Birth & Baby Network

For parents on Tyneside

May 1

7 tips for a happy and healthy pregnancy

by Janine Rudin

1.     Eat well 
I know too well how this is not always easy because when we feel sick, tired and, generally, a bit rough it’s easy to eat junk and fall into the biscuit barrel. And some days we can feel like we are never full!  Try to eat a decent meal a day, with a splattering of fruit throughout the day to balance out the chocolate! Remember to drink water too –  being dehydrated can make you feel tired and give you headaches.

2.     Rest and sleep 
Getting through a day at work or with your toddler means you have to keep going but, when it comes to the evening, if you are shattered try not to fight it – go to bed! You are making another human being and the tiredness can feel like you have been drugged so you need to rest.

3.     Exercise
You might feel that you want to wait until you are out of the haze of the first trimester, when you have a little more energy but even just going for a walk is going to help you feel re-energised and healthy.

If you fancy a class to meet other expectant mums and improve your fitness, The Birth & Baby Network has Aerobics, Pilates, Aqua Aerobics and Yoga instructors, who provide courses specifically for pregnant women.

4.     Relax  
Relaxation is not indulgent it’s essential, especially in pregnancy. Being able to totally relax means you de-stress and ease tension, which is good for you and your baby.

Book yourself in for Relax & Breathe, pregnancy massage or reflexology sessions to help you relax and de-stress.

5.     Aches & pains
As your baby grows and your body changes, you can develop aches in your back, neck and/or pelvis. It’s worth contacting a Chiropractor for an assessment, to see if you could benefit from a treatment.

6.     Prepare for birth
At some point during pregnancy, most parents decide they need more support to help them prepare for the birth of their baby. Antenatal classes are a great way to gain information and ask all the questions you need to feel more informed and reassured.

7.     Talk
If this isn’t your first baby or you are feeling very anxious about the birth of your baby, it can be worth talking it through with someone. This can help you get to the root of your anxiety and provide you with opportunity of easing any stress you may feel in pregnancy. Ask to speak to you midwife or you can contact Birth & Baby Basics for support.

 

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Apr 26

Breathing to stay calm

by Janine Rudin

 

What’s this breathing for labour all about then? You know how to breathe – you have done it pretty well up to now so why do you need to learn to breathe for labour?

 Learning to relax and breathe for labour is so important and I know it has made a difference to so many women’s experience of labour and birth. Here’s why…

  • Labour can be an intense time of incredible emotions, discomfort and pain, exhaustion and new physical experiences, with uncertainty and fear thrown in for good measure.  Breathing gives you a positive focus as your body works hard.
  • In labour, your body needs you to be as relaxed and calm as possible to produce the right balance of hormones to help you contract, to reduce any pain you are experiencing and to help you conserve your energy. If you feel panicky, scared and overwhelmed for a period of time, chances are your contractions will hurt more than they need to, your labour may slow and you may feel exhausted.
  • If you dread every contraction, your labour is not going to be a positive experience but if you can use your breathing with each contraction, you have something calm and positive to focus on.
  • Using simple breathing techniques has worked for women having straightforward labours as well as more complicated births, where they have needed to stay calm to keep panic away and to stay involved in any decisions.
  • It’s easy, simple and straightforward to learn and to use and it makes you relaxed, which benefits you and your baby in pregnancy and in labour.
  • Everyone can do it
  • If the alternative is panicking and feeling out of control, then breathing for labour to stay calm has got to be worth investing some time and energy into.
  • Focusing on your breathing during a contraction is a great distraction, otherwise you might just focus on how uncomfortable or painful it is.

Getting started

  • Learn how to relax! And this doesn’t just mean chilling out and watching TV. Really relaxing means focusing on your body and your breathing, switching off and getting to know what your body feels like when it is relaxed, when your breathing slows and deepens and there is no tension in your body.
  • In Relax & Breathe sessions, which are held at The RVI and in North Shields, you will be able to completely switch off, relax and de-stress, while learning how to focus on your breathing to stay calm and stress-free in pregnancy and in labour. You will also be given different techniques for working with your contractions.
  • Making time to relax is great preparation for labour and birth because it’s great for you and it’s great for your baby too!

 

Here’s some of the feedback:

“My husband couldn’t believe how calm I was, I was just breathing through my contractions.”

“I just had your words in my head – I took each contraction one at a time. If I started to feel panicky, I just closed my eyes and focused on my breathing.”

“It really made a difference, I felt calm. My midwife couldn’t believe how calm I was.”

“The sessions were so relaxing, it was my time to just switch off and focus on me and my baby.”

“It was the best thing I could have done – I don’t think Thank You really conveys what you gave me – but Thank You!”

“I managed to get to 10cms with my tens machine and my breathing-my blowing bubbles!! I just kept remembering what we had practised and anytime I didn’t have control of my breathing I just thought ‘bubbles’!!”

“The breathing works! Thank you, thank you. I blew bubbles all the way through my labour and my midwife couldn’t believe how calm I was.”

So if you are unsure about how you are going to handle your contractions, if you are feeling frightened or you just want to feel as best prepared for labour as possible – come along to some Relax & Breathe classes, you have nothing to lose but so much to gain…

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Apr 18

Real Nappies, are they for you?

by Janine Rudin

It’s Real Nappy Week, so Rebecca Seal from Washables is going to talk nappies – washables, cloth nappies, real nappies and re-usable nappies…

When you’re expecting a new baby it seems there a million decisions to be made. Surely using washable nappies instead of disposables is going to make your life even more difficult, right? WRONG!

