Think back to some of the biggest and most important endeavours you’ve chosen to take on throughout your life.  Perhaps it was running a marathon or passing a set of exams in order to attend your dream university.  The critical thing to ask yourself is – did you choose to just wing it? In most areas of our life, we take the time to ask for advice, learn strategies and practice, rather than throwing ourselves into the deep end.  Yet for some reason, many new parents feel hesitant to use the same approach when it comes to parenting and parenting workshops.  There’s still a perception that new parents should know what to do naturally – that everything will simply fall into place.  The catch to this? It’s not always just about intuition when making the right decision.

Parenting today can sometimes feel like it takes an army to get right.  People forget how complex parenting can be and it’s not uncommon for parents to need a little extra help to find their feet.  We all know parenting is a giant responsibility and there are now a great variety of parenting workshops, designed for different stages of parenting.  Whether you’re a first-time parent and need a little help understanding the basics of baby care or require extra information on how childbirth can affect your body, it is particularly important for parents to seek help and advice and to feel comfortable in their new role as a parent.

Parenting classes can offer a unique opportunity for parents to interact with others and share ideas and concerns.  Meeting other parents in these parenting workshops who share the same concerns or are facing the same challenges to you, is a great way to openly discuss ideas and approaches to parenting.

Here at the Birkenshaw Midwifery Clinic, we offer a wide range of parenting workshops that cover everything from your postnatal body to vital issues relating to the health of your newborn baby.  Learn how to top and tail, the importance of getting to know your baby and even how to change a nappy.  The parenting workshops we offer are designed to provide you with peace of mind by providing you with a wealth of knowledge to ensure you and your baby remain happy and healthy.

If you would like more information on our parenting workshops please do not hesitate to get in contact with us today.

It’s never easy to carve out personal time and place your own priorities above those of your child in the ever-challenging world of motherhood.  Whilst we all know it’s important to take some me time, (particularly to focus on your own health, fitness and recuperation) there are still a lot of mums that find the fitness, health and well-being of their child fills this space.  But, there’s a new category of fitness classes that aim to curb this behaviour!

Whilst prenatal yoga has long been a mainstay for many expectant mothers and is now viewed as one of the safest exercises during pregnancy, new mother and baby fitness classes are providing new mums with the ability to exercise by integrating their babies and toddlers into the mix.  This new type of postnatal exercise is a great way for new mums to take time to reflect, relax and meet other mummies for some much-needed biscuit eating and tea drinking after post pregnancy yoga.

Here at the Birkenshaw Midwifery Clinic, we are proud to be partnered with YogaBellies, which offer a fantastic range of authentic workshops, therapies and yoga classes, including pregnancy exercise classes, maternity workouts, post pregnancy classes for mum and baby, as well as yoga for children.  YogaBellies aims to provide options for women and children at every stage of their lives.

The YogaBellies for Mum and Baby classes offer rejuvenating and relaxing sessions especially designed for postpartum mums and babies.  With a unique twist if authentic yogic techniques, which aim to help guide and help you to adjust as a new mother, each of the sessions are for mum and baby, with the bay playing an integral role within the class.  The Loving Touch classes help to provide soothing and bonding for you and baby and offer up some much-needed support in the shape of your other YogaBellies mummies!

Contact us today if you are looking for more information on the range of exercise classes offered by YogaBellies and we’ll put you in touch with the right people!

Here at Birkenshaw Midwifery Clinic we all understand how worrying it can be to be to welcome a newborn baby into the world, so it’s always nice to hear about positive Government legislation that tries to make this daunting experience a little easier.  A new Scottish Government scheme is expected to be rolled out across the country in the summer of 2017 and is set to provide each newborn with a special baby box, full of essential items that are guaranteed to help provide your child with the best possible start in life.

Expectant mothers in pilot areas Orkney and Clackmannanshire are the first to benefit from this new Scottish Government pilot scheme to gift every newborn with a box of essential items.  This Scottish government-led initiative is based on a popular project that has been running in Finland for over eighty years, where many mothers keep the special baby box for their children until they leave home, where they can use the box to place their belongings in.  This is a really lovely momentum and the caring and nurturing ideas behind this similar project are sure to resonate in Scotland in the same way.  This similar project has been credited with helping to decrease infant and mortality rates.

The special baby boxes contain over forty essential items, including a changing mat, a fleece jacket, a reusable nappy and liners, a play mat, a hooded bath towel, organic sponge and much more!  The box comes fitted with cot sheets, a mattress, and a blanket, making it suitable for newborn’s to sleep in.  This scheme shows the Scottish government’s determination to provide every child with the best start in life, regardless of their circumstances.

At our Midwifery Clinic, we offer a great selection of workshops that are tailor-made to provide you with support and guidance during the nerve-wracking transition period after you welcome your little bundle of joy into the world.  If you want any more information on our products and services, don’t hesitate to contact us on 01698 818 091.

With more than 40% of NHS trusts offering no access to a maternal mental health service, thousands of new mothers suffering from pregnancy-related mental illness are being left without support or advice.  Latest figures show that 43 per cent of health boards provide no specialised treatment for postpartum depression, with only a third of centers in these areas meeting the recommended standards.

With an estimated 140,000 women suffering from depression, anxiety or other mental health issues either during pregnancy or in the months after birth, thousands are never given access to the support they need.  With one in five adults in Scotland reporting symptoms of depression in 2015, this is a serious issue that remains woefully underfunded.  Recently, NHS England has pledged £40m in spending for specialised workers as part of a drive to help more struggling women by 2021.  With one in five women experiencing severe depression and in some instances psychosis after childbirth, this is an area which requires serious overhaul if all the women suffering from postnatal depression are to receive the help they so desperately need.

Here at Birkenshaw Midwifery Clinic we are dedicated to providing you with the vital help and support new mothers require.  We offer a large selection of workshops, where we cover how to care for your newborn, those early – and extremely trying – days as a new parent and even offer a dedicated workshop to infant feeding.  We believe that new mothers should have access to a caring support network and our post-natal health workshop was designed to meet the needs of mothers struggling with mental health issues after pregnancy.

We’re here to tell you that postpartum depression happens to one-in-five new mothers and the NHS is still woefully unprepared to deal with this growing issue.  Our workshop helps you to spot the early signs of postnatal depression and provides help, support, and advice for new mothers.  If you’re interested in how we can help you with any health concerns, don’t hesitate to contact us today on 01698 818 091.