Resources

Click the title above to go through to Resources for pregnancy, birth and parenting both online and face to face local to Kent and Southeast London. For more information on the areas covered please see Towns & Hospitals I Cove r. In the Resources section you can find information on; normal infant sleep, colic, breastfeeding, formula feeding, demand feeding, building newborn routines, SPD, postnatal depression, postnatal anxiety, hyperemesis gravidarum, premature labour, pain relief in labour, water birth, home birth, hospital birth, baby wearing, vaccinations, hypnobirthing, newborn activities, fourth trimester, your rights in childbirth, free antenatal program - online and in person, attachment parenting, co-sleeping, bed sharing, mental health support and more.

Resources

Antenatal, Breastfeeding, Birth and Newborn Resources online and local to: Kent and London

You can take a look at all of the links below during pregnancy, or pick and choose those that suit you. They will be here if you feel you need them.

I have split resources that support you antenatally and those which deal only with birth, even though there could be complete cross over

antenatal

Click to go to resource site

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Mother Mother Doula

The Performance

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Mother Mother Doula

A must watch film about sex, birth and how it has become a medical process…

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Mother Mother Doula

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Mother Mother

Doula UK

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Mother Mother

Doula UK is the leading organisation for doulas in the UK, with a network of member doulas nearing 700 in number. Doula UK was founded in 2001 as a not-for-profit organisation.

Find out if a doula is right for you and how to get one.

Find out about their Access Fund enabling very low income families to have a doula.

My Doula UK profile is here

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Mother Mother

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Mother Mother Doula

The Mother Side

Mother Mother Doula

A directory and service looking to connect Mums and Mum-to-be looking to connect with other Mums.

“Are you looking to become part of a friendly, welcoming and supportive community of Mums and Mums-to-be?

Do you feel OVERWHELMED by the amount of conflicting information out there for parents? Are you looking for somewhere which provides unbiased, ethical and evidence based resources on fertility, pregnancy, birth and parenting?”

Mother Mother Doula

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Mother Mother

Positive Birth Movement

Mother Mother

The Postive Birth Movement, founded by Milli Hill are a global network of free to attend antenatal groups, linked up by social media. They connect pregnant women together to share stories, expertise and positivity about childbirth. They aim to challenge the epidemic of negativity and fear that surrounds modern birth, and help change birth for the better. Join them as we meet up, link up and shake up birth.

There are around 250 groups in the UK

Mother Mother

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Mother Mother

Darent Valley Hospital Antenatal Classes

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Mother Mother

Darent Valley run a wide selection of affordable (comparable to private, e.g. £50 for 6 hour long sessions) classes. They are held by experienced midwives, hypnobirthing practitioners, psychologists and are an excellent way to get a good grounding in your childbirth education.

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Mother Mother

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Mother Mother Doula

Birth Bliss Academy - Free online Antenatal Course

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Mother Mother Doula

Your Birth, Your Way does not focus on one specific method or philosophy of childbirth and parenting . It is a complete programme designed to inspire you to connect with what is personally important, educate you so that you are able to identify what choices to make andsupport you in creating positive experiences.

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Mother Mother Doula

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Mother Mother Doula

Birthing 4 Blokes free online antenatal course

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Mother Mother Doula

You are going to be a Dad, are you ready for it?

Discover how you can be fully prepared for all the demands and challenges during her pregnancy and how to be at your best during the birth

Mark Harris is providing this course for free with a voucher code that can be found on his social media at time of writing (September 2018)

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Mother Mother Doula

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Mother Mother Doula

Belly Belly

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Mother Mother Doula

well written and evidence based articles and conversations.

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Mother Mother Doula

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Mother Mother

Pregnancy Sickness Support

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Mother Mother

volunteer network made up of women around the UK who have suffered hyperemesis gravidarum, or have severe pregnancy sickness themselves

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Mother Mother

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Scope - support for disabilities

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Pregnancy and parenthood for people with cerebral palsy or physical impairments

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PANDAS

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The PANDAS Foundation is here to help support and advise any parent who is experiencing a perinatal mental illness. We are also here to inform and guide family members, carers, friends and employers as to how they can support someone who is suffering.

