Baby Brain

08/10/2025

It’s been a while since I last posted but this will still be useful to lots of people I taught in my local area!

Useful to stock up on preloved toys before the big C and great for the environment.

Hope you’re all keeping well!

Page is Monmouth Nearly New Sale for future events ❤️

12/06/2025

New research out about perceptions of baby food 🍏 🥕 👶

💻Research spotlight: Estimating the Impact on Parents’ Infant Feeding Choices of Increasing Age Guidance and Adding Sugar Warning Labels to Commercial Infant Foods: A Mixed-Methods Study by Rana Conway and colleagues at UCL

Key findings:

When participants were asked to imagine they were buying for a 5 month old baby, similar numbers of participants selected products labelled ‘6 months+’ as they did for ‘4 months+

Participants thought that the age labels on products and their wide availability meant they were recommended, and felt they were misleading

Most participants were aware of guidance to start complementary feeding at around 6 months, less than half followed this guidance with their own babies

Only 15% of participants knew that babies under the age of 1 do not need snacks

Melty textures and utility for self-feeding made interviewees feel that snacks were suitable for young babies, and providing infants under 12 months with multiple daily snacks was the norm

Around 30% fewer participants chose commercial baby food desserts containing sugar warning labels

These findings highlight how parents’ misplaced trust in the baby food industry and unchecked misleading marketing is leading them to choose commercial baby food products which are not age appropriate and which are high in free sugars.

But importantly, it also shows that there are acceptable solutions which could change behaviours for the better, across socio-economic groups:

Ensuring minimum age guidance of 6 months + on commercial baby foods and 12 months + on commercial baby snacks could shift feeding behaviours toward closer alignment with government feeding advice.

Adding front of pack sugar warning labels and removing “contains natural sugar” could support a reduction in sugar intake.

To coincide with the BBC Panorama documentary ‘The Truth on Baby Food Pouches’ which aired on April 28th, we wrote a briefing on commercial baby and toddler foods. It outlines our policy asks of Government, which are in line with the recommendations of this research.

See links in our bio for more

11/12/2023

A helpful reminder that it doesn’t matter which first stage formula you buy!

There’s an article online at the moment that is promoting the idea of the ‘best’ formula milk for your baby. It’s basically an advertising piece and includes some of the most expensive formulas suggesting they are better for your baby.

I’m not going to link to it (and am 😵‍💫 it’s been published under advertising laws) but wanted to remind anyone who is worried that they can’t afford the ‘best’ formula for their baby or is feeling pressure to afford it, that there’s simply no evidence that more expensive milks are better for your baby.

All infant formulas suitable from 0 - 12 months are nutritionally equivalent and there’s no evidence that any provide better nutrition or outcomes compared to the others. They are all regulated to have very similar ingredients and the ones on sale for £9 (or whatever the lowest price is this week) will support your baby in the same way that the ones double the price will.

When you look at the ingredients list of different priced formulas they are very similar. The companies openly admit in published research to targeting different worries in their advertising of their products ie making parents think that some milks are more scientific and developed than others even though they know that this isn’t true.

Please buy whatever milk suits your budget, is most most easily available or even suits your kitchen colour scheme - which is more relevant than any advertising claims are!

23/01/2023

📣 NEW SERVICE ALERT 📣

PANDAS WhatsApp Messaging Support Service ❤️ 📲 🙌

PANDAS are delighted to announce that we will have a new WhatsApp messaging support service available from Monday 23rd January 2023 (today!!). Our new messaging service will now be completely managed, run and led by PANDAS, in alignment with all of our current support services.

Our year long partnership with Shout allowed us to evaluate the need for a service like this, and has given us the confidence and knowledge to be able to open this new service and bring it in-house.

It is free and confidential for users of the service, and will be open from 8am – 10pm every day via Whatsapp.

To use the service simply message 07903 508334 and you will be connected to one of our trained PANDAS volunteers.

We are so pleased and grateful to our volunteers who work so hard in their work, training and knowledge. It is due to their passion and dedication that we have the opportunity to open another service for those in need.

The QR code in the image of this post will allow you to directly speak to our PANDAS trained volunteers during our WhatsApp messaging service opening hours (8am - 10pm daily). Alternatively, you can simply use the service by messaging 07903 508334.

Lots of love, Team PANDAS 😘

19/01/2023

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18/01/2023

Really important research for parents who have unsettled babies - please take part if you can!

As I’ve mentioned before, I am doing a PhD at the University of Central Lancashire into how frontline health professionals can effectively support families with unsettled babies.

Previously, I have contributed to 3 infant feeding related NICE Guidelines and 3 infantile colic related Cochrane systematic reviews. As a result of my experience I can clearly see that there is a gap in the evidence base around what works for families when babies are basically healthy, well babies who are unhappy or uncomfortable - but not seriously unwell.

I hope to address this 'missing middle' with my research, and am looking for 'expert by experience' families and healthcare practitioners who would be willing to share their expertise and time with me to review the existing evidence, and co-develop strategies for health care practitioners to use with families.

If you are interested in being involved in my stakeholder participant group, please let me know by completing the sign up questionnaire via the QR code, or www.tinyurl.com/unsettledbabies

26/11/2021

Happy holidays! ❤️

While the harmful effects of alcohol during pregnancy are well-established, the consequences of alcohol intake during lactation have been far less examined. We reviewed available data on the prevalen...

19/09/2021

Is it too soon to be mentioning the “C” word?!

CROCHET CHRISTMAS HAT 🎄 adorable!!
Get the pattern: https://rstyle.me/cz-n/fsjazib6ggf (aff link)

14/09/2021

Any good for localish parents?! ❤️

Competition time!!!!

I’m after a model to try out my new cake smash set up as seen in photo 🎂

Little girl needs to celebrate their first birthday in October and happy to attend the shoot at a mid-week appointment as well as sign model release form at my studio in the Forest of Dean.

Cake will be included courtesy of Bunting & Baking - Bespoke Cakes and Everyday Bakes
Outfits will be included and you can purchase any digital files after the session.

To enter the competition please like and share my page and comment below!
Only one entry per child.

Entries can be made until Sunday 12th September evening

Good Luck!!

19/08/2021

Interesting stuff! 🥰