The Year of the Earth Dog.

Greetings once again from Singapore.
February 16/17th see’s in the Chinese New Year of the Earth Dog. Your birth date can determine a lot about who you are as a person. According to Chinese astrology, the date can also influence your personality.

If your baby is going to be born after the 17th then you are expecting a dog. The dog is considered to be a very auspicious animal. Babies born in the year of the dog will grow up to be people who are characterised by their loyalty, independence and friendly nature. They are known to be responsible, honest and cleaver but also have a short temper and are very stubborn!

This year is an Earth Dog, Thea’s people have serious communication skills and are responsible hard workers. They will experience GOOD FORTUNE in wealth and travel.

The best match for a ‘dog’ is someone born in the year of the rabbit because both animals have similar personalities such as sensitivity and compassion. While dogs are generally well liked they have difficult relationships with Dragons and Sheep!

Those born in the year of the dog have lucky numbers which include, 3,4 and 9 and their lucky colours are red, green and purple.

Famous dogs include: Prince William, Mickael Jackson, Kelly Clarkson, Ellen DeGeneres, Madonna, Mariah Carey and Justin Bieber. So you are in good company!

Hospitals here in Singapore are very busy just before, and on the first day of the CNY, with Mothers-to-be trying to influence the day their babies are born. These days one can ask for a c’section!

Despite it being a National Holiday weekend here, all the Hospitals are fully staffed and open for emergencies and births. So please don’t be anxious if your little one decides to make an appearance over CNY.

GONG XI FA CAI.
To everyone.
Kiki

CHRISTMAS MADNESS!

Greetings! 

It will be December in 4 days! If pregnant and due in December you may have already got a head start with all your Christmas shopping in preparation for the birth of your baby. If not, then you may be getting ready to brave the crowds. Here in Singapore where the local schools are already on holiday and the shops started playing Christmas songs in November, Christmas shopping is quite a challenge!

Here is a script for some RELAXATION! Good to prepare for labour and just to calm you down if you feel stressed after shopping!

1.  Get into a comfortable position sitting or lying on the sofa.

2. Shut your eyes and let your body relax by going floppy. Relax each body part from head to toe as quickly as possible while breathing slowly in and then slowly out. Not deeply, but slow and long.

3. Put your tongue to the roof of your mouth and let your jaw drop. 

4. LET GO.good.

5. Now in your minds eye picture a beautiful stretch of beach. You are walking along the sand near the ocean and the water is lapping at your feet with the gentle waves. You can feel the sand sinking underneath your feet as you walk. You feel cool and calm, everything is wonderful.

6. The sand is a pale golden colour and the water azure blue. Look around you, what can you see?

7. Bright palm trees gently blowing in the breeze, boats bobbing on the ocean? you choose.

8. Now I want you to see yourself walking towards a small hut, as you get closer to it you can see that it is not a hut but a beautiful little house nestled on the edge of the water. 

9. Look inside and you can see and hear people chatting and laughing. You are quite close now and they can see you too, they wave and call out your name. Wave back. Now you see that they are your family, they have been waiting for you.

10. You smile and walk towards them ad as you do you notice that you are cradling your baby in your arms, he/she has been born, the birth was exactly as you imagined it would be, gentle and calm and 

you feel exhilarated, empowered and happy.

I love working in the the delivery ward with a couple having a baby over the Christmas holidays, it really is a jolly time. HAPPY CHRISTMAS to one and ALL.

MIND OVER MATTER.

Greetings! What kind of preparation are you doing for your labour and birth?

Lamaze, Bradley, Active Birth, Calm Birth? There are so many to choose from theses days.

 26 years ago when I had my first baby in Ealing London there were 2 to choose from: Lamaze breathing classes or National Childbirth Trust Classes. Slim pickings I hear you say, well luckily for me I was also teaching classes under the name 'Kiki Porter MOTHERCRAFT.' Mine were a technique of relaxation and slow breathing that if done properly stopped you from fighting your contractions while you were rigid with pain and instead let you relax and allow your birthing body to dilate your cervix with only discomfort.

