Follow us on Instagram

themothervillage

Your menstrual cycle’s super powers 💪🏻 ⚡

Your menstrual cycle’s super powers 💪🏻 ⚡️

What I wish I would have been taught at school

Your menstrual cycle is a superpower whether you are in your 20s, 30s and 40s and understanding it is vital to your energy levels, moods, mental health and well-being

Your menstrual cycle is made of 4 distinct phases each of those phases processes a unique power to achieve MORE by doing LESS

Women do not run on 24h cycle our energy levels will fluctuate through our cycle that last around 28ish days and can be very powerful if well understood

I wish we will teach that to all girls at a young age as it’s a key to unlock women true powers

#women #womenshealth #womensupportingwomen #menstrualcycle #pregnancy #mothers #inspiringwomen

Amazing article on the ambivalence of motherhood b

Amazing article on the ambivalence of motherhood by @womensmentalhealthdoc

Echoed so strongly with me and my own birth experience with the strong emphasis on prioritising your own mental health and well-being instead of useless and materialistic baby products

As well as choosing your birth and postpartum dream team that will give you all the support.

A pelvic floor physio should be your best friend through pregnancy birth and postpartum

Great article to switch the mindset away from baby unnecessary purchases to mothers essentials to her well-being and health

Have you ever felt ambivalent about your own motherhood experience ?

#mothersmentalhealth #postpartum #mentalhealth #maternity #motherhood #birth

Key takeaways from the Chinese “sitting the moon

Key takeaways from the Chinese “sitting the moon “🌙 version of postpartum

I recently discovered the term of postpartum confinement in Chinese medicine, a tradition that goes back more than two millennia and was conceptualized during the Qin dynasty.

Learning about this practice resonated strongly with me as I had two very different postpartum experiences with my first and my second child.

With my first child, as a wannabe Kate Middleton I rushed way too soon back into the world, taking my baby everywhere, not asking for anyone’s help thinking I could do it all by myself, attending social events and diners, rushed into exercising again without waiting for my body to recover. I wasn’t paying attention to what I was eating even though my iron level was low and my level of tiredness was high… I just wanted to prove the world I can be a mother and still be the same woman…. as the modern world expects us to be…

Learning from these mistakes, after the birth of my second child, I spent a full month focusing only on myself and him, not allowing visitors, leaving the house very occasionally and asking for help, while sleeping, resting as much as I could and eating delicious nutritional postpartum food and taking care of my pelvic floor recovery, which helped me regain strength quicker and gave me much more confidence in my new mother role

What are your top postpartum recommendations ? Share this post with a new MaMa that needs it

#birth #postpartum #mothermentalhealth #empowermothers #empowermotherhood #postpartumbody

🌙 I recently discovered the term of postpartum

🌙 I recently discovered the term of postpartum confinement in Chinese medicine, a tradition that goes back more than two millennia and was conceptualized during the Qin dynasty.

It echoed strongly with me and with the challenges our modern society are facing in caring for women in postpartum.

In our modern world there is a lot of focus on women during pregnancy where they are told what not to eat, what not to do, what not to wear … and suddenly the focus disappears when their enter their postpartum period, which seems for most of them like a great leap into the void.

New mothers get almost no respite or care during the postpartum period. Forget about time to recuperate physically and emotionally and bond with their baby.

Just a few days after birth, we expect new mothers to function again as normal and productive member of society.

On the opposite, according to the postpartum confinement, new mothers are only expected to rest and feed their babies for a full month after birth.

🌙 坐月子 (Zuo Yue Zi) or literally translated to “Sitting The Moon” means to allow postpartum mothers to do nothing but to “sit” (rest) recover for one month after delivery.

According to the tradition, after giving birth, the new mothers confine themselves at home for a full 30 to 40 days to recover from birth, helped by another woman who will take care of their newborn and relieve them of domestic tasks.

According to Chinese medicine, birth induces considerable heat loss in a woman’s body and energy imbalance and this confinement aims to restore the balance.

