Author: Janine Smith

Introducing the Mother Cuppa Lounge

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A wonderful little online space for you to read, learn about and discuss pregnancy, birth, babies and being a family. The Mother Cuppa Lounge is a useful, supportive place to access reliable information – based on evidence and experience – to give you a boost as well as a space to ask questions. With ongoing information, support and reassurance, it will bring expectant and new parents something a bit different: There will be a monthly birth topic: with weekly birth posts and conversations about: contractions, birth support, using the birth space, birth plans, mindset for labour and birth, managing your energy, expectations v reality, what you can do, being a birth partner, using your breathing, choosing where to have your baby. what you need to know, being at the centre of your care and baby preparation There will be a monthly postnatal topic: with weekly posts and conversations about: recovery, unsettled babies, growth spurts, routines, managing two or more children, baby development, making comparisons, finding what works, exhaustion, isolation, friendships & relationships, your needs, guilt, …

Conversations & Questions this week

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This week has been a real mix of first and second time parents – some are pregnant, some are in the thick of it with their baby. As ever no two weeks are the same and there has been a range of antenatal and postnatal questions, comments and conversations this week. Here’s a brief round-up of what we talked about It really does help to talk it all through, to plan and to focus on what would help you most. My job is to build you up, to give you the space to talk, discuss and ask questions and to have more knowledge and confidence. You can message me below with any questions or queries. Based in the North East and working with parents everywhere Consultations | Groups | Digital Guides | Mother Cuppa Lounge

SHAPES research study

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If you are pregnant or you are a new mum, would you like to provide feedback and help with a new maternity research study? SHAPES is aiming to identify which women might benefit from additional care during pregnancy.  As someone who is using, or who has recently used, maternity services, your input and experience is invaluable to help the study be more effective. What is the SHAPES research study? Maternity units currently use BMI to identify which women might need additional care during pregnancy. But BMI cannot tell how much fat tissue someone has or where it is stored. The SHAPES study aims to explore whether other measurements work better than BMI to identify who would benefit the most from additional care during pregnancy. You can read more on the SHAPES website. How can you help? We need two pregnant women or new mums to take part in the next steering group meeting, which updates and discusses the SHAPES study. Being able to contribute your perspective, experience and understanding adds real value to the study and to the researchers. What …

For You

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With consultations for you, the person behind the parent, you can work through different family and personal challenges while balancing the needs of being a parent. Going beyond the postnatal period, these sessions focus on the issues affecting you as you and your children get older and the challenges change. Life can be busy and you may be juggling the needs of your family with work, being a partner and trying to meet your own needs. These consultations are about having more clarity and focus and being better equipped for juggling the different demands and managing the chaos of family life, while also looking after you. Consultations For You: you can talk through… being a parent loss of identity feeling overwhelmed and in need of some thinking space managing everyday anxiety needing better life balance developing effective coping strategies focusing on the motherload talking through the parenting, work or family challenges managing stress and boosting your wellbeing being the parent you want to be needing to focus on you to talk through loss and grief …

birth trauma

Experiencing birth trauma

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Birth trauma can be different for each women who is affected by the birth of their baby. It can be caused by birth injury or by a frightening birth where you may have felt that either you or your baby may have been in danger. My birth trauma came from a manual removal of my placenta when I was taken to an operating theatre for a procedure which involved a spinal anaesthetic, stirrups and an obstetrician rummaging around in my uterus. It was a fairly routine procedure, I wasn’t bleeding and there was no emergency. So where did my trauma come from? I believe it was caused by a few factors… I was alone in a room full of people, who were talking around me and about me but not to me. I felt vulnerable and scared there was a chance this could be a bigger issue than it seemed I was away from my baby, who was being assessed in SCBU and who would most probably due to have surgery that day it took …