Iron is a mineral and an important component of a healthy, balanced diet in babies, children and adults. But, do we really understand how much iron we should be getting during pregnancy, and how much babies should be having in the early years of life? Now I know there can be a lot of confusion around this topic, so in this article I’ll look at WHY pregnant women and babies need iron, how much is needed and how both expectant mums and babies can get enough iron from a healthy diet. Why do we need iron? Iron is a micronutrient that helps to make red blood cells which are responsible for transpo ..read more

Over the next few weeks and months as I start my second weaning journey with Ada, I wanted to share my experience and also use it as an opportunity to cover a variety of topics that take you through all the various stages of weaning. Many of them are blogs that I already have but I’ll be resharing some and updating some based on my experience this time. To start with, I wanted to write a bit about a concept known as “the first 1000 days of life”. All about WHY nutrition matters right from the very start. What does the first 1000 days mean? The first 1000 days refers to the period beginning r ..read more

Very often, the furthest we get in terms of ‘preparing’ for breastfeeding during pregnancy is attending an antenatal breastfeeding class and buying a bra or two. If you want to dig a little deeper, there are also many more simple ways that you can build up the breastfeeding scaffolding. Sso that if the building (ie you!) starts to get a little crumbly on the breastfeeding front, you already have a pre-built frame of strength around you. I have seen many times how this can and will go miles in helping you to have both an easier time feeding and to feel more confident and calm in any times of ne ..read more

I often get questions about specific nutrients and where we can get them from in food for ourselves and for our little ones. So I wanted to put together a short blog to help break it down. In this blog, we’ll take a closer look at zinc. What it is, why we need it and how we can get it. What is zinc and why is it important? Zinc is a mineral which is needed in small amounts for a wide variety of functions in the body. It’s needed for protein and carbohydrate metabolism, DNA synthesis, wound healing, immune function, cell replication and growth. Babies & Children For children, zinc is parti ..read more

Have you ever wondered exactly why you get free dental treatment during pregnancy? Well the fascinating process of growing a mini human can actually cause issues in your mouth! There are a range of oral conditions that may affect mums-to-be. Pregnancy and Maternal Oral Health is a part of your overall well-being, so it’s key to look after your teeth. Below is a more detailed run through of some potential symptoms and ideas for how to manage these: Bleeding gums This is perhaps one of the most common pregnancy-related dental issues. Often related to elevated hormone levels and slight differenc ..read more

This blog is a bit of a different take to my usual posts. It’s much more of a personal journey, but I thought I would share it anyway. In case it resonates with anyone going through something similar for their second pregnancy. Please know that this isn’t meant to offend or upset anyone, I’m just sharing my honest experience and appreciate that having babies is always a very sensitive subject. My pregnancy with Raffy was pretty plain sailing. I often heard the worries and complaints of other pregnant women and thought how lucky I was to have been pretty much symptom free (apart from little low ..read more

Written by Dr Brooke Vandermolen @theobgynmum,www.thebirthcollective.org Based on the evidence we have so far, pregnant women are still no more likely to contract coronavirus than the general population. What we do know is that pregnancy in a small proportion of women can alter how your body handles severe viral infections.  As yet, there is no evidence that pregnant women who get coronavirus are more at risk of serious complications than any other healthy individuals. However as we do not fully understand the risks, and they may change when more evidence emerges, pregnant women are advis ..read more

The benefits of breastfeeding for mum and baby are well documented. But the purpose of this post is not to focus on those or to promote any particular type of feeding. Simply to give some practical advice on what a healthy diet during breastfeeding might look like. We know there are certain foods to be aware of during pregnancy. However is there anything different when it comes to breastfeeding? This blog will go through the basics of a healthy diet whilst breastfeeding. Including any particular foods or nutrients to be aware of. As well as consolidating the evidence on caffeine, alcohol, alle ..read more

For this blog, I want to talk all about a topic that can be quite confusing – what are the recommendations for supplements during pregnancy. Most of the time, the overall guidelines for a healthy and balanced diet are that we should aim to get the majority of our nutrition from food sources rather than supplements. However, there are always exceptions and, in some situations, supplements can be a really useful way to ensure we’re meeting requirements for certain nutrients that might be harder to get from food. When it comes to pregnancy, there are a few supplements that are recommended to take ..read more

Eating well during pregnancy Pregnancy is probably one of the most important times in your live to try to eat well. Your body is producing a whole other person and you’re growing and changing at a very rapid rate. This means that getting a ‘balanced diet’ is very important during this time. Ultimately to ensure you have enough energy and nutrients for yourself, as well as for your growing baby. I get asked a lot about how to eat well during pregnancy, hence this blog post! But it obviously doesn’t always go to plan. Mine certainly hasn’t so far… Nausea, sickness, food aversion, fatigue – you n ..read more