So here I am living and working in Singapore 26 years later and for the past 7 years I have been teaching HypnoBirthing. Written by an American woman in the 90's it is now translated into 20 languages and taught world wide. It is taught by practitioners and not medics, although I am actually both, and designed for birthing centres and home births. In Singapore where they practice Doctor-lead-births generally in hospital, the couples and the Dr's have to come to a compromise but it is generally working very well.

Hypnobirthing Courses are offered all over Singapore in many guises, the original Marie Mongan Method and others that have either adapted or re written to be something new and exciting but all of them teaching the principals we taught all those years ago of deep relaxation, visualisation and breathing to allow the birthing body to take over and birth your baby easily.

It is all Mind over Matter. No matter what you are doing, your mind will control how your body reacts to situations and stimulus in different ways. We have the ability to control our minds and hence how our bodies react, to for example PAIN.

I highly recommend Antenatal preparation not just for labour but for breastfeeding and baby care. The classes give you a chance to meet other couples and to choose which of the many tools you want to learn how to use during labour. Don't forget the more you prepare the more tools you have on your tool belt to use for labour and birth. 

KNOWLEDGE BREEDS CONFIDENCE after all.  Kiki  

 

TOIL AND TROUBLE! JUNE 2017

Greetings to you all! 
The Summer is here at last. In Singapore the temperature does not vary much throughout the year but we do have a Rainy and a Hot season. Humidity stays at 75-90% all year around. Anyway I digress!
You didn't get my May blog because of technical difficulties, well user error I fear.

SHIP:
Did you know that when you are pregnant and would like to take a cruise on a cruise ship that you must be less than 25 weeks pregnant or you can't sail?
 A family I know booked and paid for a 4 day cruise and were waiting on the dock to board when they looked at the mother and said how many weeks pregnant are you? she showed them a doctors letter stating that she was fit to g on the ship but they refused it saying she was already 25 weeks pregnant and was not able to go on a cruise.
 They were furious and asked to see the Captain who pointed to the very small print on the website that stated passengers could only travel by ship below 24 weeks gestation of pregnancy. He sent them home.

WHY? well from what I can gather they don't have the medical facilities on board a cruise ship or the means to get a patient to hospital with a PREMATURE baby. Babies are viable ie can live outside the mother's body from 24+ weeks gestation onwards. A normal term baby is from 37 weeks gestation.

FLYING:
How pregnant can you be to fly on an aeroplane? of course that depends on the airline, but generally you can fly with a doctor's letter until you are 32 weeks gestation. Once past 35 weeks you are more likely to go into labour and if on board a plane would cause all kinds of problems for the staff!
Should they turn the plane around or not?
Is there a midwife on board the flight to assess the situation?
 Do you want to have your baby in the exotic location you are flying to on holiday?
 IF NOT then don't fly after 32 -35 weeks.

During the last weeks of pregnancy most women 'nest" and don't want to wander to far from home instinctively! TRUST YOUR BODY! It will tell you what it needs.
Until July .
Kiki

EASTER & EGGS.

HAPPY EASTER TO YOU ALL.
At Easter I think of the holidays of my childhood, my father always cooked a leg of Lamb on the spit with brown sugar and Anchovy rub on the skin. I remember the delicious smell it gave off as it cooked making my mouth water. I loved those family lunches.

During your pregnancy there are some foods that you MUST avoid eating because they could cause food poisoning, and the presence of bacteria, chemicals or parasites in the food could harm your unborn baby.

SOFT CHEESES & PATE
Don't eat mould-ripened cheeses such as Brie or Camembert, and others with a similar rind including Goat cheese, soft blue veined cheeses, Danish Blue, Gorgonzola and Roquefort.
Any cheeses that are made from mould can contain the listeria bacteria which causes listeriosis.
Even a mild form of this infection during pregnancy may lead to miscarriage, stillbirth or severe illness of the newborn.

