We hear a lot about what baby should eat when they’re born- typically formula or breastmilk but we aren’t always aware of what we should be eating as breastfeeding mothers and why?   Why does what you eat matter when you’re breastfeeding?  I understand sometimes eating can be the last thing on your mind when you are looking after and nursing your baby. But a healthy diet will determine your energy levels which is imperative whilst looking after your baby. Breastfeeding is a lot more energy consuming than it looks, especially for the mum. Typically, a day breastfeeding will burn 500 c ..read more

Things to consider beforehand The amount of maternity leave women get after having their baby, differs from employer to employer. Before you start at a job it is worthwhile checking what the pay structure is and the amount of time given off after having a baby. It may be something you want to negotiate, should you become pregnant whilst working.  Some employers give only a matter of weeks, which requires planning ahead and combing sick leave and annual leave together in order to collate more time to recover after having a child - its good to find this out as early as possible.  ..read more

What is it? As you may know, August is World Breastfeeding Awareness Month but what you may not know, is as of 8 years ago- the last week has been coined Black Breastfeeding Week. Like most celebratory dates in our year, it was created to support, raise awareness and build a sense of community amongst black women and breastfeeding. In a year where racial tensions have been high, and health disparities amongst different ethnicities has never been so apparent- this week we are encouraging everyone to take notice and pay attention.   Black breastfeeding Week was founded by Anayah Sangodele-A ..read more

Let's be honest- we don’t need a week to celebrate breastfeeding- nope that’s not long enough we need a whole year! But (partial) jokes aside, that’s not why we do it, we do it out of love, selflessness and sacrifice and because we are fortunate enough to be able to! Although the journey is long, lonely and tiring - we make a choice to give our babies the best start with the best nutrition! That being said, supermums rarely ask for anything in return- so I encourage you to take this week to celebrate yourselves and all that you do - you truly deserve it! So here’s how you can get involved and ..read more

Little Fires Everywhere is the new miniseries starring Reese Witherspoon as Elena Richardson and Kerry Washington as Mia Warren. It is a bold and fantastic exploration of motherhood. As soon as the story began unfolding I was hooked, and binged it across 3 evenings once the kids had been put to bed (impressive!). It captures wonderfully the realities and difficulties that mothers face everyday and in every way they mother (as a verb).  I was blown away by my overwhelming empathy for each and every character. That rarely happens in films and TV, there’s often a villain and a hero but not ..read more

I've stated this many times, I didn't know what anxiety truly was until I became a mother. I still wouldn't even describe myself as an overly anxious person, but without me knowing and when I least expect, it creeps in and settles in my thoughts, actions and my behaviour. One thing I know is that anxiety can be very debilitating for some with a full host of symptoms (which I won’t go into here) and for others very insidious, manifesting in subtle ways like lack of sleep or inability to concentrate.  The one thing that unites the two extremes of presentation though is the fact that anxiety ..read more

With social distancing guidelines in effect and many schools still closed, children are spending more time at home than usual. Parents have been on a roller coaster the past months, many are struggling to find safe and interactive ways to keep the little ones engaged during a pandemic summer. There’s plenty to look forward to for what's left of summer. While it’s important to protect kids’ health, it’s also necessary to maintain a fun summer.    Keep a schedule Having a plan is better than asking children ‘What do you want to do now?’  They will choose TV, computer time or vide ..read more

Separated parents are facing a range of new challenges and co-parenting will get trickier as stay-at-home orders are lifted. One parent may be concerned about child safety when in their former partner’s care, while the other parent thinks about if their ex will adequately follow the current guidelines on social distancing. One example is worry a child is being exposed to COVID-19 due to their co-parent refusing to follow social distancing rules. As stay-at-home orders are lifted, the directions about social distancing are becoming more ambiguous. Heading back to work, the import ..read more

In the UK we have some of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world, with less than half breastfeeding after 6-8 weeks, eight out of ten women stopping breastfeeding before they want to and around only 1% still breastfeeding at 12 months as recommended by the WHO. In the US, African American women have the lowest rates of breastfeeding initiation, as well as continuation at 6 months and 12 months, compared with all other racial/ethnic groups in the United States. The reason this is frankly alarming and a concerning public health issue for the black population is because the vast amount ..read more

Being a mother has given me the opportunity to affect two little lives, in a big way. With that responsibility, comes a great burden.. a burden to not fuck up. Parenting is certainly no easy fete and I wish I’d known that when as a teenager I’d scream at my mum how ‘unfair life was’ (That was my privilege talking).                                 I often loved to grace my mother with all the things I didn’t like and therefore wanted to change about the way she parented. Little did I know. I'm not yet ..read more