This means for the new mother: staying in without going out, no visit, no physical activity, no household chores or cooking, restricting bathing and dietary precautions such as eating more food and avoiding cold food.

The new mother will eat traditional foods rich in calcium, iron and proteins and will avoid any cold food, which will be replaced by a large variety of soups, broths and stews.

🌙 New mothers deserve so much better during the postpartum period and this tradition highlights how far our modern worlds are from taking care of new mothers

#postpartum #birth #womensupportingwomen #mothers #recoverypostpartum

Let’s break the myth around postpartum How lon

Let’s break the myth around postpartum

How long did it take you to heal postpartum mama ?

#postpartum #birth #maternity #mothers #mothershealth #womenmentalhealth #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #motherhood

Let’s break the myth “Once a C-section always

Let’s break the myth “Once a C-section always a C-section”

📣 Strong support to all the VBAC (Vaginal Birth after C-section) mums, your body is amazing let’s empower it through birth

📣How to prepare for a VBAC ?

In every birth scenario, there is always preparation to be done.

First of all you need to understand why your previous C-section happened, and allow yourself to heal emotionally and mentally to potentially avoid it.

Your previous hospital birth team should help you to understand what happened during your previous birth that led to a C-section.

Then, the best approach is to learn how to support the natural and normal process of birth, something that seems so simple and intuitive but is not in our modern societies.

Birth is a natural process and women need to be educated about it

Thirdly, you should look for a VBAC supportive care provider, who should have an history of successful VBAC and will encourage you to labor outside of the hospital, as chances of a successful vaginal birth are higher the more time you spend in your first phase of labour at home.

Lastly, you should surround yourself with a chiropractor/osteopath during your pregnancy to prepare your body for the natural process of birth. You could also look to hire a doula that would train and support you in your birth preferences.

One very important thing to remember is that a home delivery is not appropriate for VBAC, VBAC should only happen in the hospital.

There are some strong contraindications that will prevent you from having a successful VBAC but a POTENTIAL BIG BABY WEIGHT is NEVER ONE !!! 🚫

A large baby weight is a very common reason used by hospitals to plan a C-section and you should run away from any hospitals that would recommend you a C-section only based on the estimated size of your baby (when we know so well how useless are these baby weight estimates)

To achieve your ideal birth scenario:

♥️Keep educating yourself

♥️ Trust that your body is built for birth

♥️ Train your mind to be open to all possibilities

♥️ Create your Ideal Birth support team

#birth #pregnancy #mother #mothershealth #maternity #motherhood #vaginalbirth #naturalbirth

Your True Postpartum MaMa Essentials 💜 Postpa

Your True Postpartum MaMa Essentials 💜

Postpartum period is rarely discussed and very often underestimated in our modern times

It’s a very important time of your maternity journey and can last way more than 6 weeks

In this precious time, your baby doesn’t need to be outside, he doesn’t need any toys, beautiful clothes or fancy books he just needs you to take care of yourself and be empowered in your mama role

Never feel embarrassed to refuse visitors but instead don’t be shy to ask for help, more than ever you will need your MaMa team support !

Surround yourself with the best postpartum specialists

Osteopathy/chiropractic visits are always a good idea post birth especially if you had an epidural or a C-section but also in natural birth to release your body from the 9 months of pregnancy and birth

Private midwives or doulas visits can reassure you on your body after birth while lactation consultants can be essential in your breastfeeding journey

Additionally, receiving freshly cooked organic earthy mama meals to your door can be a blessing as getting your house clean so that you can get proper rest when your baby sleeps !

Free time for yourself is also mandatory !!

Pelvic Floor rehabilitation is never optional but your baby looks are! So forget cashmere booties, frilly dresses for newborn and invest in taking care of your pelvic floor and postpartum body !

