While the initial thought of having to wait 3 months before going through fertility treatment has been overwhelmingly disappointing for many people I think that many people are wanting to maximise this time to try and help them when they start again.

1 in 3 mothers describe their birth as traumatic. And while birth trauma can definitely happen if a mum fears for the health of her or her baby, birth trauma can also happen when a woman feels a loss of control, when she feels unheard or if she doesn’t feel respected. This figure is definitely too high and I only bring it into your awareness to highlight how, without choosing the pregnancy care model/team that is the best fit for you, it’s very easy to end up feeling like it was a negative experience.

I truly believe, I know it because I’ve seen it, how with the right care team- no matter which turns and twists pregnancy and birth take that the way you feel about the overall experience can be very largely influenced by the team of people that had around you at that time.

Vitamin D is essential have to checked during the window when you are trying to conceive- not just because it has health implications when it’s low but because it’s an important factor in the immne system- which plays an important role in implantation when you’re tying to conceive. Vitamin D also acts like a hormone on the body and so can have a direct impact on your mental and physical health as well as your fertility. A 2018 Meta Analysis showed that women lower vitamin D levels had a trend towards lower clinical pregnancy rates.

There are 3 simple steps you can take to make sure your Vitamin D levels are supporting your chance of concpetion and your future baby’s health.

The mental health of all mothers is really important to me. One group of mum’s that I work with is women who have struggled with fertility. Often these women don’t feel like they “should” or “be allowed” to have any issues with their mental health during or after pregnancy. They wanted their baby so badly how could they possibly be struggling now that their baby is here. This is just not the case. You can love your baby, have wanted it with all your might, spent all your $$ and given years of your life to create your little one and you can still find it hard after your baby arrives.

Temperature charts are often a non-negotiable when I’m working with women that are trying to conceive. There’s just so much information I can take from them to help with prescriptions and to help with recommendations to improve health and fertility.

Amongst changes in hospital practices and policies because of Covid- 19 I wanted to speak with Anthea Thomas the VP of HypnoBirthing Institute so that we could share insights on how HypnoBirthing can help you prepare for a truly beautiful birth in 2020.

As a Naturopath, I use Western herbal medicine along with Diet, Nutritional Supplementation and lifestyle modifications to help you. But a really common approach that I take with many patients is to recommend they see an Acupuncturist too.

I took the opportunity to sit down with Sarah George, an acupuncturist from Launceston, that I work closesly with, to learn more about how chinese medicine approaches fertility and pregnancy care.

Right now, I think women are feeling worried and fearful about what having their baby looks like. Hospital policies are changing for antenatal appointments, birthing practices are changing especially around the number of support people and visitors and so I think it’s natural that some women are also questioning breastfeeding. To help you prepare for a really healthy breastfeeding journey I spoke to Amberley Harris of Maternal Instincts by Amberley.

5 years ago, when I was pregnant with the twins, I ended up spending 7 weeks on hospital bed rest 4 hours away from my husband, 2 yr old Hattie, my family and my life. I look back and realise in some ways it is similar to what people are experiencing right now during this pandemic. I’ve put together a list of the 7 things that helped me during that time.