https://instagram.com/elliemaymaternity?igshid=OTJhZDVkZWE%3D

Ellie May Maternity, London (2026)

05/03/2026

A testimonial of a slightly different kind: as, while I work, supporting families privately in their homes during the week, at the weekends I volunteer to support families in another way...💛💜

This Saturday marks 10 years volunteering at and and my week has already been made seeing this lovely testimonial in the weekly volunteers newsletter 🥰🌞

"Ellie is just hitting her 10 Years Anniversary – huge congratulations for all your commitment and passion for GOSH. Elli started in our Saturday Club team and has clocked up a massive 1,100 hours. In the early days, Ellie would come almost every Saturday to help run Saturday Club, where she became a favourite with other volunteers and staff coordinators. Ellie has also helped out in so many other things. Weekend Coordinator, Anna, said this:

“For the past 10 years, Ellie has been a treasured part of Weekend Club. Ellie’s commitment is truly inspiring, and her passion for the children and families is demonstrated through everything she does. She arrives each week with boundless enthusiasm, a bright smile, and her signature funky, brightly coloured leggings and dungarees that bring instant joy to the room. Ellie’s warmth, kindness, and energy create a place where everyone feels welcome and valued. Thank you, Ellie, for being so wonderful and for giving so much of yourself to GOSH. So lucky to have you!”

Well done Ellie and thank you for everything that you do - You truly make a difference!"

I'll share more of my last 10 years, and hopes for the years to come, in my next posts 🌟

02/03/2026

You may have heard of the Golden Hour - the first hour after a baby is born where you and your baby can be left skin-to-skin until at least after baby's first breastfeed 🤗

This period of immediate contact and closeness, preferably without anyone else handling baby first, has many benefits:
👶 Regulates baby's breathing and temperature
👶 Encourages baby's innate feeding reflexes so baby can feed more easily (with minimal input from you or others)
👶 Triggers lots of the feel-good hormone Oxytocin which aids with bonding AND breastfeeding

But...

The name can imply that this period only needs to last an hour and that, exactly 1hr after birth, some sort of timer goes and time is up! Hopefully you've achieved all those benefits....

Forget the clock! ⏰️❌️

Rebrand, in your head, in your birth plan, and to your birth and postpartum supporters, that you want a Golden Bubble! 🫧

Whether 1hr or more, you want baby put on you and the 2 of you given as much time as you may need (unless there's an obvious emergency) to have that first feed and meet each other properly, uninterrupted! 🥰

If things need to be done that CAN be qdone while baby is on you, then ask for that (or make sure your partner/support network can speak and advocate for you ✅️

If baby NEEDS weighing before the first feed, ask for them to be placed prone (on their tummy) on the scales to protect their reflexes before baby is placed on you ✅️

Had you heard of the Golden Bubble? Did you have it or is it in your plan? 🤱🤰

If you want to talk through what to expect in the early hours, days and weeks of breastfeeding, get in touch and we can have a call so you feel prepared! 💬

26/02/2026

Has your little one decided the day starts earlier than you would like? 😴

This was what was happening to a mum of a 6 month old I've been supporting during the day 🌞👶

First day, he'd woken at 3:50am...the day after closer to 5 🙈

This led to a domino effect to the days routine so, when I left at 4pm, both mum and baby were ready to go to bed for the night in the next hour! 💤

When I saw her a couple of days later she had had a 5:30 wake, then a wake just before 6 and then....6:15am! A lie-in! 🥰

What had she done (because I did little other than listen and reflect back)? 👇
🤗 Talking through recent 24hr periods, we identified he was probably just done with sleep by the early hours and so the first idea would be to shift bedtime later...how? By shifting the routine
🤗 When baby woke early, she continued to treat it like nighttime, dark and quiet, offering closeness and comfort to help re-settle
🤗 Once the day had started, she gentle pushed her little one's awake periods wherever she could even just by 15 minutes so that everything shifted slightly across the day
🤗 For naps, she continued letting them happen wherever he was most likely to sleep best - in the carrier, in the buggy or safely co-sleeping like they do at night

For this mum, persisting with these strategies and supporting her little one through it meant a nap towards the end of the day was no longer needed and baby was able to push through until closer to 6/6:30 for the bedtime routine 🎉

Sometimes talking things through and making the smallest of changes to the daytime routine can be all that is needed to make a big difference 🌟

NOTE: your situation is unique so this is just one thing that could help

As a sleep coach who works holistically and gently based on biologically and developmentally normal sleep, I love supporting parents as they lead their own journey towards the sleep goal they are looking for 💝

23/02/2026

Recieved such a lovely review from a mum I've been supporting since October 🥰💝

"Ellie came to support me in caring for my son from when he was 5 weeks old and we genuinely couldn’t have gotten through this special but also very challenging period without her. Her knowledge of newborn care is vast and she makes such an effort to keep up to date with the latest guidance that I was always reassured that my baby was in the very best hands. She has such a gentle, loving manner and he was soothed by being with her from day one (no easy feat!). She was also just great to chat to, incredibly supportive and keen to help out in any way she could often without being asked. An absolute godsend during my maternity leave - couldn’t recommend her enough!"

