The Babe in Arms

The Babe in Arms Independent, evidence based support for pregnant people and new parents. Birth Preparation, Breastfeeding Support and Baby Massage......

Enjoying my slower Friday mornings, really looking forward to baby massage again in September, there is space for two mo...
29/07/2025

Enjoying my slower Friday mornings, really looking forward to baby massage again in September, there is space for two more if you’d like to come along, let me know xx



I’ve spent two days with amazing expectant parents in Glossop, and look! Our Vivienne now has a friend. Author Hilary Ma...
27/07/2025

I’ve spent two days with amazing expectant parents in Glossop, and look! Our Vivienne now has a friend. Author Hilary Mantel now graces the wall!

I’ve had a fabulous time with them and wish them all the love and strength for the journey ahead of them as they welcome there new babies to the world.

So much admin! My life is busy and filled with so many activities, I love my paper diary and I’m already booked for ante...
25/07/2025

So much admin! My life is busy and filled with so many activities, I love my paper diary and I’m already booked for antenatal work until April 2026!

I’m facilitating antenatal courses throughout the summer and Baby Club will run every week until our Christmas break. I’ve capacity for two TBR 3 Step Rewind clients and 1:1 breastfeeding support packages before we reach September. If you’d like to know more please get in touch.

And I’m really loving my green “Poetry” cardigan, found in a bin of clothing items at a local charity shop where items were priced at 4 for a pound! 25p, soft cotton, pockets and a brilliant colour, what’s not to like!

Happy Friday you beautiful people Xx.

Tiny baby fingers are so small and so perfect. They are a wonder to see and are one of your baby’s main ways to learn ab...
23/07/2025

Tiny baby fingers are so small and so perfect.

They are a wonder to see and are one of your baby’s main ways to learn about the world. Ditch the mits, they make their hands sweaty and smelly, they stop the instinctive face stroking that babies do when they feel startled or overwhelmed.

Every touch feeds back and helps your baby’s brain grow.

Touching you helps them feel comforted, contact with your face and chest helps build their micro biome as they share your flora. Stroking and squeezing the flesh of the breast helps the milk flow more freely enabling them to drink more - all mammals do this one way or another, many grown cats will still knead your lap with their paws when they feel relaxed and comfortable - it’s a left over behaviour from their kittnehood.

I know that your baby’s nails can feel sharp and can leave marks on their brand new skin. File them, peel them with your fingers or teeth. If they wear mittens often they are deprived of so much sensory feedback. And who doesn’t marvel at tiny perfect fingers?!



I got nap trapped today and it was the most beautiful hour of my week. A small sweaty head nuzzled against me, getting h...
20/07/2025

I got nap trapped today and it was the most beautiful hour of my week.

A small sweaty head nuzzled against me, getting heavier and comfier as sleep over took them. They slid down my body and nestled in a warm cosy heap. I listened as their breath slowed and steadied, as they became more and more relaxed. I breathed them in.

I don’t often get to hold babies and when I do, the muscle memory overwhelms me. My body remembers the long hours I nursed and snuggled my own babies.

There should never be an expectation to physically share your baby with anyone, even very close family or friends. It can often feel like you’re handing over a part of yourself. They say looking at your baby is like seeing your heart exposed in the world. I get it. I held my own babies very close.

If you’ve let me hold your baby, thank you, for sharing them with me and reawakening my mothering memories. The most beautiful gift that I really appreciate. Thank you.

At the end of Birth Trauma Awareness Week, I need to remind you that you are enough.If the trauma symptoms you carry int...
19/07/2025

At the end of Birth Trauma Awareness Week, I need to remind you that you are enough.

If the trauma symptoms you carry interfere with the person or parent you want to be. If the thoughts and behaviours that you use to manage how you feel cause difficulty. If you feel shame, embarrassment, guilt. If what you have experienced has made you feel less, please know that you are enough. You are loved. You are seen.

I know that you are giving everything that you are able. I know you are strong and vulnerable.

I know there is space, time and tools for healing. Find support to move away from the trauma you experienced. You deserve to be validated, listened to, to feel better.

As always, love for you from me xx



It’s Birth Trauma Awareness Week.A reminder of what the great Mary Cronk said; women do the allowing! As a conscious, ad...
17/07/2025

It’s Birth Trauma Awareness Week.

A reminder of what the great Mary Cronk said; women do the allowing!

As a conscious, adult person no one should be making you do anything. And no one should be restricting what you can do or telling you that you aren’t allowed.

Birth is hard physical and emotional work. This is often not the thing that traumatises parents in the birth room. A feeling that you lack control, have been ignored or coerced into something you didn’t choose is often what causes the greatest trauma.