RAW EGGS.
Don't eat raw or uncooked eggs or foods that contain them, such as homemade mayonnaise may contain Salmonella which causes food poisoning.

UNPASTEURISED MILK.
Don't eat anything that is unpasteurised during your pregnancy because of bacteria infections.

RAW MEAT.& RAW FISH SUCH AS SUSHI.
Don't eat raw or undercooked meat and fish as they may contain parasites, or toxoplasmosis-causing parasites. This includes cured/fermented meats such as salami, chorizo, pepperoni and parma ham.

VITAMIN A.
Too much Vitamin A can harm your baby so avoid foods that are high in Vitamin A such as liver, high does vitamin supplements, fish liver oil and any supplements containing vitamin A.

 CAFFEINE.
Limit to 1 cup of caffeine daily. Too much can cause low birth weight.

There are may different cultural taboo foods during pregnancy! My advice is that they are taboo for a reason. Don't risk the health of your unborn baby.  HAPPY HOLIDAYS.

Am I pregnant or not? A February Question.

We are already 6 weeks into 2017! Amazing how times flies when you are going about your daily life.

I am often asked by people whose period is a few days or weeks late ''Am I pregnant?" It is a difficult one to answer without more information.

1. Have you had sex in the past few weeks? if No, then you are not pregnant. To be pregnant one has to have sex when the woman is fertile, i.e and egg has been released. A woman's body usually tells her this is about to happen by producing a different kind of mucous, sticky, stringy and opaque. This helps pull the sperm from her partner towards the waiting egg for fertilisation.

2. How many days is your cycle? If 28 days then your fertile days are usually 12-16th of your cycle so if you have had sex then, yes you could be pregnant.

3. If your cycle is longer 30-32-35 days each month then your fertile days may be between the12-18-20th of your cycle. However if you have sex a day or two before your period is due and you are usually regular then you are unlikely to be pregnant.

4. BUY A PREGNANCY TEST and use it according to the instructions.. IF it shows you that you are indeed pregnant then go to a Dr for confirmation between 6-8 weeks gestation.(Gestation means weeks of foetal growth and starts from the 1st day of your last menstrual cycle the month before your missed one. If the first day of your last period was 2nd December and you have a 28 day cycle then your next period was due on December 30th.. so you would be 7 weeks pregnant this week.

5. How reliable are the pregnancy tests bought in shops? Manufacturers make them to be reliable but the human error factor has to be taken into consideration. Is the test within it's sell by date? package unopened? If yes, then it should be reliable if you are using it at the right time to test. Some are for the first week of a missed period, others for week 2.. so please check. The day your period should have started is day 1. 

6. CAUTION-IF you use a test that states it is for 2nd week of pregnancy and you test your urine in the first few days of a missed period it will give you a negative reading, not pregnant, BUT you may actually be pregnant if you tested again the following week when your hormone count would be up. SO LOOK CAREFULLY AT THE INSTRUCTIONS before buying/using a pregnancy test. 

7.It is often better to take 2 different tests, each a week apart, to make sure you are or are not pregnant.  IF one test is negative and then other one positive then you should go to a Dr or clinic for blood test confirmation. 

8. If the first test is negative but the second one positive you are most likely pregnant and need confirmation by a Dr as well.

9. In other words if in doubt go to a clinic/Dr for confirmation. 

When we get the result we are hoping for, positive or negative, we often put our heads in the sand. 

I live in the tropics where it was 34 degrees today,, it is always sunny and humid, wonderful. I hope that if like one of my daughters you are snowed in, that you are wrapped up warm and able to go outside and make a snowman/woman.

December Madness!

Madness, in the sense that everyone is shopping! People are spending an average of 20 minutes queuing for their Christmas purchases. The shops are full of tinsel and wrapping paper, Christmas bargains and hoards of people.

