All posts filed under: Useful Information

Links to useful organisations

Published by Janine Smith

Here are links to a range of organisations and social media accounts for pregnancy, birth and early parenting… For pregnancy & birth… Janine Smith Practice A specialist in pregnancy, birth & early parenting Mother Cuppa MagazineA digital magazine to inform, reassure and empower during pregnancy, for birth and with a young family Mama AcademyHelping babies arrive safely Kicks CountThe baby movement resource and awareness campaign TommysFunding research into stillbirth, premature birth and miscarriage, and providing information for parents-to-be Twins TrustSupporting twins, triplets and more BirthrightsAn authority on human rights in pregnancy and childbirth in the UK Make Birth BetterCampaigning to make birth better Birth Trauma AssociationSupporting women who experience birth trauma Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (RCOG) Guidelines to aid good clinical practice For new parents… Janine Smith Practice A specialist in pregnancy, birth & early parenting Mother Cuppa MagazineA digital magazine to inform, reassure and empower during pregnancy, for birth and with a young family BlissFor babies who are born premature or sick Lullaby TrustSafer sleep for babies BasisBaby sleep information source Pandas FoundationSupport for …

Pregnancy & Birth Words

Published by Janine Smith

Here’s a quick guide to the words, terms and abbreviations that could be part of your pregnancy and birth. A Afterpains Cramping with discomfort or pain as the uterus contracts and shrinks Anaesthetist The doctor who administers epidural, spinals and a general anaesthetic Antenatal The period during pregnancy AROM or Artificial rupture of membranes. Breaking the waters /rupturing the amniotic sac during labour or as part of the induction process to encourage strong contractions Assisted Delivery Birth using ventouse or forceps Augmentation of labour To increase and strengthen contractions after labour has started B Bear Down Pushing during the birth of your baby BMI Body Mass Index – measuring your height and your weight to calculate your healthy weight BP Blood pressure Birth Canal The vagina Birth Centre A midwifery-led maternity unit Birth Pool A large pool of water used for pain relief so a labouring woman’s boobs, bump and back are submerged in the water. Breech When a baby’s position in pregnancy is bum first C Caesarean When your baby is born through an …

Vitamins for babies & children

Published by Janine Smith

A quick Facebook chat with new mums this week has confirmed what I thought – there is a lot of confusion, conflicting advice and lack of information about baby vitamins. So I have attempted to gather together the range of information and discussion to make more sense of baby and child vitamins… Babies The NHS recommends that breastfed babies are given a daily supplement of Vitamin D (8.5-10 micrograms). If your baby has more than 500ml of formula per day, then you do not need to supplement. UNICEF states that giving babies Vitamin D is just a precaution because there is very little evidence of significant deficiency in babies. From speaking to mums and having a google, there is also some confusion about their Vitamin D intake and whether that is enough for their breastfed baby. Kellymom has some brilliant information as well as a great article which refers to research which has found that breastfeeding women would need to take more than the recommended 10mcg: from 50-100mcg would provide enough vitamin D for mum …