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

Pregnancy

Pregnancy calendar

A new life begins. A woman’s egg is fertilized by a man’s sperm in the fallopian tube. During the next few days, the fused egg and sperm move through the fallopian tube to the lining of the uterus. There it implants and starts to grow. The cluster of cells that reaches your uterus will become the foetus and the placenta. The placenta functions as a life-support system during pregnancy. It delivers oxygen, nutrients, and hormones from mother to foetus

Birth

Natural Labour Induction Series: Evidence on Evening Primrose Oil

Using evening primrose oil as a natural induction method. So, some people have asked me if evening primrose oil can be used as a safe way to naturally induce labour or to get labour started earlier rather than later

Evidence on using Pineapple to Naturally Induce Labour

The pineapple fruit is a fruit that has been used to traditionally induce labour and abortion in various countries around the world, including India and Bangladesh

Evidence On: IV Fluids During Labour

In a recent survey, the majority of mothers in the United States (62%) reported getting continuous “drip” intravenous (IV) fluids during labour (Declercq et al. 2014). Labour is considered by many to be a demanding exercise, but many people in the United States (and other countries) are not allowed to eat or drink (called “NPO,” nil per os, or “nothing by mouth”) during labour. Because it is necessary to stay hydrated during labour, IV fluids are usually administered to the person giving birth. However, if you read the Evidence Based Birth® Signature Article on Eating and Drinking During Labour, you will see that the practice of forbidding food and drink, while common, is not evidence-based

Breastfeeding

How to get a better latch!

The exaggerated latch or “flipple” breastfeeding technique… As I discuss here in this video, most babies will latch on the best when they are supported to self-attach on their own, with the mother in the “laid-back” breastfeeding position, or self-attachment in the “koala” hold. Here is a baby self-attaching in the laid-back position

Skin to Skin

Nursing and Skin to Skin: A Perfect Pairing

Breastfeeding your baby? Nursing and nestling with your little one is a perfect pairing as long as you make sure your skin care during this special time is safe for both of you. The more you have skin to skin time together, in conjunction with safe skin care, the better off you both are

Parenting

Developmental Milestones in Toddlers
(1 - 2 years of age)

Skills such as taking a first step, smiling for the first time, and waving “bye-bye” are called developmental milestones. Developmental milestones are things most children can do by a certain age. Children reach milestones in how they play, learn, speak, behave, and move (like crawling, walking, or jumping). During the second year, toddlers are moving around more, and are aware of themselves and their surroundings. Their desire to explore new objects and people also is increasing

Inspiration

Birth Journeys: Positive birth stories to encourage and inspire

Much of our pre-existing knowledge about birth comes from the stories we have been exposed to from the time we were children. Sadly, these stories are rarely positive stories. Women are often told horror stories about birth as soon as they become pregnant, if not before

Humour

Top 24 List of best pregnancy jokes ever

The poet e.e cummings once wrote: “The most wasted of all days is the one without laughter.” How true. And when you’re pregnant and dealing with all of the changes to your body, what’s better than a good pregnancy joke? Since laughter is indeed the best medicine, here are some jokes to keep you bellyaching all the way to the hospital… or the bathroom to pee again, whatever the case may be