Are eating dates just another wives tale to help get labour started or is there any truth behind the suggested 6 dates a day 4 weeks from your estimated due date?… Or estimated due month as we like to refer to at TPP. Taking a brief look at the research for labour, 1st, 2nd and third stages and the use of oxytocin and prostin. There are also some recipes to help prevent date-gate related boredom!

My birth story for baby number two. We’ve been through a rough few years getting here but finally baby Caulfield decided to make an appearance. I hope you enjoy our story…

Every time a baby is born so is a mother. It doesn’t matter if it’s your first, second or sixth. Each and every pregnancy, labour, baby and fourth trimester is different. These are my top tips in those early couple of weeks when you’re living in the newborn vortex and you’re not sure if it’s day or night.

So many women wan to return to running postnatally and it’s our job as pelvic health physiotherapists to help them do so safely in an appropriate time frame. Being told no when running is something you love is not a viable answer when returning to your sport.

What is it all about? I think pelvic organ prolapse is one of the biggest concerns people have when they come to see me in clinic. This is where we debunk a lot of the myths about POP and give you the research and anatomy lesson you really need rather than Dr Google doing all the heavy lifting.

You can imagine how delighted my mum was to proof read this one for me. As a therapist who doesn't gatekeeper anything this one was an important post to get out there after sustaining an OASI birthing my daughter. Getting back to sex post baby happens in your own timeframe nobody else’s. This was my experience.

Diastasis Recti, DR, Diastasis Rectus, The Gap (not the clothing brand.) This is another aspect during pregnancy and postnatal that a lot of women are concerned about. This post aims to take the missconceptions about “healing” your DR and put them in the bin, I want to educate and empower people to not fear the gap.

The most unnatural “natural” thing I’ve ever done in my life bar none. Multiple bouts of mastitis and flashing my boobs to half of Exeter, this post aims to be a bridge to those mamas who are really going through it trying their best to breastfeed but finding their reality is not matching their expectation. This is what I wish I could have read in those rocky first few months.

What is PGP and the research on how we can treat it. With the best intensions I will try to update this as best I can because the latest research can change our approach to how we manage pain.

Not wanting to put you off reading this post but the short answer is YES. Don’t believe everything you read on mums net (no shade.) You can indeed exercise (to a high intensity) and breastfeed. In this post we take in to consideration some factors you may not have considered that extend beyond “drink lots of water.”

Do you know how you should be doing your pelvic flor exercises? The reps and sets?- Why do we actually need to do them in isolation to the general exercise we are all trying to do? This post is for everyone with pelvic floor exercise questions.

Stress urinary incontinence affects a huge amount of people especially postnatally. this can be incredibly upsetting and frustrating. This article explains urinary incontinence and what we can do about it. Leaking urine is common but NOT NORMAL. You do not have to put up with these symptoms at any stage in your lifetime.

This is my experience of exercising through my first pregnancy as someone who has a background in competitive swimming. I was enjoying CrossFit for around 3 years prior to getting pregnant with my first baby. Striking the balance between ego and exercise in pregnancy was a struggle for me initially but something I’ve learnt to recognise. With a sprinkling of research you might find this helpful if you’re expecting and managing expectation vs reality of exercise in pregnancy.

Thos first 28 days were over in a flash. This is pure survival guide as someone navigating a 3b tear, breastfeeding through an undiagnosed tongue tie for weeks and having a palour that matched the magnolia of our living room walls. It’s giving anaemia.

I hope this post does what it says on the tin. What are the rates of tearing? How does it happen? Why does it happen? What can we do to help? This is something I wish everybody knew going into a vaginal birth. If you’re informed and have the information you are in the best possible place to care for yourself or some your care about.

This is my transition from maidenhood to motherhood. Like so many before me there were some ups and downs. Birth is and always will be the most incredible experience for me. The human body will never cease to amaze me. Vomiting in labour repeatedly, a hospital admission I never really wanted and a perineal tear I definitely didn’t want. Never coming up short with the positivity through all of this but learning to surrender to the process was a big deal for me and my type A personality. I hope you enjoy the read!

Why this blog exists and how I hope to be your pelvic health big sis. Holding your hand through every transitional stage.