Karen Knight birth life etc

21/06/2022

So much childhood anxiety around … we are ‘human beings’ not ‘human doings’ (and as parents we need to model this - BIG note to self…)

When children are raised in environments where they’re always achieving, producing, competing— when they’re always “going” they enter into fight or flight.

Parents are also within fight or flight. Unable to be present. Always overwhelmed. Parents also need to be at work, get their kids where they need to go, + deal with all the things life naturally throws at them at the same time.

What happens? Stress hormones like cortisol + adrenaline are released into children’s bodies. And we now know that this (over time) structurally changes the brains of children.

Am I surprised that ADHD rates are skyrocketing? No, I’m not. Our environment shapes our brains + nervous systems.

Here are some things I believe we can do to support a more *emotionally healthy* society (much of this means a flexible, adaptive nervous system)

1. MORE STILLNESS: more time for children to just be. You know how when you get rest time your mind tends to not even *let* you rest? This is the result of a hypervigilant nervous system. We need to prime children’s nervous systems to be flexible + healthy. Open to rest. SAFE in rest.

2. PLAY: Without it being judged, scored, + without giving participation trophies. Pure, unstructured play without an end result.

3. LESS FOCUS ON ACHIEVEMENT MORE FOCUS ON UNFOLDING CHILDREN’S NATURAL GIFTS. Lack of purpose + meaning is directly connected to depression + anxiety.

4. EMOTIONAL EDUCATION: education on healthy family dynamics, emotional intelligence, + nervous system awareness. Note: this education would lead us to an entire upheaval of current systems.

5. RELATIONAL EDUCATION: relationships create our wellness (or lack of it.) Focus on healthy, safe, secure attachment education so children can create healthy families as adults (even if they are born into dysfunctional family systems)

6. COMMUNITY SERVICE: collaboration + community connection helps children to understand we are all connected. It also allows them to be exposed to marginalized people or others who are “different” to them. Meeting + connecting with people who are different than us is key in tolerance + empathy building

22/03/2022

This (in Dame Judi’s voice …)

Don’t prioritise your looks my friend, as they won’t last the journey.
Your sense of humour though, will only get better with age.
Your intuition will grow and expand like a majestic cloak of wisdom.
Your ability to choose your battles, will be fine-tuned to perfection.
Your capacity for stillness, for living in the moment, will blossom.
Your desire to live each and every moment will transcend all other wants.
Your instinct for knowing what (and who) is worth your time, will grow and flourish like ivy on a castle wall.
Don’t prioritise your looks my friend,
they will change forevermore, that pursuit is one of much sadness and disappointment.
Prioritise the uniqueness that make you you, and the invisible magnet that draws in other like-minded souls to dance in your orbit.
These are the things which will only get better.

Donna Ashworth

21/03/2022

12/11/2021

We all need reminding of this sometimes (I need it today)

Life lessons ....

05/11/2021

I spend a lot of time preoccupied with fertility, pregnancy and birth hormones. I’m also surrounded with teen hormones, toddler hormones and perimenopausal hormones in my home. It’s fair to say they are everywhere!!!!

As I’m progressing through my naturopathic training the realisation of how our hormonal health dictates every aspect of our health and wellness - at every age - is constant. This blog (from my nutrition lecturer) is great food for thought ….

If you have hormones....this is worth a read, whether you are over 50yr, under 50yr or a teenager (which is a bit like all over the age groups) 😉

We have a lot going on over here, HRT possibly being offered on the NHS for free (no such thing as free 🤫. But it seems to have created quite a stir.

So in England, we have a ‘popular’ middle aged woman promoting HRT…firstly I have nothing against HRT, as in some cases it does ‘get one out of hole’ and can be life saving …but then what?….it is like she is left to continue without any regular testing, what if the woman in question has methylation issues? Does that not mean it can increase the likelihood of ‘hormonal cancer’? Yes it can.

So let’s look a little at hormones…

1. They have to be made
2. They have to be transported
3. They have to bind to a receptor (to get their message across like increase bone, libido or reduce chin hair growth)
4. Some have to cross the cell membrane, such as the thyroid hormone whose receptor is in the nuclear membrane
5. They have to be metabolised
6. They have to be excreted

So when a woman has a blood test for hormones, what aspect of her ‘hormonal health’ are we looking at ? Are we looking at

1. Her ability to make the hormone?
2. Her ability to transport the hormone?..is it bound and inactive or ‘free and flirty’
3. Her body’s sensitivity to the hormone?
4. Health of the cell membrane?
5. Liver phase 1 or 2 detox capability or microbiome health?
6. Whether she poops regularly, urinates, sweats, parasympathetic state of mind?
7. Does she have a gall bladder? That 'old nugget'

Sadly a blood test does not provide much if any of the above information. So how can a woman be SAFELY put on HRT LONGTERM, when we have no answers for the above?