@elvie
@haakaa_ukandireland
@tajinebanane
@bellybandit
@nessaorganics
@frida_uk

#postpartum #maternity #motherhood #postpartumbody #postpartumdoula #postpartumhealth #empowermothers #birth #mothersmentalhealth

How to create your dream MaMa birth support team 💪🏻 ⭐️

It takes a village to raise a child but it also takes a village to support a mother !! 🏡

Conscious birth needs education, empowerment, patience, training, support and love

Doulas, chiropractors, osteopaths, acupuncturists, reflexologists, midwives, sophrologists and pelvic floor physios are some examples of practitioners that can support you in achieving your ideal birth scenario

These practitioners will also be essential to new mothers after birth, in this challenging time just after birth where mothers and their needs are often forgotten as all eyes are on the baby

New talks around the 4th trimester for mothers are starting to emerge but at the Mother Village we believe in empowering mothers forever not only around birth as motherhood is a lifelong amazing but also challenging journey that only starts at birth!

To ALL mothers:
- expecting MaMa
- trying-to be and struggling MaMa
- new MaMa
- overwhelmed MaMa
- experienced MaMa

Empowering you is key to your success in your maternity journey and we believe in ⭐️ finding and trusting your support network ⭐️

MaMas what is for you the best support in your own maternity journey ?

Tag one expecting MaMa that needs this

#birth #consciousbirth #consciousbirthing #maternity #motherhood #womensempowerment #pregnancy #mum #mumssupportingmums #natural-birth #hypnobirth #hypnobirthing #mothersmatter

💛 10 important things your yoga practice can te

💛 10 important things your yoga practice can teach you about motherhood 💛

Shouldn’t we learn as mothers to take care of our mental health in the same way we take care of our home, our family, our children ?

Mothers’ mental health issues do not stop after the perinatal period and focusing on our mental health should be at the centre of our daily busy lives

Yoga has helped me in so many ways especially through motherhood offering me essential teachings that I use everyday in my role as a mother

🧘‍♀️ What are your own best yoga teachings ?

🧘‍♂️ In which part of your motherhood journey did you enjoy yoga the most?

🧘 Tag a mummy yogi around you

#mother #motherhood #maternity #mum #mothersmentalhealth #mothersmentalload #motherhood #birth #yogamum #motheryoga #prenatal #prenatalyoga #postnatalyoga #postnataldepression

Our favorite Breastfeeding Essentials for the wond

Our favorite Breastfeeding Essentials for the wonderful and challenging journey that is breastfeeding 💜

Let’s try to make breastfeeding effortless

@elvie
@haakaa_ukandireland
@nessaorganics
@tajinebanane

Tag a breastfeeding mama that need those and let us know in comments what are your own breastfeeding essentials

#breastfeeding #breastfeedingmom #essentials #sustainability #sustainableliving #birth #postpartum #postpartumbody

Our top 5 essential products for pregnancy & birth

Our top 5 essential products for pregnancy & birth preparation 💙

@epinouk
@bellybandit
@calvinklein

Own your pregnancy and birth MaMa

Tag a pregnant MaMa who needs them and let us know in comments what are your own essentials for pregnancy and birth ?

#birth #pregnancy #maternity #essentials #sustainability #mothersempoweringmothers #mothersempowerment #mothersmentalhealth

What you really do not need on your birth list !!!

What you really do not need on your birth list !!!

- ❌ Baby nappies warmer

I mean what the h? Does this need more explanation?

- ❌ Baby bottle warmer

Instead train your newborn to drink milk at room temperature this will truly be your time saviour as babies can drink up to 6 bottles of milk a day !

- ❌ Nappies bin

Just use Naty organic dispensable nappy bag you really don’t need to overcrowd your home with unnecessary and costly items

- ❌ Baby shoes

Babies don’t walk in their first year or so of life and while newborn shoes can be the cutest thing on earth they are truly an unnecessary spending!

Also you will spend so much time trying to fit them on your baby feet when you could spend that time doing something only for you

- ❌ Fancy baby bed

Just forget the expensive and fancy baby beds as unfortunately the quality of your baby sleep won’t depend on the bed label ! Stokke cot beds are beautiful but don’t guarantee full nights of sleep and for the same price you can pay for your pelvic floor training sessions and a spa treatment !

Instead of buying an expensive cot bed invest your precious time in creating healthy sleeping habits for your little one

What you really need on your baby list are mother essential products and services tailored to your own needs ! You are your baby most important person and your well-being is the most important thing !

