Teta Wardeh

31/07/2025

He was heard telling the baby to 'shut up' and 'go to f***ing sleep'.

24/07/2025

Removing p***c hair is not a pre-requisite for birth!

P***c hair is normal, natural, healthy and beneficial.

There’s lots of pressure to shave/wax for birth.

Most people consider hairless to be “clean” but removing hair actually creates and more bacteria and problems.

✅ P***c hair provides a cushion against friction that can cause abrasion and skin injury.
✅ It provides protection from bacteria and other unwanted pathogens especially with vaginal exams, hands, and tools involved, this barrier can help reduce exposure and lower infection risk
✅ It can help prevent chafing or skin irritation during long hours in labor positions.
✅ The presence of p***c hair helps maintain the natural balance of good bacteria around the v***a and vaginal opening, critical in birth when your body is working hard to protect both you and baby.
✅ During crowning, stretching, and the intensity of pushing, p***c hair provides a slight buffer for the sensitive skin around the l***a and mons. It’s not about vanity, it’s about support.
✅ Keeping your p***c hair is an act of self-trust and body sovereignty. You don’t owe anyone grooming, shaving, or altering your body to give birth.
It’s your body, your birth, your boundaries, down to the hair you choose to keep.

❌ Removing p***c hair irritates and inflames the hair follicles left behind.
❌ Removing p***c hair leaves microscopic open wounds.
❌ When that irritation is combined with the warm moist environment of the ge****ls, it becomes a happy culture medium for some of the nastiest of bacterial pathogens, like group A streptococcus Staphylococcus aureus and its recently mutated cousin MRSA.
❌ Removing it increases risk of staph boils, abscesses, pustules, cellulitis and herpes infections.

Your p***c hair isn’t “gross.”

It’s protective, functional, and perfectly designed for the work of labor and birth.

Choosing to keep it isn’t just safer, it’s liberation from a system that profits off your discomfort with your natural body.

-Love,
Flor Cruz
Badassmotherbirther

𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞, & 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭!
Nacer Ancenstral

07/07/2025

Back from Lebanon… my heart is full 🇱🇧

I’d left my Karekare hau in its magnetic black sand, and landed in villages and cities where life, care, and creativity still pulse loud.

Lebanon pressed its hands on my chest and said: “Breathe, child!”

I went back for family, for sea, for the smell of zaatar زعتر, tayyoun طيّون and wezzel وزّال on my walks.

I’ve brought back stories. Not as content but as cherished company until I get to go back.

I’ll be sharing some of them here, slowly… or not at all 🫣

What do you bring back when you return to your roots? A scent, a memory, a song? Tell me in the comments 🌾

29/06/2025

Research shows that taking birth control pills causes structural changes in the brain, alters neurotransmitter function, and messes with mood regulation. Read More in the Link https://bit.ly/3Fa46U4

31/05/2025

My fluorite necklace broke a couple of days ago — caught on a door handle while I was in the middle of a storm of anxiety and anger that lasted days.

It startled me, but I wasn’t sad. I actually felt lighter.

حسّيت شي تكسّر وشي طلع.

I’ve always felt crystals know when their work with us is shifting. This one held a load for me. It broke open at just the right time.

Yesterday, I rethreaded it — slowly, mindfully، with a new intention and new breath.

مش كل كسرة خسارة.
Some breaks are openings.
Do you agree?
•
Do you rethread things? Jewellery, thoughts, habits?
What’s something you’ve quietly rethreaded lately?

31/05/2025

14/04/2025

This photo from Hello! Canada might make your stomach do a little flip.

A baby sleeping on their side, covered in a blanket. A parent nearby, seemingly asleep. A set-up that (if it is as it seems) is unsafe.

This is what happens when exhausted parents are left without support.

When “sleep when the baby sleeps” along with "DO NOT share a bed with your baby." Are the only words of advice on offer.

When the village is nowhere to be found.

**Sidenote: I suspect this photo might possibly be staged. Baby might not really be asleep. She, the blanket and mum may have been placed carefully to make it look like a snapshot of newborn exhaustion. (A baby will stay still for longer on their side than on their back, and you can hide open eyes with this position.)**

But, ignoring the possible set up for the shot - here’s what I see:

I see a tired mother.

I see a baby tucked up close by. (And I wonder if some safer sleep 7 guidance around bed sharing might be helpful or safer here. Does this baby not settle in the cot unless placed on their side with something soft over their face, for example?)

And I see an opportunity to ask meaningful questions for all of us to consider:

How do we support families so they don’t end up in unsafe situations?

How can we start meaningfully showing up for exhausted parents on social media?

What if the response to a photo like this wasn’t just criticism, but also compassion?

I understand and support the need to educate and inform when we see unsafe sleep practices - especially something as public as this. But I *also* think when we jump into comment sections and join a very long list of other commenters ONLY pointing out the dangers, we make it harder for parents to ask for help. We make this set up in someone else's home a shameful secret instead of opening up a supportive dialogue around "What happened here and why?"