Nappies are revolting, that’s the plain and simple truth no matter what you choose. To be honest as a new parent you get used to the poo, you even get interested in it. Is my baby pooing too much? Too little? Is it the right consistency? Colour? The contents of a washable nappy are no more or less disgusting than a disposable nappy so let’s track a pooey nappy from that point on.

I am a DISPOSABLE…you will probably wrap me in an individual plastic nappy sack and throw me in the corner of a room until I go outside to the wheely bin because I’m too stinky to put in the normal bin. I cost an average of about 9 pence and you’ll probably use about 6000 of me on one child. Which means you’ll be about a grand or so poorer. I also don’t biodegrade so every disposable nappy EVER used is still in landfill sites. In fact, you alone will probably throw away enough disposable nappies a year to fill a skip.

 

I am a WASHABLE… When you take me off your babies bottom, put me in a nappy pail (anything plastic with a lid) and when you are ready sling me in the machine at 60°. That’s it. No boiling, no soaking, no fuss. The machine does all the work. You can dry me on the line, the clothes horse or in the tumble drier and there are different varieties of nappy to suit each family. Cost-wise you can get all you need for between £200-£400, even less if you buy pre-loved nappies. And of course if you have another baby you can use me again for free.

 

Two of the main reasons that parents choose real nappies is that they feel that using them is better for their baby…

  • Babies are less likely to get nappy rash because real nappies are soft and breathable with no chemicals, which helps prevent nappy rash.
  • A baby using washable nappies is more likely to potty train earlier and have better bladder control. This is because your toddler will feel wet in their cloth nappies and therefore associate weeing with the wetness they feel in their nappy. Babies in disposables don’t make this association as the gel in the nappy absorbs the liquids.

 

And the environment…

  • 8 million disposable nappies are thrown away in Britain every day. They take between 200-500 years to decompose, so the first disposable ever worn still exists!
  • Before potty training about 6,000 disposable nappies will be used by one baby as opposed to re-using the same 24-50 real nappies
  • One cup of crude oil is needed to make just one disposable nappy
  • To keep one baby in disposable nappies for two and a half years, four and a half trees will be cut down to produce the nappies

 

Washable nappies are easy to use, they look and feel lovely and they are hardly any extra work at all…

 

“ I reckon it adds on an extra half an hour to my week – washing and drying the cloth nappies. With a baby I’m doing loads of washing anyway, what’s one more load!” 

“I used them and looooooved them!! The main reason for trying them was due to the absolutely astonishing amount of plastic waste from disposables. The reusables are gorgeous and I don’t think it adds anything to the laundry, they don’t need boiling so a normal wash was perfect! 

“I used them and loved them. I used them cause they sounded good (environment and all) but they also looked fab! You may need to research before and try different styles to find the right ones for your baby but they are very easy to use!”

“I bought a second hand birth-to-potty set when I was pregnant for about £40. I combine with disposables when life’s a little complicated or we are on holiday but they are so easy to wash and they dry overnight on an airer. I am really surprised at how easy they are as I thought I wouldn’t be able to handle it!”

 

And another reason to use them is that they are so cute…

 

 

I have sold washable nappies for about ten years now. I have used them on my own two children and I use them every day in my job as a childminder. I encourage all my washable nappy customers to get in touch with me if they ever come across any problems as most can be solved very easily. And customers say how easy the nappies are to get used to.

For a free washable nappy demonstration please get in touch  so you can make an informed decision about whether washable nappies are right for you. I’m happy to do groups such as antenatal classes or a one-to-one session.

Rebecca Seal
07884 400467

www.washables.co.uk
info@washables.co.uk

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Apr 15

Birth & Baby Basics

by Janine Rudin

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Apr 2

Getting ready for birth again

by Janine Rudin

 

Being pregnant again can be a time of reflection about the pregnancy and birth of your previous babies. As you prepare to give birth again, it may be that you just want to focus on your baby and your labour or you might have more issues relating to the birth if it was complicated, you didn’t feel in control or it didn’t match your expectations.

 

Labour can be raw, intense, powerful, emotional and, for some women, traumatic. If memories or thoughts are troubling you about your previous pregnancies or births, you may need to focus on them, rather than ignore them, to try to positively prepare for birth and enjoy this pregnancy.

 

So what can you do?

 

  • Be honest about how you feel, which may be painful. I am a big fan of writing it all down – it helps to offload and work out what aspects of your previous pregnancy and birth is troubling you.

 

  • Enquire about a Debrief Service at the hospital where you gave birth – a midwife will go through your notes with you and this can help you make sense of what happened, especially if the birth didn’t go to plan. You can also use this service if you had a homebirth.

 

  

  • If you experienced a difficult birth, you may feel that you want to give birth somewhere else. Some women choose a homebirth, a birthing centre or a different maternity unit to feel like they have made a positive change and to feel in control.

 

  • Hiring an independent midwife can also an option, especially if your local maternity service feels unable to support the birth you want this time.

 

  • Some good antenatal classes are also worth considering too – Birth & Baby Basics provides some good options for second time parents:

BIRTH PREPARATION DAYS are a great way for expectant parents to refresh, debrief and prepare

RELAX & BREATHE sessions are a proven way – according to the feedback – of de-stressing and learning how to handle anxiety and tension in pregnancy as well as in labour.

ONE TO ONE SESSIONS are sometimes the best option for busy parents who may need to discuss a difficult birth experience

Take it easy, be kind to yourself and use your breathing to relax if you start to feel anxious.

If you want to talk, get in touch and we’ll take it step by step.

Janine
x

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