GUILT...5 little letters that pack a punch way above the space they take up on the page. 5 little letters that are a heavy cross to bear when you are a parent. For some reason, that burden seems to fall even more heavily on mothers. Every tiny thing we do comes loaded with worry, doubt and Continue Reading
The Evil Nip-Nasties: what to do with cracks and blisters
When I was a little girl I was always grazing my knees climbing trees and falling off my bike. I used to love picking at the scabs, worrying away at the edges to see if it was ready to come off. I loved seeing the brand new pink skin underneath. My mum told me scabs were 'nature's plaster' and to Continue Reading
There’s a crisis going on – right on our doorstep
Not in Africa or Asia, but right here, right now, literally miles from your front door. As I type this, there are families with new babies struggling to feed their families, living in a cold, temporary camp and attempting to make up baby bottles without access to hot water or sterilising Continue Reading
Silence Isn’t Always Golden
Dear Adele, Once, when I lived in Spain, walking home one night from work, a man jumped out at me. He grabbed me from behind and threw me to the floor. He tore huge chunks of hair from my head and proceeded to try to rape me, tearing my summer dress from my body. I fought, adrenaline coursing Continue Reading
The Who’s Who of Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding mums can have a variety of people rock up to help in the early days - and in my experience, many parents can be pretty confused as to who's who and what experience and qualifications they have. This seems like a massive shame to me - personally, if I wanted to learn Italian, I'd want Continue Reading
Kalpana
I have a three and a half week old son. His tongue tie wasn't spotted in hospital, despite us asking and me having feeding issues. We were in hospital for a week and asked numerous times. It was only picked up once home by a BfN Supporter. By then I was slowly slipping into depression. I felt Continue Reading
Ouch, Ooh and Ahh: how to undermine breastfeeding in one simple step
I had an interesting day yesterday. I should have been at the ABM Conference but due to waiting for a baby, this doula was stuck in Cambridge, so I attended a local parenting show. There were a few exhibitors in our local town hall so I had a little wander around to see who was there. Now, as a Continue Reading
Mother talks about her experiences with her Tongue Tied baby
https://youtu.be/bxZj-3FS-6o This is Anne Harper, owner of the blog and facebook support group Dispelling Breastfeeding Myths. Here she talks about having 3 children, all with some form of oral restriction and why she chose to travel from N.Ireland to England to get some support and division of her Continue Reading
No pain, no gain? What EXACTLY do we mean by breastfeeding pain?
This article is inspired by a post I wrote on facebook. The post prompted a very long thread of thoughts and feelings. Here is what I wrote: The breastfeeding myth about pain being normal is a tough nut to crack. It is common because women haven't grown up learning how to latch a baby and because Continue Reading
Biological Nurturing, or, get comfy and use those neonatal reflexes!
I have been suggesting laid back postures to the mums I support for some years now. If you don't know what Biological Nurturing (BN) is, have a look at Suzanne Colson's website. The magic that happens when a mother leans back in the chair and makes her whole body (breast to pubic bone) available to Continue Reading