This post contains a wealth of information from all over the web It has links to various useful sources of information that you will find useful in pregnancy and beyond. I am not affiliated with any of these websites and share them purely for information purposes only.
Here is a list of useful apps and websites
Pregnancy Apps
Best Beginnings – this Baby Buddy app has been made by midwives to support women through pregnancy. It is endorsed by many organisations including the Royal college of midwives.
https://www.babybuddyapp.co.uk/
When looking at different apps to download, be mindful of what the app is advertising.
Eating well in pregnancy
www.firststepsnutrition.org/eating-well-in-pregnancy
www.nhs.uk/start4life/pregnancy
We know that eating well in pregnancy is so important. Making sure you are eating lots of fruit and vegetables will help you get all the vitamins and minerals you need to grow your baby. Frozen fruit and vegetables are a good way of buying them.
For your partner.
https://birthing4blokes.com/articles/
Mindfulness
I obviously would recommend that you book onto my hypnobirthing course to learn lots of techniques that will help you towards the end of your pregnancy, in labour and beyond. However! … there are other sources of mindfulness work out there. Headspace have a section that is dedicated to pregnancy and I believe that a free trial is available.
https://www.headspace.com/blog/?s=pregnancy
The Calm App is also very good, but does not have a pregnancy section.
Induction of Labour
Information about induction of labour can be found at www.nice.org.uk Induction of labour clinical guideline [CG70]. Nice guidelines are the government protocols that trust must follow when offering you interventions.
Sara Wickam is a midwife who writes about Birth from a woman’s perspective:
Dr Rachel Reed is a midwife who campaigns for women’s rights.
www.midwifethinking.com/2016/07/13/induction-of-labour-balancing-risks/
These are both very interesting blogs covering lots of topics
Birth Plans
Here is a link to https://thepositivebirthcompany.co.uk/birth-preferences
Placenta Remedies
Here is a link to a local placenta encapsulation company in Rochester. https://theplacentaconnection.co.uk/
Safe Sleep
www.basisonline.org.uk Durham university does a lot of research into safe infant sleep and is the best source of information out there.
www.lullabytrust.org.uk/safer-sleep-advice/ Also has a lot of good information with regards to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
Infant feeding
www.firststepsnutrition.org/parents-carers
First steps has really good information about formula milk
Here is some information about concerns with baby prep machines
www.wearebesideyou.co.uk Is the Kent and Medway infant feeding support site. They run one to one peer support sessions for pregnancy and the website has lots of videos on infant feeding on it. It also links out to other really good support websites.
Medway Midwives will do all they can to support your feeding journey. They are all Baby friendly trained. Hayley Clinton RM is (at the time of writing) the infant feeding lead and runs a drop in clinic together with the Health Visitors, once a week for infant feeding issues such as tongue tie and latching issues.
Sling Library
Mid Kent Babywearing have a sling library so that you can try out different slings and find out what will work for you and your baby. This is their facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/MidKentBabywearing/
Cloth Nappies
There are many sources of information about cloth nappies. This seems like a good starting point for information gathering.
https://www.thenappylady.co.uk/news/cloth-nappies.html
www.cheekywipes.com – for all your reusable cloth nappy and wipe needs. There are other similar companies around. This code will give you some money off. (I have not yet investigated how it works or whether it can be considered an affiliate link)
https://mention-me.com/m/ol/sv1kd-gill-marchant
Health Visitors – Medway
Here is a link to the local Health visiting service. The health visitor will take over your care from the Midwife when your baby is around 10 days old.
https://www.medwaycommunityhealthcare.nhs.uk/our-services/a-z-services/child-health-service
Registering your baby
You have 6 weeks to register your baby after s/he is born. You must make an appointment to do this and can use the weblink below. A baby legally has its Mother’s surname until they are registered. If you are married, either you or your partner can register the baby. If you are not married then the mother must be present to register the birth. There is more information about this on the Registry Office website below.
https://www.medway.gov.uk/info/200155/births/14/register_a_birth
Disclaimer, I am not affiliated to any of these organisations nor do I receive any payments from them. They are just websites that I feel offer a good service or good information.
I am an affiliated member of the Royal College of Midwives, who do endorse some of these companies.
Medway Hypnobirth 