There are two big things at play when women leave their home for birth. Well documented “white coat syndrome” - not unique to maternity care, the instinct to become a patient and put faith and trust, without question, it the professionals around you. The idea that someone else knows best. When it comes to birth and women’s healthcare we also see “good girl syndrome” - for hundreds of years women have been socially conditioned to be quiet, compliant and not to draw attention to their needs, making them safer from harm. With this ingrained into us it’s very difficult to advocate for yourself, you don’t want to feel like you’re arguing or being difficult.

Remember this is your body and your baby. If the policy says no then, request the support of a senior Midwife to help you create a bespoke birth plan based around your individual needs and wishes. Reading lots, asking all the questions and choosing your birth team with care can help reduce the risk of walking out with trauma. There are no guarantees in today’s medical model of care for birthing parents, this says more about the system than your physiology.


It’s Bith Trauma Awareness Week.I want to say that it’s ok to cry. Let it all out. If anyone utters the words; “at least...
16/07/2025

It’s Bith Trauma Awareness Week.

I want to say that it’s ok to cry.

Let it all out. If anyone utters the words; “at least your baby is ok” ditch them and find someone else. A safe baby is the very minimum you can expect.

You must also feel empowered, heard, validated, cared for, nurtured, physically and emotionally safe. You must feel that you have control over your environment, autonomy over your body, confidence in your decision making.

Often mothers don’t feel like this. Frequently they leave the birth room having experienced things that leave a mark. Unexpected intervention, unexpected surgery, unexpected injury. The physical recovery is tough, the emotional recovery tougher.

If this is you, please remember that it’s not uncommon for feel conflicting feelings; you can be absolutely in love with your baby and pi**ed of with how they arrived in the world! You’re not a bad mother for feeling angry, frustrated, overwhelmed or any other negative emotion.

And I’m here to remind you that what you experienced was not you or your baby’s fault. Maternity services are seeing the highest levels of medicalised birth in history. The system undermines you from your booking appointment. Women are given so many reasons why their birth might be tough, why they are labeled “high risk”, led by the holy trinity; too old, too fat, too pregnant.

Find somewhere to dump your worries, concerns and fears. Explore methods that might help you move on from your experience and begin to enjoy the new person you are as a mother.

With love for you, from me xx


It’s Birth Trauma Awareness Week.I meet too many women who have been left with challenging thoughts, feelings and behavi...
14/07/2025

It’s Birth Trauma Awareness Week.

I meet too many women who have been left with challenging thoughts, feelings and behaviours following the trauma they experienced while welcoming their baby to the world. Trauma symptoms get in the way of positive relationships, restful sleep, enjoyment of your baby. Trauma symptoms can make you feel triggered and vulnerable at unexpected moments. Trauma symptoms can block your sense of self efficacy and right to take up space. Trauma symptoms might leave you wondering if you are a good enough parent.

It’s tough. The journey to pregnancy, birth and beyond can be peppered with poor experiences that leave a mark on you.

Traumatic Birth Recovery is a brief intervention facilitated over three sessions that can help lift the symptoms of trauma. I work at your own pace in your own home, if you’d like to know more please get in touch and we can explore how I can help you start to enjoy parenthood and life again.



It’s the last session of Baby Massage in the morning before the summer break. If you’d like to come along in September, ...
10/07/2025

It’s the last session of Baby Massage in the morning before the summer break. If you’d like to come along in September, half the spaces are already filled so let me know.

Just look at all these beautiful small humans 😍



The algorithms don’t know what to make of me; am I having a baby, a mental breakdown or a menopause, who knows? This mea...
08/07/2025

The algorithms don’t know what to make of me; am I having a baby, a mental breakdown or a menopause, who knows?

This means I get lots of unwanted adds that boil my p**s on a daily basis. This week I have seen ads for three companies trying to tell me to buy their bras to stop my breasts from sagging. The number one cause, apparently, is breastfeeding.

Breatsfeeding does not make your b***s saggy!

The things that do make one’s breasticles move southward are:

👇 age, as you lose collagen in your skin it loses its elasticity and umph

👇 gravity - constantly pulling everything towards the earth

👇 pregnancy, that lovely relaxin that helps your pelvis become more mobile, softens other ligaments, including the coopers ligaments that help hold your breast tissue to your chest wall

Breasts are a magical organ that provide comfort, warmth and nourishment. It matters not where they sit on your body or that they move lower with time. They are just as they should be.

And remember everyone needs a bosom for a pillow!

Well, the building/renovations continue to be off plan, story of my life!This means Baby Massage will not be happening i...
06/07/2025

Well, the building/renovations continue to be off plan, story of my life!

This means Baby Massage will not be happening in my home studio as early as I’d hoped. Dates and location for September coming this week….



Address

Burnley

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Babe in Arms posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to The Babe in Arms:

Shortcuts

Share