If heavily pregnant one often feels claustrophobic in crowds. The feeling of people brushing against your pregnant belly as they pass can make you feel really odd. My advise is DON'T go shopping after 3PM, especially at weekends.  If you do venture out make sure that you can see an exit close by so that you can escape if you need to. 

Escape to a cafe and put your feet up to reduce the swelling. During the later months of pregnancy you are prone to ankle, leg and foot swelling, especially at the end of the day after a busy day walking around in the humidity of Singapore.  So FEET UP! 

Why do you have swelling in pregnancy?
As your baby grows, your womb (uterus) puts pressure on the blood vessels in your pelvis. This particularly affects the large vein on your right-hand side which receives blood from your lower limbs (inferior vena cava). This pressure slows blood circulation in the area and causes the blood to pool. 
Pressure from this trapped blood forces water down and out through tiny vessels (capillaries), and into the tissues of your feet and ankles. This water is normally absorbed by your body, but because you're pregnant, you retain more water, which adds to the swelling.

You can help reduce the swelling by not standing for long periods, wearing comfy shoes, no straps that will dig into your feet when they swell, and as said, put your feet up above the level of your heart for 30 -60 minutes a day.

HOWEVER if as well as swelling of your ankles feet legs and hands you have bad headaches, or see flashing lights before your eyes with blurry vision, pain below your ribs or vomiting then SEE YOUR DR. IMMEDIATELY this could be PRE-ECLAMPSIA a rare, serious condition of the mother in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy.

MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR 2017 to you all. 
May all your labour and births be clam and gentle.

Autumn winds. September. 2016.

 

Everyone here in Singapore is worried about the Zika virus. Our strain seems to be different from the one causing problems in Brazil and Florida. Most of the island has reported cases and I believe to date 16 pregnant women have been infected from mosquito bites. 

Is the danger of Microcephaly as great as reported? So far none of the pregnant women here have been in their first trimester of pregnancy.  According to the World Health Organisation It seems as if somewhere between 1-13% of women who get infected in the first trimester run the risk of endangering their foetuses. 

What about those mothers-to-be who get infected during their second and third trimesters? It seems that we can only diagnose the virus when one has symptoms, checking for antibodies is not possible yet? Frequent monitoring and ultrasound scans are done, but until the birth one won't know for sure if the baby has been infected. 

PREVENTION is the main line of defence. 

Cover up when outside and use mosquito repellent that has 20% or less DEET to make sure it will do the trick. Fog your houses and gardens monthly and make sure that windows and doors remain closed. If mosquitoes do get into your condo/house you can all sleep under mosquito netting. It is quite fun, rather like sleeping in a grand tent. Some of them are soaked in mosquito repellant some are not. But they do help. 

I know people who's families are so anxious for them that they have left Singapore and fled to temperate climates for refuge. Of course that is one option. 

Dengue and Zika are both dangerous but the locals here live with the danger by taking sensible precautions. If you are pregnant or trying to start a family, or thinking of doing so in the next 6 months then please cover up and don't spend hours walking around in the Botanic gardens or the jungle. For the time being anyway.

On a lighter note there are only 89 days to go until Christmas. Yeah!!

PATIENTS REQUIRED!!

It is mid Summer already and as temperatures rise so do peoples tempers!

 When you are given an appointment time to see your OBGYN in his clinic the idea is that you will be seen on, or around, your allocated appointment time. Clinic's start on time provided that the Dr hasn't had to attend a birth or emergency on his way to start the clinic. If that happens, as it does occasionally, then that clinic starting late will soon get backed up. Please be patient and be prepared for some delay.

We don't deliberately run late just to irritate you or your husband. It is not some plot against you personally and shouting abusively at the staff will not make you feel better or change the fact that your Dr is running late. Remember that you get more bees with honey! If you were in labour and about to give birth you would want your Dr to make you his priority. 

