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VBAC vs Natural birth?

Currently 27+3 with my 3rd child. My 1st was born by emergency Caesarean section after she was stuck back to back, my 2nd was meant to be a planned c section but I went into spontaneous labour at 34 weeks and had her naturally.   I’m bigger this time than with my other children and the left side of my Caesarean scar is at times very painful and my hips are also very painful.   Is there a chance I could labour early again & would you recommend opting for a natural birth or a planned c section?  My eldest […]

Natural Birth or Caesarean after Third Degree Tear

I had a ten pound baby 3 years ago, naturally with gas and air, but had third degree tear and my son was in scbu for 24hours with fluid in his lungs. Baby no.2 is due in the spring 2013 so just looking for advice on my options : c.section-what do you think Or Natural? My consultant will test for gestational diabetes in the new year – they don’t know if I had it last time or not. I am 5 ft 3in, size 8, petite, healthy eater, non smoker. Really I just want some advice on how I should […]

7 Weeks Pregnant and no heartbeat detected.

I recently had a scan on monday when I was 7+4 weeks pregnant and the baby was only 5.6mm and was no heartbeat. Does that mean my baby has died??? I’m really scared and worried. I have to go back on monday to check to see if there is a heartbeat yet. I thought I saw flickering 3 times but the Dr said he wasn’t sure as the picture wasn’t very clear. Is 5.6mm to small for a 7 week baby? At the moment it is too soon to make a diagnosis. You may be aware that the guidelines on diagnosing a […]

Can I get Listeria from Rice?

I am newly pregnant, 13 weeks and today I went to a Japanese restaurant-cafe in South Kensington and had vegetarian sushi roles for lunch. One made with rice & tofu, one with rice & cucumber and one with rice & seaweed. I specifically avoided any sushi with raw fish. However, I have since been reading online that it’s the rice that can carry dangerous bacteria and that cross-contamination may occur if the veggie sushi is prepared near to where raw fish has been handled. I am worried about listeria now from the rice I ate today. Please can you tell me whether […]

Is Miscarriage Care Insensitive?

By James GallagherHealth and science reporter, BBC News Imagine being in hospital with the knowledge you’ve just miscarried and lost your baby. But at the same time you’re being kept on a ward where you can hear women going through labour and life entering the world. It happened during Julie Orford’s first miscarriage and was just one instance of what she describes as “insensitive care” during a “really, really frightening” time. “I found it quite distressing that I was in the process of losing my baby, when I could hear others actually having their baby downstairs,” she told the BBC. […]

I am now 24 Weeks Pregnant- my Baby is now Viable. Should I celebrate or remain cautious?

Viability is the term used to describe the stage in pregnancy when baby becomes viable- and able to exist outside womb.  It is currently 24 weeks. Around 50% of babies born after 24 weeks will survive but not all will be healthy.  Quite a high proportion will have some form of serious handicap, especially if born before 26 weeks. The EPICure Study, carried out in 1995 showed the following results – When surviving children born before 26 weeks were followed up at age 6 years, a high level of disability was found: 22% had severe disability (defined as cerebral palsy […]

Smoking During Pregnancy

Most people are aware that smoking during pregnancy is a big no no – but it can be very difficult to give up cigarettes.  If you are only a casual smoker and don’t consider yourself to be a ‘proper’ smoker, it can still be very difficult to kick the habit. We hope that by outlining some of the dangers associated with smoking in pregnancy that you will be encouraged to give up smoking as soon as you can or to encourage other pregnant women around you to do the same. The effect of smoking is to reduce the oxygen carrying […]

The Case Against Breastfeeding – by Hanna Rosin

This is a controversial but nonetheless very interesting article presenting the case against breastfeeding. It has been reproduced with the kind permission of Hanna Rosin. For more information on the author, please see her website.  http://hannarosin.com/ ONE AFTERNOON AT the playground last summer, shortly after the birth of my third child, I made the mistake of idly musing about breast-feeding to a group of new mothers I’d just met. This time around, I said, I was considering cutting it off after a month or so. At this remark, the air of insta-friendship we had established cooled into an icy politeness, and […]

Guess who is pregnant??

We are very excited to announce that BOTH the Doctor’s Daughters are pregnant again! Rebecca and Sophie are due in March and April 2013!  We both gave birth to babies in April 2011…so the timing is almost as good the second time around! I have just had my 20 week scan, and Sophie has had her 12 week scan and all seems to be good so far. We are both so lucky to have an Obstetrician for a father, who is at the end of the phone 24/7 to allay any of our fears and answer all our questions- no matter how trivial! […]

How to Prevent & Treat Sore Nipples – by Charlotte Young IBCLC

Charlotte Young IBCLC, founder www.milkmatters.org.uk & www.analyticalarmadillo.co.uk   Also by Charlotte Young “Mixing Bottle and Breast, it doesn’t have to be all or nothing”  During both antenatal and postnatal consultations, it never fails to amaze me how many mothers expect breastfeeding to hurt. If I visit antenatally, I hear all the awful experiences people have relayed to the mum-to-be. If I visit at 6 weeks plus and ask what the early days were like, I often get told they experienced “the usual cracking and damage you normally get in the first few weeks”. We hear it said that nipples need […]