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Maternity Action

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Are you a working mother-to-be or new parent? This information sheet gives you an outline of your rights and benefits during pregnancy and maternity leave and tells you where you can get more detailed information.

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The Myth of the Ageing Placenta - Sophie Messager

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Quote from the very helpful blog post:

“I am a doula and birth educator.

I also have a PhD in physiology of reproduction, and 20 years of research experience and I have a confession to make: I get REALLY irate when women get given poor quality evidence (or no evidence at all) in support of a recommendation for inducing labour.”

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DMV, domestic violence and childbirth, domestic violence in pregnancy

Mother Mother

The Freedom Programme

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Mother Mother

information and support for sufferers and perpetrators of domestic abuse. Pregnancy can be a difficult time and can exacerbate any problems. This programme has been found to be successful and helpful.

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Mother Mother

Breastfeeding

Click to go to resource site

Mother Mother

International Breastfeeding Centre - Jack Newman

Mother Mother

Resources from the world renowned breastfeeding counsellor. Good for diagrams of good latch and helpful advice for the early days.

Mother Mother

Kelly Mom

Mother Mother

Comprehensive support and evidence based information for breastfeeding mothers. Great advice on pumping and other parenting advice for non breastfeeding families.

Mother Mother

La Leche League

Mother Mother

Providing support for breastfeeding mothers for every stage of their breastfeeding journey.

Mother Mother

NCT

Mother Mother

Practical advice and support online and in local groups.

Mother Mother

NHS

Mother Mother

Information about breastfeeding from the NHS

Mother Mother

Association of Breastfeeding Mothers

Mother Mother

They are a group of trained volunteers dedicated to supporting breastfeeding mums and their families. They’ve been supporting mums and nurturing families for almost 40 years.

Many of their breastfeeding counsellors are mums who’ve benefited from ABM support and now want to share their knowledge and experience.

Mother Mother

Mother Mother Doula

The Breastfeeding Network - Drugs in Breastmilk

Mother Mother Doula

Drugs In Breastmilk – Is It Safe?

An increasing number of mothers and health professionals have sought to find more information on the levels of medicines passing through milk to the baby. Standard reference books such as the British National Formulary (BNF) provide little information for professionals and parents to make decisions on individual situations. BfN endeavours to provide information to enable mothers to breastfeed their babies for as long as they wish and to provide information on the safety of medicines for each mother and baby pair.

Mother Mother Doula

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Mother Mother Doula

Little Peach

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Mother Mother Doula

very supportive, providing sensible information on social media and online. Motivating and helpful

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Mother Mother Doula

The Story of the Zoops - breastfeeding/formula company allegory

Mother Mother Doula

“An animation created from the work of illustrator and comic artist Heather Cushman-Dowdee. Imagine a land where suddenly the way that generations have always fed their babies is suddenly thought of as weird and offensive. Though this could be right here in our country, the place I'm talking about is the land of the Zoops. “

Mother Mother Doula

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The Birth Hub - Blog and Tongue Tie Resource

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UK doula, doula course leader and breastfeeding counsellor.

This is my library of resources all about pregnancy, childbirth and infant feeding.

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Birth

Click to go to resource site

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Mother Mother

Which?

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Mother Mother

Which? have a flow chart where you can fill in your preferences and it will help guide you towards the options that might suit you best. There are also reviews of maternity units: hospitals, birth centers, specialist labour wards etc.

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Mother Mother

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Mother Mother

Birthrights UK

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Mother Mother

Birthrights is the UK’s only organisation dedicated to improving women’s experience of pregnancy and childbirth by promoting respect for human rights. They believe that all women are entitled to respectful maternity care that protects their fundamental rights to dignity, autonomy, privacy and equality.

Find out your rights.

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Mother Mother

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Mother Mother

Tell me a good birth story

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Mother Mother

Listening to a good birth story is powerful. It’s a simple message - ‘I did it, so can you’ – and it inspires courage. They connect pregnant women with mothers who have good birth stories to share – and link by link, are building a big beautiful chain of birth confidence.

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Mother Mother

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Mother Mother

Evidence based birth

Mother Mother

information about birth based on evidence and studies with the aim to educate as many people as possible about their options. They also aim to keep health professionals and doulas informed.

