Bits and Boobs

The start of a new year can bring a lot of pressure, especially if you’ve had a baby recently. Everywhere you look, there’s messaging about “getting back to your pre-baby body,” feeling like yourself again, or being endlessly grateful. While well-meaning, these messages can leave new parents feeling stressed, inadequate, or like they’re “failing” at recovery.  As a midwife, I want to bust some of the most common myths that can make postpartum life harder than it needs to be: 

Becoming a parent is magical, exhausting, exhilarating and, let’s be honest, completely overwhelming. As a midwives, we’ve seen countless parents navigate the first weeks and months after birth, and there’s one thing we know for sure: no one prepares you for the real postpartum experience.  Here are the truths that every new parent should hear straight from a midwife’s perspective. 

Preparing for your baby’s birth is exciting, but it can also feel completely overwhelming. As midwives, we often see new parents caught in a whirlwind of “must-haves” that turn out to be anything but essential. As Black Friday approaches it’s so easy to catch “Buy it Now” fever and spend way more than you planned on things you don’t even need. 

Most women can have a C-section with a spinal anaesthetic, which involves an injection in the back to numb the lower body while they remain awake. However, there are situations where you need to be put to sleep during the procedure in which case a general anaesthetic may be necessary.

Having a tear or an episiotomy (a cut) during childbirth can be quite an overwhelming thought for women. Fortunately, there are preparations you can make during your pregnancy that could help reduce.

Pregnancy and postpartum is a time of overwhelming physical, emotional, and psychological change, and the language we use with ourselves during that time can have a lasting impact. Remember, be kind to yourself, you're doing an amazing job!

We’re here to celebrate your beautiful, natural body just as it is—not as someone else says it "should" be. Because let’s face it, growing a tiny human is nothing short of superhero-level epic. Pregnancy is a rollercoaster of wonder, excitement, and a whole load of body changes you probably didn’t see coming. Sure, there is the well-known stuff: bump, boobs, and that so-called pregnancy "glow" (if by glow they mean sweat, then yeah, you’ve nailed it). But then there are the sneaky little surprises—some annoying, some downright alarming.

There are several reasons why you may be offered or recommended a C-section, and that includes your own wish to have one.

Take care of yourself as much as you take care of your baby. You can't our from an empty cup.

The Midwives at My Expert Midwife have put together our Top Tips for preparing for a December baby, but our main message to all you ‘December daters’ is to keep calm and carry on! It’s just another day and another month, and what better time to have a new baby than when many towns, cities, wards, and windows are already celebrating and decorated?

Did you know that after you have had an operation regularly massaging the scar tissue can be beneficial to help improve the healing process? Read more here.