It seems menopausal women are the new ‘market’ for drugs, aka HRT. But do you as a woman know the above?

How can one prescribe say ‘oestrogen’ or even the birth control pill without knowing ....

1. What time of the month it is for a woman, as hormones change through the month
2. Whether she is stressed (stress impacts the transport of the hormones)
3. Whether she has been on antibiotics? Antibiotics can impact hormonal pattern
4. Any inhalers or steroids? These can impact hormonal patterns

So if one is put on HRT or the BCP and then there is no understanding of how much of the actual hormone is ‘free to flirt’ and how much is bound and ‘not ready to flirt’?

Just say if you DO KNOW how much of the actual hormone is free or bound, then does that hormone that is free go onto bind to the receptors successfully and send the message across?

So once the message has been sent, then what happens to that hormone now? After all, it has now done it's job. It has relayed the message, to either bleed, or procreate, or lay down some fat cells on the breast tissue...etc etc ...

So now, how effectively is it being detoxed? Is it being removed? How is the liver doing down there? How is the microbiome handling the oestrogen that is ready to be ‘pooped’ out? But does it get re-absorbed again as the ‘microbiome’ is un-wrapping the packaged up oestrogen that was ready to be ‘pooped’ out?

So how can a woman be safely prescribed HRT or BCP when neither the doctor or the woman know the answers to the above? Why are we playing Russian roulette with our health using powerful hormones.

If you were to buy a car, would you not want to know that it was safe to drive? What about safe to drive on long road trips? So why do women accept long term hormone treatment without knowing their ‘long road trip impact’?

My newsletter is going out next week and and I will be sharing more on this in relation to the thyroid…why do we test for TSH…which is a brain hormone, not a thyroid hormone? And from ta test that is just so 'out of date' decide if a women ‘requires’ thyroid meds or not?

What about the fact that TSH can vary from morning to evening? When was that blood taken, what time of the day? What time of the month?

Questions women can be asking….

PLEASE NOTE...I am not saying do not take HRT/BCP (that is a personal choice), I am encouraging women to start to ask more questions. Most medications do not take into account the complexity of the female hormonal system along side the other systems that are involved.

www.khushamrk.com

PS. the 's*x' hormones are 'steroid hormones'...made from CHOLESTEROL.

01/09/2021

Pregnant and wanting a good birth? This is what my hypnobirthing antenatal course teaches! Places limited - get in contact to book ...

27/07/2021

I’ve been a long-time volunteer for the Birth Trauma Association and experienced trauma for myself during my first birth. Current obstetric shifting guidelines (and the pandemic fallout) are only adding to the numbers of women and families that experience the life-changing effects of a less-than-optimal labour and birth ….

👉 It's BIRTH TRAUMA AWARENESS WEEK and we believe that a healthy baby isn't ALL that matters?

👉 Telling a new mum, “At least you’ve got a healthy baby; that’s all that matters,” is NOT helpful and silences new mothers with their experience, compounding their trauma. This needs to change and it needs to change NOW.

👉 Read our latest blog piece about my own experiences post birth and some humble thoughts on this - and do reach out if you need help post birth we can help, we can signpost, we can do this together.

💕 Sending all families that experience Birth Trauma all our love and a big gigantic hug this week.

👉 Read our blog now - Birth Trauma Awareness - A Healthy Baby isn’t ALL that Matters - https://www.lushtums.co.uk/blog (link in bio back to our website)

And a big up to some of our fav helpful organisations -

✨ The Birth Trauma Association (BTA) (https://www.birthtraumaassociation.org.uk)

✨ Mums Aid (https://www.mums-aid.org)

✨ AIMS have a helpful rouse list (https://www.aims.org.uk/journal/item/support-networks) /

✨ Locally in Brighton MummyShock (https://mummyshock.org.uk)

✨ Gabor Mate (https://www.instagram.com/gabormatemd/) - The Wisdom of Trauma (https://thewisdomoftrauma.com )

✨ Mothers For Mother’s https://mothersformothers.co.uk

✨ Birthing Awareness - 3 Step Rewind for trauma - with Mark Harris https://birthingawarenesstraining.com

07/07/2021

Harry Kane did Hypnobirthing. Twice.