A free, monthly newsletter with a roundup of the best the internet has to offer about mom-to-be and baby.

Pregnancy

Depression during pregnancy

Key points:

• Depression is a medical condition that needs treatment to get better.
• If you've had depression before, you're more likely than other women to have depression during pregnancy.
• If you're taking an antidepressant and find out you're pregnant, don't stop taking it without talking to your health care provider first.
• Talk to your provider about treatment for depression that's safe for you and your baby during pregnancy.
• If you’re pregnant or planning to get pregnant and you have or think you may have depression, talk to your provider.

Birth

Dear Mom-to-be…

“I am your pelvic floor. I realize you have so much to think about and plan but I need you to give me a little bit of your time and attention. I am important to you. If I stop working properly you will pass urine or perhaps even faeces when you’re not on the toilet. You will pass wind when you don’t intend to. Yes, I hope that gets your attention! If I’m working well I have a good effect on sexual function and pleasure. I’m situated in your pelvis. Like a hammock of muscles that work together I prevent everything ‘falling out underneath’. I have ‘openings’ that allow the urethra (tube from the bladder that allows urine to pass), the anus and the vagina (in women) to ‘pass through’.

Breastfeeding

Is my baby getting enough milk

Breastfeeding mothers frequently ask how to know their babies are getting enough milk. The breast is not the bottle, and it is impossible to hold the breast up to the light to see how many millilitres of milk the baby drank. And this is a good thing!!We are not supposed to know how much the baby is getting but rather is baby getting enough. Our number-obsessed society makes it difficult for some mothers to accept not seeing exactly how much milk the baby receives. However, there are ways of knowing that the baby is getting enough. In the long run, weight gain is the best indication whether the baby is getting enough but rules about weight gain appropriate for bottle fed babies may not be appropriate for breastfed babies. In the short term, there are ways to know if baby is satisfied by looking at how well the baby feeds, and even just looking at the baby after a feeding – is the baby content, satisfied, is he rooting or sucking his hand?

Skin to skin and Connection

Playful parents: How to Build a Relationship Between You and Your Baby

In the first of this three-part series, guest contributor Dr. Amanda Gummer, a research psychologist who specializes in child development, provides informational and practical tips for bonding with your newborn baby. Often, parents find it hard to know what to "do" with a baby other than meeting the needs for food, sleep, comfort and care. As it turns out, there are many simple things you can do that not only entertains baby, but also helps foster development and promotes bonding and attachment.

Parenting

Constantly Connected: Adverse Effects of Media on Children & Teens

Today's children and teens are growing up immersed in digital media. They are exposed to media in all forms, including TV, computers, smartphones, and other screens. Media can influence how children and teens feel, learn, think, and behave.

Humour

Awesome Baby Puns

• What was the policeman’s baby’s first words? Hallo, Hallo, Hallo!
• What would you get if you crossed a new-born snake with a basketball? A bouncing baby boa.
• What did the Pharaohs use to keep their babies quiet? Egyptian dummies.
• When I hear a baby, I always write down the noises he makes, so later I can ask him what he meant.
• I hope we get good seats at this shower. Last time, we had to sit in the C section!
• Mrs Brown: Who was that at the door? Veronica: A lady with a baby in a buggy. Mrs Brown: Tell her to push off.”
• What does a baby computer call his father? Data.
• How can you tell if a snake is a baby snake? It has a rattle.