We had a case in June where our staff were brought to tears by abuse from a new patient who had been waiting longer than the 20 minutes she had been told was the average waiting time with no emergency. She shouted and threatened and behaved very badly illuminating cultural differences.  She left the clinic staff feeling hurt and frustrated that they couldn't satisfy her needs.  I don't know how she felt as she left but she won't be forgotten.

I am always amazed that work places need to post signs saying that they have the right to refuse service to people that physically or verbally abuse their staff. People, keep your tempers in check. We all have feelings.

I suggest that you expect some waiting time when you make your Dr's appointments. Be prepared to wait your Dr is worth it.

Enjoy the rest of the Summer & stay cool.

June V-Bac

Greetings it is June already! Where is 2016 going to?

I was chatting to a pregnant woman this morning who is booked to have Cesarean Section in 2 weeks time for her 3rd baby. She was telling me how sad she felt that this time she had no choice.  For the birth of her 1st baby her first labour lasted 30 hours before she had an Emergency Cesarean Section for failure to progress. For her 2nd baby 2 years later instead of labour she choose to have a booked C'Section(Cesarean Section) rather than take the chance of the same scenario happening all over again.  Having had 2 C'Sections in a row she was now given no choice but to have a 3rd. If only she had known she was going to have a 3rd baby she would have chosen differently and and tried a V-Bac.

Vaginal Birth After Cesarean or V-Bac used to be called 'Trial of Scar' in London when I was working as a midwife. Mothers-to-be who had had just 1 previous C'Section could try for a 'Natural' labour as long as the gap was more than 12 months and the scar looked to be strong enough to withstand labour. If all went well then the baby was born vaginally with no danger to mother or baby. Having then had a natural labour the 3rd baby could also be born naturally and so on.

Of course not all Dr's will even today give you an option to try a Vaginal birth after Cesarean section.  It really varies from Dr to Dr and by individual case. So if you would like to have a natural birth after having had a Cesarean then you may need to ask around for an sympathetic Dr to look after you during your pregnancy and see how it pans out.

I suggested that at least all 3 of her babies will have been born the same way and could all compare notes later on! I know that my 2 daughters like the fact that they were both born in similar circumstances and their babyhoods too were similar!

If you are travelling out of Singapore for the Summer holidays have a safe journey and a good break from routine.

Sincerely
Kiki

Spring is here and it is time to prepare for labour.

When I think of Spring I think of Cherry blossom and lambs being born, and that puts into my mind Ante or Pre natal classes.

Classes offer a chance for you and your partner to prepare for your upcoming labour and the birth of your baby. If you were running a marathon you would have spent at least a year preparing for the run in order to make sure you had the skills and stamina to get your gold medal. Logically then preparing for labour should be taken as seriously.

Choosing which classes to attend is important. I have some couples who when pregnant say I am going to have a C'section because I don't want to go through labour. But after they have attended 1 or 2 different types ofAntenatal class they are both so excited they decide to have a natural birth without any drugs, and usually do so with ease.

Mind over Matter is the key to successful preparation. Practice the skills until they become second nature. Your mind always controls how your body reacts to feelings such as contractions, to thoughts, beliefs, etc For example fear causes the flight or fight response in the body pumping Adrenalin into the blood stream and this tenses all the muscles, increases the heart rate and makes us run or freeze.

Imagine this reaction during labour. How can your uterine muscles contract and open your cervix easily without pain if your body has frozen and it tense and stiff making it a struggle? To enable opening your body must remain relaxed and floppy allowing the uterine muscles to do their job which is to lift, push down and open your cervix.

Your Antenatal classes shouldn't frighten you, but should make you feel empowered and excited about the up coming labour. As I aways say Knowledge Breeds Confidence.

Here in Singapore there are many different types of classes to choose from.  Hospitals all have their own classes and then there is Mother and Child in Tanglin Mall which offers you  fully comprehensive courses that cover everything you will need both Pre and Postnataly. And for those who prefer a gentler approach there is Hypnobirthing.  This is taught here in many guises so look at the course content to make sure it is what you are looking for. They all differ.

