Wildflower Mama

02/03/2025

👌🏽

25/02/2025

It is normal that you want to hug and hold and kiss and nurse your baby (day and night).

It is normal that your baby doesn’t want to be separated from you; her survival instincts are strong. She isn’t manipulating, she is communicating. She believes that you and she are one, not two. And on a subconscious level, maybe you do too.

It is normal that she reacts and cries when she can’t see you to bring you back into proximity; that is a healthy response, which will naturally change over time, but it is not to be squashed or questioned or judged.

It is normal that you don’t want to leave her. That when someone offers for you to have a night out or to leave your baby that after you’ve been gone for an hour or just a few minutes your heartstrings are being pulled. As much as you need a break and some me time, the magnetism of your connection is drawing you back to her.

It doesn’t mean you’re weak or needy. It means you’re bonding with your baby on a deeply emotional and physiological level.

In the early days, she physically needs you to help regulate her bodily systems, like heat and heart rate and her breathing. As she grows into a toddler and beyond she relies on you to co-regulate her emotions. She is calm when she is with you. You are her home.

Your loving interactions are firing and wiring her brain to believe that the world is a safe place. You are teaching her that she can trust others. You are fostering her ability to form healthy relationships in the future.

This time goes by oh so fast and before you know it she will be taking steps away from you. Take solace in the fact that her independence will one day be strong as you’ve patiently laid the foundations through a framework of healthy dependence and attachment.

Enjoy this time mama! Revel in this baby bliss. Surrender, close your eyes and fall into the great unknown that is waiting for you. She is in love with you for a reason – you’re her amazing mama and she knows exactly how to guide you.

Raised Good

via L.R.Knost - Little Hearts/Gentle Parenting Resources

06/02/2025

Sara Wickham explains Archie Cochrane's aphorism, and shows how this links with an important bit of decision making related wisdom.

04/02/2025

"Did you know that Mayan families in Guatemala, consider bedsharing to be the only way to parent through the night?

Did you know that in Japan, breastfeeding and shared sleep (soine) is seen as a means to sustain connection through touch or ‘skinship’ between mother and child?
Did you know that In Bali, babies' feet don’t touch the ground until 3 months of age?
Yet, we’re told in western culture that our babies need to sleep on their own, that we need to get our babies on a schedule and that we can ‘spoil’ them if we pick them up ‘too much’.

One of my favourite cross-cultural pieces of research to share to help us challenge the mainstream parenting narrative, comes from Dr. Charlotte Peterson. She spent forty years traveling the globe to live with local families and witness parenting practices in peaceful cultures. She observed that in Bali, babies are seen as a blessing.

At three months of age, there is a ceremony called Tiga Bulan or “three moons”. It is not until the celebration of this ceremony that a new baby’s feet touch the earth. Until that point, the baby is considered “of the heavens” and is constantly held in someone’s arms.

After the ceremony, the baby is considered “of the earth”. Although a baby can be put down and “out of arms” at this point, Charlotte has rarely seen a Balinese infant or toddler not being held or closely watched, by her parents or family members, within those first three months.

For me, it feels validating to gain a different perspective, reminding us that our instincts to hold our babies close are ancient, wise and innately human. I seek out research like this as it allows me to better understand the difference between social norms & what’s best for our babies. ✨🦋"

words: Raised Good ❤️
📷: Nina Olivari ❤️

Raised Good

🌸🌸🌸 OUR BEAUTIFUL ISSUE 57 IS ON SALE NOW 🌸🌸🌸

It's packed full of inspiration, tips, advice and real-life experiences to guide you on your journey through pregnancy, birth and motherhood - whether you are expecting a new arrival this year, are adjusting to life with a new baby, or are deep in the trenches of parenthood.

Get your copy now - available locally and internationally online.
Find your local stockists here: https://linktr.ee/TheNaturalParentMagazine
https://thenaturalparentmagazine.com/product-category/shop/magazine/

You can pick up a copy from your local Countdown or selected stockists in NZ, from your local newsagent in Australia, from WH Smith High Street stores, selected Waitrose & Partners and independent bookstores across the UK, or online from anywhere in the world. 🌸🌸🌸

16/01/2025

Looking for information about birth experiences? Discover what informed choice is in our birth education resource hub.

