is damaging. make an informed decision that is best for you.

Prepare The Area!

It sounds awful, but it's not as bad as you think. Any muscle that we need for a physical challenge would benefit from being used and stretched to help gain elasticity and strength. The perineum is a muscle and so we can help prepare it for labour to make the last stage more comfortable and reduce risk of tearing, as well as speed healing. Although I would say tearing is not as horrendous as it sounds, it will heal quickly and look no different. You literally massage and gently stretch the area using coconut oil or another natural oil helps soften the area. Start around week 30-34 3-4 times per week.

Overdue?

Everyone says babies do not come on their due date; however once your due date has passed everyone expects the baby to have arrived and the obsession and huge amount of pressure 'to perform' can be overwhelming, not to mention completely unhelpful. Babies come when they are ready! I was 16 days overdue myself and had to have daily scans, sit with a heart rate monitor on for an hour each day and have 'the talk' where they told me that basically not to blame them if my baby died. Lovely, just what I needed. My baby was healthy and happy and I was happy to be left alone, but it wasn't easy to stand up for my instincts and go against the grain. Research shows that there should be no issue with babies going two weeks over their due date, which would have saved me 14 days of hassle. We live in a blame culture and unfortunately liability is coming before mother's wellbeing.

The following books are highly recommended as part of your pregnancy and baby's first years, having the insights these books give you is a game-changer. Put don the dross that a celebrity has paid someone to write, or anything to do with Annabel Karmel AKA the baby witch! These books will lay the foundation for a healthy happy family which means good relationships.

The Positive Breastfeeding Book - Prof Amy Brown

The Positive Birth Book - Milli Hill

Informed is Best - Prof Amy Brown

The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will be Glad That You Did) - Philippa Perry

The Wonder Weeks - A Stress-Free Guide to Your Baby's Behaviour - Hetty Van de Rijt, Frans Plooij, Xaviera Plas-Plooij

Preparing for Labour

Any big life event would normally require preparation, although many of us don't invest in this with time or money. I remember my husband saying if this helps you have a better labour by 10% it was well worth it! That encouraged me to put in some time, money and effort in and I reaped the rewards hugely as a result. It's not just hypnobirthing I would like to introduce to you, but also a bit about how your beliefs create your reality. if you've worked with me preconceptually, this won't be a new concept for you to understand.

Hypnobirthing

Despite its name, hypnobirthing is not about being hypnotised into a trance with someone else taking over your mind, quite the opposite in fact. It is a way for you to access your subconscious and influence it positively, giving yourself better resources to make better decisions.

When it comes to birth, which is very much a subconscious experience, hypnobirthing can completely change your experience and potentially how your labour unfolds. A good hypnobirthing course should explain the background of birth and why it has such negative connotations in the modern world, explain the physiology of birth, resources and tools for birth, and how to approach both the up and down phases of birth (contractions and pushing phases). You may choose to do a course local to you, otherwise I can recommend an online course with the Positive Birth Company - Click HERE

Beliefs

Your beliefs run the show. The difference between people who do amazing things and those who don't is belief, very little ability is actually relevant. When you're pregnant, everyone wants to tell you their gory labour details and make you tell them how amazing they are to have survived it. Although birth is a huge achievement, whatever the birth, asking for brownie points from someone who is yet to do it is selfish and unhelpful for you. It's almost a patronising pet talk that only results in the dramatisation of the other person's birth. Think about it, if it was that bad how many families would only have one?

If you think it will hurt it will. I did everything I could to prepare, but consciously I didn't really 100% believe that it would b easy or pain free. I did believe that it could be positive, but more importantly because of the work I had done, my subconscious believed it and that was more important. To change your beliefs you need to change your environment, Block out or avid spending time with people who will speak negatively abut birth. This can be hard when family members are often the biggest culprits in a bid to protect you, but actually makes it worse. There are so many ridiculous old wives tail that get passed down through the generations - I have hard them all and they are all complete LIES.

Fitness

Having a baby is an endurance sport if you like, both emotionally and physically. As well as preparing your mind, preparing your body is just as important. Keeping up fitness with things like swimming, brisk walking, dancing, Pilates, Yoga, Tai Chi is a brilliant way to keep your heart strong and increase your endurance capabilities for labour. If you were a runner before pregnancy, you can keep running pregnancy as long as you feel OK, just avoid starting a new vigorous exercise regime if you're not used to any. If you didn't exercise before, go gently and stick to walking, swimming and Pilates.

Wearing a support belt can help you walk more comfortably, especially when the baby is still sitting quit high in the second trimester. In the run up to labour avoid sitting too much and keep your pelvis open as much as possible but sitting on a Pilates ball instead of a chair, or lie down, and stand and walk more than sit.

Baby's Head Size

We have seen via MRIs done during labour how the baby's head moulds and squishes so much during the time that it is in the birth canal that head circumference becomes irrelevant because it is moulded during labour anyway.

Baby Size

A big baby is often commented on during scans. Most of the time they get the size completely wrong and it turns out it is either an average sized baby or a small baby. So take no notice, they have no idea. If you do have a large baby, it is more likely that the increased size is in length, not width, even if it was width the head is the widest part which we have just discovered is not a problem. Having a baby that is a few inches longer makes no difference to the labour than having one that is slightly shorter.

Mother's Size

Your body made your baby and knows how to birth your baby. The size of your pelvis and your body shape have nothing to do withy how easily you will birth. If that was the case evolution would have created only pear shaped women over time.

Partner's Size

Your body made your baby and knows how to birth your baby. Having a tall partner or partner who was a 'big' baby is as irrelevant. Your partner's mother gave birth to them, so why can't you?