The Sun has got it's hat on.  Yeah.

Is there anyone out there?

Greetings from 2016.  Is anyone out there? 
I have been eagerly waiting for some questions on Pregnancy to come through my website but sadly nobody seems to have any!

I know that there are far too many Pregnancy websites and now of course Apps. I browsed and came across 50 different Pregnancy and Breastfeeding apps. Some were interesting, but of course to find out the piece of information you are looking for one has to troll through the pages of each one.
THEY ARE FUN THOUGH!

I love all things tech but am a a slow learner, user error features highly in the workings of my electronics! Electronics are the way of the future. A few months ago I attended a birth as a Doula, the father-to-be had been timing his wife's contractions at home using the app on his I-phone and insisted on continuing to do so throughout the 12 + hours of labour. It was comical, but it gave him a sense of control over the situation. Even during the 2nd stage, when the mother-to -be was breathing the baby down the birth path towards crowning he was timing her breaths on the app. Once the baby was out he pushed a stop button and the app congratulated him on a job well done!  Toys for the boys!

I love my I-pad-mini. It fits into my handbags and can do almost everything I could possibly need. I grew up watching 'Startrek' and loved the tablets they used, of course they used one for each subject and today we have one that does everything but they nearly got it right and It is good to improve on ideas.

I know that I have to find a way to let people know about my website and I promise to do that. So IF you come across my site and have questions on pregnancy I am happy to answer them for you. I have 36 years of experience in the field.

Sincerely
Kiki

Birth writing.

In 2012 I bought you 12 Positive Birth Stories, a collection of births, some of them didn't follow the birth plans written by the couples but all of them had a POSITIVE birth experience.

2016 I will publish 'Zen and the Art of Birth.' which will give you some POSITIVE tips for labour and birth. These tips are gleaned from my 35 years experience as a Midwife in the UK and Doula in Singapore attending births.

In Cultures where the FEAR has been removed surrounding labour and birth, the event is easy and the labours short.  Women don't need classes to prepare themselves for labour. They know instinctively that they can TRUST their bodies to birth their babies safely.  When labour starts they Let go and trust their birthing bodies.

Somehow or other over centuries most of us have got lost, we are still frightened of labour and prepare ourselves as if preparing for a marathon, we train our bodies to increase our stamina and prepare our minds by taking as many different Antenatal classes as we can, we sift through all the information which is valid and useful to plan a strategy for labour.

 Don't over think. You trust during pregnancy that your body will follow the pre designed plan so why not for labour and birth as well?

 On another note:
]The Summer holidays are almost over, Schools and universities will be starting new terms in a couple of weeks, the carefree days will end as work begins a new. I am taking my vacation to settle my youngest daughter into University in USA. A new adventure for her, and for me too.

Are you going to find out the sex of your baby during pregnancy?

October 2014.
I don't know about you but when I was pregnant with my first baby we decided not to find out if it was a boy or a girl. Guessing was half the fun. One has to wait until the birth to see the baby anyway so why not have a surprise?
Of course 23 years ago ultrasound scans were scarce with most pregnant women having only 3 in 40 weeks. Today pregnant women can have many more scans and chances to find out the sex during pregnancy. 

In Ancient China they used to use a birth chart to predict the sex of the baby.  The Chinese Lunar Calendar is used to determine the baby's gender.  This particular Ancient Chinese birth chart was discovered  in a 700 year old royal tomb. Some people said that this chart is over 95% accurate in predicting a baby's gender. However today, most people use it mainly for entertainment purposes.

The original copy of ancient Chinese birth chart is now in the Institute of Science in Beijing.

The Chart is based upon the Chinese lunar calendar - not the western Gregorian calendar. To get your lunar age, you will need to do a conversion. (You will need to add a year to your western age, because the Chinese believe that you are one year old on the day you are born.)

You can try this for fun by going onto this site: Ancient Chinese Gender Predictor automatically calculates your lunar age and gives you the baby's gender prediction according to the ancient Chinese birth chart. It uses your age  and the month you conceived. When I put in my 2 pregnancies it correctly predicted both were girls.!!