Unsafe sleep isn’t a failure of love. It’s often a failure of support or information. It can also be a sign of "black and white" messaging around infant sleep. If you've been told your baby must not share a bed with you, but they won't settle on their back and you haven't slept for more than 2 hours in as many days... and if you don't sleep you're going to drop baby or fall asleep feeding them... What do you do if you haven't been given a plan B and a plan C?!

We can do better as parents and advocates than JUST listing the risks over and over again without offering compassion and support as well.

My suggestions?

- Read up on the safe sleep 7 so you can decide if it's something that is less risky than the current situation.

- Ideally, get some more support at home so you can nap. Parents? Partner? Friend? Next door's baby loving teenager? A doula? (I believe accessible funds exist for doula support if money is tight.)

When you have the energy, keep trying to settle baby on their back (picking them up when they cry - PLEASE respond if YOU are safe to do so!) You will likely find that over time you learn that baby will settle for 20-30 minutes perhaps in the morning. (Or some other pattern you can work with.) There are a couple of methods you can look up - the seated settle and the side to sleep (then transition to their back) technique. YouTube has some videos you can look at. ❤️

As always - rule out feeding issues. A squirmy, unsettled baby might be hungry or have a tummy ache.

And to be VERY clear - yes, if the baby is asleep in this image it is NOT safe. Even if she's awake and unsupervised, it's NOT safe. I am not advocating for "letting mum practice unsafe sleep." I am saying it's an opportunity for a discussion around how these things actually happen in real homes and how social media can help or hinder.

(Credit for the original post from Hello! and for the photo by Cecily Strong are both in the image below - whenever I try to directly share posts here it won't upload!)

18/02/2025

Is the recommendation of induction for advanced maternal age truly based on sound evidence?

Or is it illogical when you break down and really look at the issues?

What do older women need to know about the evidence in this area?

We hear from more and more women who are told that they need induction of labour because they are older.

This issue also arose when the NICE guideline on induction of labour was revised in 2021.

The recommendation to offer earlier induction to older women was not included in the final guideline.

But we know it’s still being offered.

As I wrote when the guideline was published:

“One of the most controversial aspects of the draft [NICE] guideline was the proposed recommendation that earlier induction be offered to certain groups of women, including older women, larger women and women who conceived via IVF or ARTs.

It is clear that some groups of women/babies have a slightly higher chance of stillbirth compared to other groups.

But data on this are often crude, the absolute risk may not be that high and we often have no trial evidence to show whether or not induction of labour would make a difference.” (Wickham 2021).

I’ve written more about induction for advanced maternal age in two of my books.

Those are Inducing Labour: making informed decisions and In Your Own Time: how western medicine controls that start of labour and why this needs to stop.

I also have a blog post on induction for advanced maternal age.

Find it at https://www.sarawickham.com/articles-2/induction-for-advanced-maternal-age/

I hope you’ll find it useful.

If you do, you can support my work by buying my books and recommending them to others.

And by the way, there’s one thing we don’t say often enough to older women who get pregnant:

Congratulations 🥰💕😍🎉

18/02/2025

Thrive Birth & Beyond is a FREE birth and postpartum preparation series that I am now offering to those who live in Tauranga.

These classes are for first-time parents, as well as for those who are pregnant again, wanting extra support and guidance around setting themselves up for a positive and empowering birth and postpartum.

With a background in midwifery and education, and having worked predominantly in the field of birth trauma support and training since 2015, I am well equipped in guiding families around how to mitigate the chances of having a traumatic birth experience (which is unfortunately the experience of at least 1 in 3 new mothers), and how to maximise the likelihood of birth and postpartum being the empowering and positive experiences that they are designed to be.

Lessons are held in the Education Room at the bottom of the Bethlehem Birthing Centre. There is a mix of weekend courses and week-day evening courses (run over 4 weeks). Currently there is space available in the following two courses:
🌺 March 15th & 16th, 9am - 3pm
🌺 Mondays, 6 - 8.30pm, March 31st - April 21st
Email me carla.sargent@gmail.com, or DM me to make an enquiry or to register to attend

✨ These classes are funded by the wonderful team at The Village NZ Check out their other offers for perinatal support that’s available to new or expecting parents ✨

23/11/2024

Made from tumbled NZ Gemstones and Muka These Muka Pito Ties make a great natural and eco friendly alternative to conventional cord clamps. They are easy to use, and they are soft on babies skin and dont get tangled up in nappies and clothing. Muka is also renowned for its antibacterial properties,....

12/05/2024

🧏🏻‍♀️ Hear me out…

I’m not saying that you better ditch all the books/blogs/apps and information you can get in preparation for your baby’s birth and not read anything at all.
I mean, some content out there is great, some however, better not be propagated 🤭
Today’s world drowns the mama-to-be in information and the latest trend of gadgets or apps that she should add to her must-have registry, each added item potentially inching her further from her connection to her baby and her built-in intuition.

That being so, I do imply that you do your own inner work, listening to your body and baby. Talk to your baby, sing to your baby, dance with your baby.

For well-women, birth - when left alone - is not complicated and does not require more than the mother’s intuition, her perception of safety and the support of her close people on her birth team: birth partner, midwife, doula… who are aware of and aligned with her birth preferences and aspirations (that is if she wanted any birth companions at all)

When was the last time you tuned into your body and heard what it had to tell you?