Tag a new mother that needs this post !

#mother #motherhood #babylist #babyregistry #babymusthaves #mothersmentalhealth #mothersmentalload #empowermothers #empowermotherhood

⭐️ Easy birth tip alert ⭐️ Eating dates ca

⭐️ Easy birth tip alert ⭐️ Eating dates can help your body to prepare for birth and an easier labor !

Eating dates won’t start labor but it will definitely help your body to prepare for it !

Studies support that dates eaten during the last 4 weeks of pregnancy help:

- soften the cervix
- reduce the need for induction and augmentation of labor
- reduce the time spent in the first phase of labor
- reduce postpartum hemorrhage the same way oxytocin does
- stimulate uterine contractions

You can start eating 6 dates a day starting from week 36 and enjoy their amazing nutritional benefits : natural sugars, fibers, potassium, magnesium, folate, vitamin K

If you are eating medjool dates (the larger ones) you need only 3 dates a day to reach the 75 grams recommended

If you are eating deglet noor dates (the smaller ones) 6 a day is your number

Eating your dates with peanut butter and any other butter or yoghurt is a great way to enjoy them

Dates is one of the easiest way to help you prepare for labor please comment on your experience eating dates in your last week of pregnancy

And share it with a mother getting ready for birth 💪🏻

#mother #birth #naturalbirth #naturalbirthing #empowermoms #motherhood #maternity

@holliepoetry 💜 Time to switch the mindset to

@holliepoetry

💜 Time to switch the mindset to empower mothers after birth

💜 There is still a strong disconnect on how our societies look at pregnant women versus new mothers

💜 Motherhood is beautiful, exciting but also hard, challenging and really scary !!

💜 Mothers need all the support after birth and not only for the 4th trimester as motherhood is a marathon

💜 Let’s empower all mothers and take care of them beyond pregnancy and birth

#empowermothers #motherhood #mother #maternityjourney #motherload #mothermentalhealth

💘 Our Maternity essentials survey among 100 new

💘 Our Maternity essentials survey among 100 new or experienced mothers highlighted that birth list gift’s are still mainly directed to the baby

💘 Most participants didn’t receive a gift for themselves or their new family

💘 Can we all agree that newborns need very little in their first years of life and switch the mindset to support the mother and the new family ?

💘 As a new mother what gifts would you have loved to receive ?

#mother #motherhood #mothermentalhealth #maternity #postpartum #empowerwomen

💘International Women’s day 2022 💘 Despite

💘International Women’s day 2022

💘 Despite strong inequalities women and mum entrepreneurs are on the RISE

💘 Go go go women and mum entrepreneurs you are the future

#womenentrepreneurs #womenentrepreneur #womenstartups #womensupportingwomen #womeninbusiness #womenempowerment #mumpreneur #mumpreneurs

🥜 We all heard about birthing balls as the true

🥜 We all heard about birthing balls as the true essential in the last stage of you pregnancy as well as during labour

But what the H is a peanut birthing ball? And why is it recommended for births using epidural?

🥜 Peanut balls were first used in physical therapy offices, but it’s now also used during labor and delivery. It has an oblong, peanut-shell shape (hence the name) that dips in the center so you can wrap your legs around it.

You can use a traditional birthing ball on the floor to bounce on or hunch over during labor.

But for those mums who give birth in bed — say, due to having an epidural, being tired, or having a personal preference — there are similar benefits with a peanut ball.

🥜 If you are experiencing labour in bed, the peanut ball is one of the best props to open your pelvis.

Flying cow-girl, semi sitting lunge, fire hydrant and side-lying are a few position examples you can experience while using the peanut ball.

Using position changes during labour to enhance widening of the pelvic outlet can be beneficial but a woman who has an epidural is limited in the number of positions she can adopt.

Peanut balls may help during the first and second stages of labor. This means you can use them as your cervix is doing the work to dilate to 10 centimeters (cm) and then again in the pushing stage.