I used to work with an OBGYN in London who could look at a pregnant woman at 12 weeks and know the sex of her baby by the way she was carrying herself and he was right 100% of the time. My skills are not quite so accurate!

Guessing includes looking at the mother's pregnant shape, where she has gained weight, the direction a gold ring will rotate over the belly, her food preferences during pregnancy and using prediction charts.  Well they have to be right at least 50% of the time!

Relaxation exercise

Greetings. I thought that today I would give you a relaxation & imagery exercise that you can use during labour. Practice makes perfect! You have to get into the right frame of mind to successfully let go and deeply relax.

1. Get into a comfy position, sitting, legs up.
2. shut your eyes and try and make your whole body go floppy.
3. Put your tongue to the roof of your mouth and let you jaw flop.
4. Breathe in through your nose imagining that there is a red balloon when your tummy is. As you are breathing in, fill up the balloon.
5. Slowly breathe out letting the balloon in your imagination deflate as you do. GOOD.
6. Take 2 more breaths like this.

( When you are in labour you can start this when you feel that a new contraction is starting.)

7. Now that you are relaxed I want you to imagine that you are walking across a beach. The sun is out and it feels warm on your back. The tide is low so that as you walk along the sand it leaves footprints.
As the cool water hits your feet you feel even more relaxed. Your whole body responds by relaxing each time you take a step across the sand.
8. The Air is also cool and refreshing. As you breathe in you can smell the ocean. You are relaxed, your labour is progressing and you feel on top of the world.
9. Focus your mind on a time when everything was going right for you in your life and you felt empowered. Re live that positive feeling now. EVERYTHING IS GOING WELL.
10. Continue to imagine that you are walking along the beach feeling empowered, in control of your labour. Look around you at the scenery, picture it in detail as your contraction builds.  Nowlet your body go floppy as you enjoy the beautiful scene around you.

( During the height of each contraction you should let your imagination take you somewhere else while your body relaxes and your breathing slows allowing your birthing body to take over)

11. Let go and let all tension and pressure of this contraction dull into the background of your mind.
12. As the contraction fades you feel relaxed and calm. You can get ready to finish your walk along the beach. Opening your eyes and coming back into the room when you are ready.

Once labour progresses your husband/partner can talk to you and give you imagery that is personal, intimate and funny to help keep you in a deeply relaxed state of mind and body.
There are lots of techniques for relaxation during labour out there, but one of the most successful is Marie Mongan's HypnoBirthing course.

SPRING is here

Congratulations to all Mothers-to-be. I hope that your PREGNANCY is going comfortably?

Spring is here already. I was in France and England a couple of weeks ago where everything was blossoming and the sun was shining. Beautiful.

As a Midwife I want to remind all of you that if during your pregnancy you feel something is not right, an inkling, or gut feeling that your baby is not behaving as you have come to expect PLEASE CALL YOUR DR IMMEDIATELY. It is much better to check and reassure yourself that all is well even if you end up wasting your time because everything is quite normal and on track. We don't mind. Far safer to check. PLEASE.

A reminder about FOODs.
You can't east soft unpasteurized cheese even if it does come from The Four Seasons restaurant! Just because it comes from a fancy place it is still unpasteurized and unsafe during your pregnancy. Better to wait until after your baby is born!!

BIRTH.
I attended a lovely birth a few months ago. Due to be born in hospital the little girl didn't want to wait and was born at home. It was the mother's 3rd baby and a very quick and easy labour. Granny was on hand to take the big Brother and Sister to the pool while I went upstairs to the Condo to deliver the baby. Once safely out and on the breast her Brother, Sister and Granny came to meet her. It was a lovely family moment with the 6 of them.
"The best laid plans of Mice and Men."

I will now Blog every couple of weeks. If anyone is following this I apologise for the slow start! I am now launching my website and am here to answer any PREGNANCY & CHILDBIRTH related questions so email me.