Mother Mother

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Mother Mother

Home Birth Reference Site

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Mother Mother

An excellent source of evidence based information to see if home birth might be right for you. Covering risk, support from midwives, water births, what you might need to plan a home birth, the benefits, birth stories and lots of evidenced based research. If you like that sort of thing, it is brilliant.

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Mother Mother

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Mother Mother Doula

CesareanBirth.org

Mother Mother Doula

Support and information for planning a C-section birth, the organisation aims to:
– Challenge research and information provided to women about different birth plan risks
– Establish physical and psychological birth outcomes as formal indicators of quality care, instead of birth processes…
– Hold organisations to account (e.g. WHO’s 1985 recommended 15% cesarean rate threshold and 2015 CDMR position, and the RCOG’s 2012 recommended 20% caesarean rate)

Mother Mother Doula

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Mother Mother Doula

AIMS

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Mother Mother Doula

• Campaigning for better births for all

• Protecting human rights in childbirth

• Independent information about pregnancy and birth

• Raising awareness of research

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Mother Mother Doula

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Mother Mother Doula

Mumologist

Mother Mother Doula

Dr Emma Svanberg, a Clinical Psychologist

...since 2009 and Hypnobirthing practitioner since 2010. I’ve worked in a number of different mental health settings but specialise in the perinatal period – the time around pregnancy, birth and the first years of parenthood.

Mother Mother Doula

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Mother Mother Doula

Video showing the mechanics of birth

Mother Mother Doula

a video for a birth chair, but has really good examples of what birth looks like inside the body

Mother Mother Doula

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Mother Mother

Welcome Birth Services - The Birth Partner Guide

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Mother Mother

A Zero Bullsh*t Guide To Supporting The One You Love

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Mother Mother

Newborn

Click to go to resource site

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Mother Mother Doula

Infant Sleep Information Source

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Mother Mother Doula

“This website presents research evidence about biologically normal sleep for human babies. We discuss how infant sleep may vary due to cultural behaviours and expectations such as what babies are fed, where they sleep, and how we interpret their needs. This information is for a) parents who wish to make informed choices about infant sleep and night-time care, b) health professionals who wish to share evidence-based information with parents about infant sleep. “

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Mother Mother Doula

Motherly 4th Trimester Class

Mother Mother Doula

An online class with videos that gives a sensible, kind overview to life as a newborn mother.

Mother Mother Doula

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Family Action - Free Parent Helpline (or text/email)

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Being a parent or carer to a child or young person can often be difficult without emotional support and guidance there to help. Many parents feel confused by what information is available or struggle to access services close to home.

Our free National Parent Support Service tackles these issues in a new and innovative way by using a network of ‘virtual’ volunteers from across the country to support parents and carers through telephone calls, email and text message.

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Raised Good - beautiful blog post on healing PND

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HOW I HEALED MY POSTNATAL DEPRESSION WITHOUT SLEEP TRAINING MY BABY

LIFE

Guest post by Zelma Broadfoot

As a social worker and a mother, I’ve experienced mental health issues both personally and professionally. It has touched my life, gently from time to time, and then knocked me over like a tone of bricks after the birth of my first daughter, Cadence, in 2015.

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Mother Mother Doula

Birth without fear - sleep information for newborns

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Mother Mother Doula

Information on sleeping for newborns and families from January Harshe. Birth Without Fear began as a simple passion to let women know they have choices in childbirth. It then evolved to become an inspiration and support to women and their families through their trying to conceive, pregnancy, birth and post partum journeys.

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Mother Mother Doula

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Mother Mother

NCT - co-sleeping information

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Mother Mother

sensible information on co-sleeping, why you might want to do it, and how to do it safely.

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Mother Mother

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Mother Mother

Children's Centers / Sure Start

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Mother Mother

Usually free of charge or well subsidised events, classes and information for pregnant women, new families and babies. Wonderful services for new parents, lots of support for breastfeeding and chances to meet new, local friends with children the same age. Local to Kent they are usually the site of health visitor clinics to weigh babies too.

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Mother Mother

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Mother Mother Doula

NHS Maternal Mental Health

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Mother Mother Doula

Information on how to get support for maternal mental health issues in pregnancy, and with a baby in Kent. If you are stuck and want to know how to get some support you can always call me.