15/01/2025

It shouldn't have to be said, but we need the knowledge to make an informed decision. It's hard to know what you don't know. Get educated, know your options. Your choice of care provider and your knowledge are so important in getting the birth you want.

Informed consent is a critical principle in healthcare. A recent Australian survey revealed that many women lacked sufficient information and choice about fetal monitoring methods. Only 35% reported being asked for consent. This highlights a significant issue in maternity care, and it is well past time it was addressed.

https://birthsmalltalk.com/2024/12/04/fetal-monitoring-and-choice/

24/11/2024

The Birth Trauma Tree emphasises the diverse root causes of birth trauma, each uniquely experienced by the affected woman or her partner. Whether she encounters one, some, or all of these causes, the key concern is not the specifics but rather the emotional impact and how she perceives her birth experience.

These root causes and subsequent trauma can deepen when the experience is ignored, misdiagnosed, or unsupported. This neglect nurtures the roots of trauma, allowing them to take hold and grow into visible symptoms, which may manifest as PTSD, postnatal depression, or other mental health challenges.

Acknowledging the impact of a traumatic birth is essential.
For those caring for postpartum women, recognising the signs of trauma is crucial. Paying attention to these indicators can make a significant difference in their healing 💜

30/07/2024

28/06/2024

All screening tests have downsides.

They may lead to overuse of intervention.

And every time we use technology like this, we are undermining women’s own knowledge.

The constant use of technology implies that our bodies aren’t capable of growing, birthing and feeding babies without a shed load of expensive machinery.

And that’s not just true.

I spend some of my time teaching passionate midwives, obstetricians, doulas, childbirth educators, hypnobirthing teachers and other birth workers from around the world, and this comes up over and over again as a key theme that so many of us are experiencing.

It's so important to keep sharing positive messages about the awesomeness of the female body.

And to remind people that we did this for millions of years before the machines came along. If it hadn't (on the whole) worked, none of us would be here today.

Yes, technology is great. it helps in the few cases where nature doesn't get it right.

But it only does more good than harm if we restrict its use to when it’s really needed.

If you'd like more information, see https://www.sarawickham.com where I have a whole information hub on screening as well as more than 500 pages of information.

And for more information on making decisions about screening and other birth interventions, see my book: What’s Right For Me? Making decisions in pregnancy and childbirth.

More info at https://www.sarawickham.com/me

28/06/2024

Love these words by Morales McDowell 💗

🌸🌸🌸 OUR GORGEOUS ISSUE 54 IS ON SALE NOW!! 🌸🌸🌸

It's packed full of inspiration, tips, advice and real-life experiences to guide you on your journey through pregnancy, birth and motherhood - whether you are expecting a new arrival this year, are adjusting to life with a new baby, or are deep in the trenches of parenthood.

Get your copy now - available locally and internationally online.

Find your local stockists here: https://linktr.ee/TheNaturalParentMagazine

https://thenaturalparentmagazine.com/product-category/shop/magazine/

You can pick up a copy from your local Countdown or selected stockists in NZ, from your local newsagent in Australia, from WH Smith High Street stores, selected Waitrose & Partners and independent bookstores across the UK, or online from anywhere in the world. 🌸🌸🌸

10/06/2024

“I have enough contact napping photos to fill a gallery. It felt like such a win when we could finally transfer him to his cot for naps at around ten months.

But why? Ten months was still so little in hindsight. I wish I had been less concerned with what every other baby was doing and just enjoyed our reality.

Those early conversations of competitive independence make me cringe now. It’s as if we were all vying to have the most grown-up boss babies who could change their own nappies.

Something about first-time motherhood renders you terrified of creating bad habits. A feeling that if I concede to this now, he will do this forever.

Well, he didn’t. In fact, he’s stopped napping altogether now and I look back at those moments of enforced rest and closeness with gratitude.

The lessons of first-time motherhood keep repeatedly slapping me in the face.”

Art by: .oleander

Words taken from ‘Lessons: Reflections on Early Motherhood’ by