Nervous About Giving Birth?
As a first time mum I was very anxious about giving birth. My head was filled with images from the movies where women lay flat on their backs in stirrups, screaming, sweating, surrounded by men in white coats and in one nightmare scenario dying during child birth.
Chats with family members didn’t do much to allay my fears; my Mum recommended that I take as many pain-killing drugs as possible and my mother-in-law suggested an elective caesarean. They had my best interests at heart, but I didn’t feel comfortable handing over the birth of my child to someone else. I wasn’t particularly anti-intervention or pro-natural birth. All I wanted was to ‘not be scared of giving birth’ to my baby.
This article relates Mindful Mum’s search for a better way to birth and experience of hypnobirthing in the UK.
Continue reading “What is hypnobirthing?” →
Whether you are pregnant, breast feeding, starting the weaning process or hiding vegetables in your toddlers meals, fruit and vegetables are paramount to raising a healthy child. In the UK we are advised to eat 5 portions a day from a wide range of fruit and vegetables, but should we be buying organic?
Mindful Mum has created the following guide to picking and choosing organic fruit and vegetables. The guide is based on ‘buying organic’ when the pesticide residues in a particular food are high. There is no need to go organic when the food does not contain high levels of pesticides.
Continue reading “Picking and Choosing Organic Fruit and Vegetables” →
Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is a nutrient you should consume every day if you are pregnant because your body cannot store it. A good rule of thumb is to aim for at least 3 servings of vitamin C each day. If you are a fan of fruit this shouldn’t be a problem. Mindful Mum provides a list of Vitamin C food below and highlights why its such a great nutrient for you and your growing baby.
Continue reading “Best Sources of Vitamin C for Pregnancy” →
Mindful Mum explains the benefits, research required, midwife reaction and a downloadable birth plan for a normal birth with minimal intervention used successfully by a Mindful Mum to deliver her first baby.
Continue reading “How to Write a Good Birth Plan” →
Perfume is a popular pampering gift for a Mum to be, yet scientific research studies across the globe suggest that women should avoid perfume during pregnancy. Based on Mindful Mum’s experience of hunting for a safe perfume during pregnancy, this article looks at the research, perfumes with low toxicity rating (according to the cosmetic safety database) and phthalate free perfumes available in the UK.
Continue reading “How to Find Perfume for a Pregnant Women” →
A study reported in Environmental Health Perspectives and again in Science News links fetal exposure to BPA to behavioural problems in two year old girls. Girls whose mothers were exposed to high levels of BPA in early pregnancy tended to become somewhat more aggressive than normal. The research finds girls somewhat ‘masculinised’ and the boys a bit ‘feminised’.
Continue reading “BPA Linked to Behavioural Problems in Girl Toddlers” →
