It feels like ages ago when I was pregnant, and actually thinking about it was 7 years ago!
Wow, how time flies! I remember those days 🙂
I was lucky enough to have quite a nice and easy pregnancy, but I felt a bit alone. Until I started the antenatal classes I didn’t even know any other pregnant woman near me. Then, I only learnt last year, when my daughter started school, there were actually 3 a few doors down the road! Crazy!
I didn’t know about NCT courses at the time but I found the NHS classes quite useful. I met some lovely mums with whom we still catch up with families from time to time. With one of this family, we even went on holiday together this year!
Even though I normally enjoy a nice walk in the park, I am kind of lazy. Definitely, I’m not a gym person, so I didn’t attend any pregnancy yoga or pilate classes that would have probably helped me a lot with back pain! Towards the end of the pregnancy, I suffered from PGP (pelvic girdle pain) which really slowed me down at the end. I couldn’t walk for more than 10 minutes and I felt like a turtle, stairs were a nightmare, rolling and getting out of the bed (and you know how often you have to get up at night to pee) was torture. So I was referred to a physiotherapist who taught me a few exercises and a bit about posture.
Then my lovely girl Amy was born and breastfeeding was the biggest struggle I had to face. Again I didn’t have many contacts back then so I trusted midwives and health visitors: all was fine, it’s just baby position, it takes time . . . in the meantime I tried nipple shields, tits in the air, silver cups, of course, lanolin cream, all to try and heal those horrible cuts!
A couple of weeks after the midwife said I had thrush and my girl wasn’t growing as she should have.
Basically, I needed better help!
Through my work as a newborn photographer, and working with pregnant women in London, I have now met great people that would have surely helped me back then. I have been part for the past 3 years of Pure Pregnancy, a network that can knowingly recommend and support each other and at its heart is kindness and respect to parents.
Too late for me now (unless I have a second one) but at least I can now help other mums, especially my clients. I can point them in the right direction if some concerns are discussed during a newborn photography session.
Who are these 3 Women to Know if you are pregnant in London?
I would highly suggest checking out Pure Pregnancy website as there are lots of useful women there and everyone has different needs. But here are my picks according to what I experienced.
Nadia Rafaat
Nadia is a lovely mum of 4, a yoga teacher, specialising in pregnancy, and a birth doula. She has taught pregnancy yoga to the women of Wandsworth, Battersea and Clapham for the last 12 years. Her weekly Yoga and Mindfulness for Pregnancy and Birth course is a local pregnancy institution. In her 12 weeks comprehensive course you can expect to learn meditation, yoga postures, how to work mindfully with both fear and pain, self-soothing skills to keep you calm and much more. I think for first-time mums, especially, this is pure gold!
And if you can’t get to her class, for whatever reason, don’t worry, because you can get her DVD and practice with her at home …
Have a look at her website for more info.
Julie Morris
She is a qualified antenatal teacher and runs classes for the NCT.
She is a breastfeeding counsellor and I had great feedback from some of my clients who experienced her service. While I was pregnant I was focusing on the birth itself (probably as most first-time mums do) and overlooked breastfeeding.
I would have given everything to have had Julie close to me at that time!
You can learn more about her on the website.
Madia Rashid
After 10 years of working for the NHS and with two small children, Madia decided to set up her own Clinic. Her mission, to provide access to Physiotherapist led women’s health services and expertise, via her educational-pilates courses for mums-to-be in small groups.
Whilst also helping women suffering from pregnancy-associated pain, both during or after birth. She would definitely help me with my PGP problem on a more personal level than what the hospital did!
More on the website.
As I anticipated every woman has different issues. What is/was your biggest trouble while you were pregnant?
Who was your “lifesaver” for that?
Please comment below with your experience, and together we can compile a useful list for all the mums out there.
3 2 1 Go! 😉
