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The Importance of Breastfeeding Awareness & Education
Breastfeeding is natural, and more importantly, it provides vital nutrition and nourishment for a newborn. But what many people forget is that it is also extremely difficult and that breastfeeding mothers need all the support they can get. From a lack of education and support to absence of well-equipped nursing rooms and constant judgement from everyone (including their cats) – breastfeeding moms face quite a few hurdles! And as such, we need to place extra emphasis on the importance of breastfeeding awareness & Education. For Nivedita Emmanuel (name changed) who works at Cochin Info Park, having a son who is a year and eight months old, guilt is still a constant companion…
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Impressions from a cloth-diapering mommy..
One of the most important aspects of parenting is to keep an open mind. Understand that different parents do things differently than you. And something that is gaining popularity, but not something I have (as yet) considered for myself is cloth diapering. I realized there are many mommies like me, who probably are not quite comfortable with the thought of it, but there are also many who swear by it. So, I got talking to the founder of the Cloth Diapering Doha FB support group, Ivory Llamas-Macatangay. she is a mom of a one year old, with another on the way, to find out more, and dispel myths related to…
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Intimacy Matters…
You know, in the Indian subcontinent, during earlier days, once a baby is born, the couple’s life sort of ends there. Life then starts revolving around just the baby, and the emphasis moves from being a couple, to being mom and dad. Ofcourse, the baby needs to take centerstage, no doubt! But it is equally important for the couple to keep the fire burning, and the romance alive. It might not be the same as pre-baby, and that is not necessarily a bad thing. I realized from speaking to a lot of moms that many couples choose to sleep separately after the birth of a baby. But at the same…
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A Hope For Tomorrow…
Everywhere we look these days, it is primarily upsetting news. We cannot flip through the telly or even check Facebook without coming across the horrors facing this world. From bombs to gunfire, and kidnappings to plane crashes, the horror stories are endless. What is alarming is the fact that human brutality seems to be on the rise. And we have to wonder what happened to make them reach this point. Somewhere along the journey of life, they lost the way, and turned from innocence to demons. And now when you have a child, you inadvertently wonder what if it had been you or your child. What is you child was…
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Breastfeeding 101
I am fairly sick and tired of women being undermined, and being told they cannot breastfeed due to whatever reasons. I fail to understand why some people feel compelled to tell a woman that they should supplement with formula, rather than supporting her breastfeeding journey. A breastfeeding mom needs all the support in the world. A breastfeeding mom is fragile, and is constantly worried whether she will be able to have enough, or if she will fail miserably and let her baby suffer in the process. What she needs is reassurance and to be told that she is doing the right thing. But there are some things that a new…
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Postpartum Care – Massages
Back home in Kerala (and other parts of the Indian subcontinent, and some parts of Asia, and Africa), the cultural norm is that the woman gets confined to her home for 30-40days after delivery, with a woman caretaker, who will come and bath and massage mom and baby every day. In Kerala, this massage is done with some special ayurvedic oils and the mother is also required to consume special herbal medicines, and put a particular kind of oil in her hair etc etc. My biggest concern about the whole thing was that I didn’t necessarily see the benefits of it. And I didn’t see the value of paying someone…
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To Work or Not to Work?
“Oh my God! Your baby is so young – just two months old. How can you leave such a wee one and go back to work?” Haven’t we all – working mamas – heard this. How many of us have had to deal with this question from relatives, friends, or even the house-help? All of us wonder – to work or not to work? Going back to work was not even a topic of discussion in my house. We knew that I would definitely go back to work at the end of my maternity, and you know what? I was actually looking forward to it. The money was a factor,…
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The Half Month Mark – The Unsung Hero
The one person who tends to be forgotten during this is the father of the child, the husband, the man who started the whole journey if you know what I mean ;P It annoys me when people say mom and baby are doing well. What about the dad? He is an equal partner in the whole journey. And even if he was not in the labour room during the actual delivery process, he does go through a myriad of emotions. Every check up, every scan, the father of the child is as invested as the mom. Here is the thing right: throughout your pregnancy, when the baby is growing and…
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Pregnancy – Gaining Weight
All of us are born with an in-built sense of vanity. We want to look good, and each of us have an idea of how we can accentuate how we look in order to give our appearance the best shot. But when pregnancy starts, our priorities change and a lot of women let themselves go. And the truth is, it usually happened because of misinformation. I know in desi cultures, pregnant women are told, almost forced to eat, eat and eat. And no, not healthy food, but heavy fattening foods. Eating for two they call it. Food Intake Which btw, is completely not required. The growing fetus does not require…