Sincerely
Kiki

Preparing your mind an body for success.

Most athletes will readily advise that Relaxation and Visualisation are crucial to a succesful performance. Sports greats know that stress and tension in the mind equate to stress and tension in the body; the two cannot be spearated. Conqering stress and fear is what allows sports figures to appear to perform so effortlesly.

Clenched fists, a tight mouth, a furrowed brow, all send signals to the birth passage muscles, the very ones that need to be loosened during labour to tighten and fight. Fear, Tension, Pain.  Letting go and relaxing all the upper body will send signals to the lower body parts to do the same.

HypnoBirthing Techniques teach the mother-to-be Breathing, Relaxation, Visialisation and Deepening and thus prepare her mind for the birth process. Learn the techniques but take time to practice every day. There is no subsitute for practice, just reading the book and atending the course is not enough to condition your mind  and body in preraration for birthing.
Conditioning involves your Mind & Body. A runner would never atempt to run a marathon unless his body was well conditioned.

Once you have been taught the techniques establish a daily routine. Select a time to relax when you won't be disturbed. Turn your phone off. Select the same time each day of possible and dedicate yourself to that time.  Choose a comfortable spot that ha soft, dimlighting that you can use daily. Wear comfortable clothes and use the HypnoBirthing CD's or music tha consists of tones and rhythms so that your body can respond to the beat.

Remember that relaxation should become second nature to you. By the time that your body goes into labour for birthing your relaxation response will be automatic. 

Practice does make perfect! 

Feeling Attractive and Looking Good during Pregnancy

All pegnant women have to grapple with body issues, but everyone else sees a woman who is going to have a baby. The times have changed and privately or publicly, modern pregnant women think of themselves-and their condition- as sexy. It is all about being excited about pregnancy,feeling arrtactive and looking good.

Staying cool and comfortable is the most important thing when coosing your wardrobe As your pregnancy advances try to avoid restrictive clothing epsecially over your tummy. Invest in comfortable well fitting underwear, bras and swim suits. You don't want a pregnancy-weggie. Thanks to fluid retention, you will find your feet growing too. This is not the time to be strutting about in stilettos, wear comfortable flats or slip ons to relieve the problem of reaching your feet below that growing tummy!

One of the most impulsive things women do during pregnancy is changing their hairstyle and colour dramatically. I know I did and regretted it all too soon! Due to the presence of your changing hormones the texture of your hair may become thicker or thinner. Playing with your hair may feel like the last bit of control you have over your body that is raging out of control.

 Is it safe to dye your hair?
There are no conclusive studies on the subject of hair dye but most experts agree that you should NOT dye your hair during your First Trimester of Pregnancy. No one really knows whether using chemical dyes during pregnancy is completely safe or not, Ultimately the choice has to be yours. If colouring your hair makes you feel good, go for it. If you choose to colour your hair while expecting then wear gloves or go to a salon where there is good ventilation to minimise your exposure to the harsh chemicals. Alternatively there are vegetable dyes instead.

In addition to the teltail Rosie glow caused by the increased blood flow, pregnancy may cause some  unwanted skin changes. Make up can hide uneven patches of skin or rashes.

No matter what you wear I think that you look amazing.

EMPTY NEST SYNDROME!

My new website is about to launch called Ask Kiki All about PREGNANCY. Yes you have guessed, it is to fill a gap left by my youngest daughter who has just go into Art school in the UK and leaves home in September.

A cliche I know! I do have a great job after all working in an Obstetric clinic in the mornings, patient visits in the afternoons, teaching HyonoBirthing in the evenings and on call for up to 4 births a month but still. I was worried about my afternoons being empty!

 No school pick ups, listening to cheerful chatting, laughing and singing, having nobody to hound to do homework and worry about on a daily basis will be very odd.

And so I will be posting bi weekly Positive information about Pregnancy, labour and childbirth for you to read.