And then, something else happened...keep an eye out for my next reel to see what my early support can evolve into! 🌟

19/02/2026

"From meltdown management to fixing our buggy, you've gone above and beyond" 🤗

This was a lovely card and gift (I don't hide the fact I am a chocolate fan!) To recieve on my last day with this gorgeous family of 3 who I joined back in October when baby boy was just 6 weeks old 👶

The last couple of days I've been with them, now he's 6 months, he's been trying some solid food! 🥦🤯

And I've been getting in some last cuddly, morning contact naps, as well as some good buggy naps through the local park as well as returning to (where one of the class leaders couldn't quite place me since the last time we met I was with the twins 😂!) 🎵

It's hard leaving but I know I'll be seeing them again 🥰

17/02/2026

Another celebration and thanks to 💜💛

Over the years, I've supported 2 families whose little ones have been, and continue to be, under the care of GOSH 👶🏨

Last year, one of the little twins I was with from 3 weeks old all the way until their first birthday, was diagnosed with a heart condition and is now under the careful and dedicated care of Great Ormond Street ❤️‍🩹

In thanks and to support the hospitals ongoing care of Baby Max and all the other little one's who rely on the hospital, Max's mum is running the London Marathon 🏃‍♀️

(As someone who only runs if being chased or in mortal danger...I.e. never really...I am in awe of anyone willingly signing up to any sort of run, let alone a marathon) 🤯

If you, like me, prefer to support the runners over actually running, the link to donate, anything you can, is in my bio 👇📢🤑

11/02/2026

I get it. Making up powdered infant formula (PIF) is a pain. But there's a reason for the box instructions 👩‍🏫

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the NHS recommend the water used to make PIF is over 70°C (and it's NOT to do with the quality of the water💧🚰🌡)

PIF production isn't a sterile process - so any bacteria in the powder needs to be destroyed before your baby drinks it 🍼

The temperature needed to destroy this bacteria is 70°C or above. Bacteria found in formula powder can include Salmonella and Cronobacter 🤢

A Swansea University Study for the Food Standards Agency (2023) stated that gastro-intestinal infections in young babies occur most often in formula fed babies with 3000+ hospitalisations being attributed to the use of formula in the UK/year 🏨

Preparing the formula correctly reduces the number of such hospitalisations! 📉

The same study found that the quantity of water in the 'hot shot' a prep-machine dispenses is not sufficient to stay at 70°C+ for long enough to kill any of the dangerous bacteria with only 14.9% of 74 prep-machines that were tested producing water at the necessary temperature.

78% of the 69 kettle users reached the right temperature to safely make up the PIF. The average temperature from a prep machine was 65.78°C 🙈

Meanwhile, creating home-made alternatives to these machines i.e. with some freshly boiled water and some cool boiled water is equally not a proven way of safely destroying all the necessary dangers ⚠️

In a world where, within weeks, several powdered formulas have been recalled due to contamination (some of the contaminants of which even a 70°C kettle won't kill), it is even more evident how important it is to do what is needed to make bottles up safely for our vulnerable babies 👶

Having worked with a lot of families over the years, I am conscious that these machines are valued in terms of feeding a hungry baby in a busy household as well as, of course, making a bottle quickly in the middle of the night 🌛

It is, however, important to understand why they may not be the best choice for your baby 👩‍🍼

06/02/2026

There are so many small ways to support a partner or new parent after they've had a baby that does NOT involve just giving formula (and isn't the huge systematic/cultural changes needed around paid parental leave etc.) 🤯👇

🌟 Keep the breastfeeding parent fed and hydrated
🌟 Notice what tasks need doing around the house and getting on with them
🌟 Look after your other children - waking early with them, doing bathtime, reminding them they haven't been forgotten in the newborn haze
🌟 Settle baby after feeds
🌟 Listen and offer useful suggestions and support that aren't just "let me feed the baby"
🌟 Keep her company while she feeds/pumps
🌟 Educate yourself on normal newborn behaviours e.g. frequent feeding, cluster feeds, night feeds, wanting to be held, settling best on/next to your partner/you
🌟 Look up local breastfeeding support - both before baby arrives so you know what to expect and how you can help, and after, so your parter can be around others who are in the same boat and ask for support

Ellie May Maternity

05/03/2026

02/03/2026

26/02/2026

23/02/2026

19/02/2026

17/02/2026

11/02/2026

06/02/2026

Address

Website

Alerts

Contact The Practice

Shortcuts

Featured

Share

Category