Emma

Pregnancy and the first six months after birth bring massive changes for women physically, mentally and emotionally. With all the information on the internet at their fingertips, you’d think women would be going into this time more prepared than ever. Yet some women are still uncertain when it comes to questions like “what exercise is safe for me?”, with conflicting advice found online. Jenny from Life Cycle Physiotherapy gives us her top tips for getting through pregnancy and the post partum period in the best shape possible.

KIDDO caught up with Senior Research Fellow and Midwife, Dr Karen Best to find out about the PoppiE Study, a one of a kind trial aiming to discover the optimal level of iodine pregnant women should consume to assist with baby brain development.

The first weeks with a new baby is a beautiful and wild ride. Depending on the birth experience you may feel excited or impatient to get moving or you may wonder how on earth you will ever manage exercise again. No one woman, body or baby is the same so everyone’s experience will be different. Regardless, when it comes to movement in the first 8 weeks, less is more. Bridie from She Moves gives us some tips for what types of movement to focus on in the weeks after having your precious baby!

Research tells us that 40% of people with young children report poor sleep because of their children. When we have a newborn baby we expect that our sleep will be disturbed, but we may not feel so accommodating of this as our children get older! Brooke Michell from Calm Space Psychology gives us some tips for maximising our own sleep as parents.

For centuries women have been led to believe the monthly PMS prior to a period is normal, but what we know is that it’s not normal, and in fact it actually may be a sign of an underlying hormone imbalance. Jacqui from Healthful Wellness takes a look at PMS a little closer and what pre menstrual symptoms might mean for your body.

Clinical Nutritionist Jan MacFarlane shares her tips for energy balancing with nutrition, how to improve your mood and increase your energy, along with a couple of time saver tips for busy mums.

Your state of mind and your health are the best gift you can give your family. Building in small, frequent bursts of effective, personalised and ‘doable’ Wellbeing tools into your day – every day – will help you avoid burnout. Wellbeing is a lifelong commitment and process, growing with time, practice, encouragement and self-compassion. Madhavi from Positive Minds Australia gives us some tips to get us started.

Healthful is here to support women with their hormone health to ensure they can live the life they truly deserve. The Healthful Team have given us the lowdown on some of the signs of a hormonal imbalance that you might be attributing to “normal” cyclical side effects.

CHAPTER 3: TECHNOLOGY @ YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY. Council libraries have also come so much further than just offering a place where you can read, borrow or inhale the scent of a good book. We take a look at how your local council library has evolved and adapted… with technology offerings you might not expect!