Alcohol in Pregnancy

Wednesday, 04 December 2019 / Published in Antenatal, Labour, Meet the Midwife, Midwife, Pregnancy
In 2016, the UK Chief Medical Officer published its guidance on low risk drinking.  Within this guidance, there was specific advice on drinking in pregnancy.  The recommendation took a precautionary stance, stating the simplest advice was to avoid alcohol in pregnancy to be certain there was no harm caused to the unborn baby. This was

Hypnobirthing: can it help to ease pain and anxiety during childbirth?

Tuesday, 19 March 2019 / Published in Labour, Labour & Birth
Hypnobirthing is currently all the rage in celebrity circles, but what exactly is it and can it really help to relieve labour pains? Liz Halliday, Deputy Head of Midwifery at Private Midwives, spoke with Net Doctor about self-hypnosis and childbirth Take a look here to find out everything you need to know about the birthing

Why Meghan Markle cradles her baby bump

Friday, 08 March 2019 / Published in In The News, Labour, Labour & Birth
Embed from Getty Images People are very interested in the pregnancy of Meghan Markle and a series of new pictures shows the princess cradling her baby bump fondly, but is there a reason why she is pictured doing this so often? – Liz Haliday our deputy head of midwifery, has suggested that mother’s feel that

2018 UK Maternity Report

Wednesday, 28 March 2018 / Published in Labour, Labour & Birth, Midwife, Pregnancy, Uncategorized
Today, mums-to-be could be forgiven for thinking that motherhood is more complicated than it has ever been. From experiencing pressure to breastfeed or to even forego pain relief during birth, to conflicting advice about whether or not drinking alcohol is safe, mums-to-be often receive a wide range of different messages from a variety of sources

Hugs not drugs

Tuesday, 16 May 2017 / Published in Labour, Labour & Birth
The hormone that drives the rhythm of labour and birth is known as the “Love Hormone” and the great news is that it is released when we hug one another! The “Love Hormone” is produced in the posterior pituitary gland and is a peptide of 9 amino acids with a hexagonal shaped molecule the same

Everything Changes

Tuesday, 16 May 2017 / Published in Labour, Labour & Birth, Midwife
Change is the one constant in this universe and as signs of summer are all around us we see evidence of this. As a midwife supporting a small caseload of pregnant women I am privileged to support them during a period of profound change in their lives. The internal hormonal shifts begin immediately when you

Due Dates

Tuesday, 16 May 2017 / Published in Labour, Labour & Birth
Almost all modern women acquire a due date early in pregnancy and understand that this date signifies an optimum time frame during which human pregnancy should end. However researchers have challenged received wisdom around the notion of the average length of pregnancy (Mittendorf et al1990, 1993, Mittendorf & Williams 1991, van der Kooy 1994), Other

Have a private midwife – because you’re worth it!

Monday, 24 April 2017 / Published in Labour, Labour & Birth, Midwife
Here at Private Midwives we think you deserve an individual approach for your birth support. We believe whole heartedly that you deserve to have the continued support of a midwife, so that you get to know her and she in turn learns about your hopes and fears and helps you to feel relaxed and cared

Your pregnancy – weeks 28 to 32

Monday, 30 November 2015 / Published in Home Birth, Labour, Labour & Birth, Midwife

As your bump pushes up against your lungs and you have extra weight to carry around, you may feel breathless.

The Birth

Wednesday, 18 November 2015 / Published in breastfeeding, Home Birth, Labour, Labour & Birth, Midwife, Newborn Care

One thing I wondered about before I had my home birth - was it going to be better than my hospital births?