The major claim out there is that a peanut ball can help women who are in bed open the pelvis in a similar way to a birthing ball can help on the ground.

Opening the pelvis is key to baby more easily making their way down the birth canal. (And the easier, the better — as you can imagine )

🥜 You can also enjoy the benefits of using peanut balls in late pregnancy as well, as sitting on one may ease pressure on the back and encourage good posture.

Some midwifes/doulas even suggest kneeling or leaning on the ball to move baby into a favorable birthing position before labor.

Your hospital will always have birthing balls options but rarely peanut balls, and we highly recommend you to get one early on in pregnancy !

#maternity #pregnancy #womenempowered #birth #motherhood #mother #naturalbirth #naturalbirthing

What is for you the least discussed topic around m

What is for you the least discussed topic around maternity ?

Please comment to promote the discussion around all these questions that are never asked

If we had to pick 2 it would be Pelvic Floor & Mental Load , what are yours ?

Let’s encourage more discussion around the realities of maternity

#birth #birthpreparation #maternity #motherhood #women #womensupportingwomen #womenshealth #mum #postpartum #postpartumbody #memtalhealth #mothermentalhealth

🤍🤍 How to Master your pelvic floor? Only ar

🤍🤍 How to Master your pelvic floor?

Only around 20% of women know how to locate and activate their pelvic floor, and most often the pelvic floor is only mentioned to women around childbirth and postpartum.

Women mostly discover this very important muscle after birth as they start their pelvic floor reeducation which should really be renamed a pelvic floor EDUCATION since most women were unaware of it and its usefulness before their first birth.

Strengthening and working your pelvic floor should be a constant all your life, not only around childbirth and this muscle needs your constant attention.

We believe this is high time for women to appreciate this secret weapon and start a pelvic floor revolution.

There should be much more awareness around this key muscle and it should start early with school-age children as it’s one of the most important act of self care for women.

⭐️ Why so much mystery around the pelvic floor?

The pelvic floor is surely the biggest kept secret around pregnancy and womens’ health. And despite its importance, the pelvic floor remains a mysterious part of the body. That’s likely a combination of the complexity of the pelvic floor system and the simplicity of sexism.

The pelvic floor is a highly integrated structure requiring organs, muscles and nerves to work together, hidden under pelvic bones making it physically inaccessible, but pelvic floor problems can significantly affect a woman’s quality of life.

⭐️ How working your pelvic floor before being pregnant is a great practice for labour?

Nowadays taking care of your pelvic floor still remains taboo. However, preparing the perineum for childbirth has always been done since Antiquity, in societies giving an important place to women.

A good pelvic floor preparation before giving birth allows women to access a secret and sacred feminine part of their body and trust their ability to give birth.

It brings a sense of confidence to pregnant women that arrive much more relaxed for the delivery feeling like they control their bodies and that they know that the tissues around the pelvic floor are supple.

#birth #pregnant #mothershealth #motherhood #womenshealth #maternity

⭐️ Create your essential MaMa only list

It’s high time we switch the mindset from the baby list to the mother (parents/family) list.

Forget the very materialistic, non-sustainable, mostly useless baby list and invest into a practical, sustainable and useful essential mummy list.

Babies in their first months really don’t need much and what a new family needs is all the help, services and resources possible to be happy parents to raise a happy child.

Think about the services you will need after your baby is born, this could be for your wellbeing such as pelvic floor rehabilitation sessions, massage, acupuncture, reflexology, postnatal yoga or swimming session

but also more practical services for your family such as cleaning, baby sitting services, food delivery, flower delivery or traiteur “a domicile”.

As a new mum, you will also need essential products to take care of yourself and these will be much more important than receiving cashmere booties for your newborn in summer !

This could be recovery pants, effective cream for C-section scar, breastfeeding tops, new mum outfits.

Think about creating this essential mum list to share with your loved ones as your own needs are so important for the wellbeing of your new family.

@themothervillage
#mum #mumlife #mother #motherhood #mothermentalhealth #womensupportingwomen #womenempowerment #birth #pregnant #pregnancy #empoweringwomen

Follow on Instagram

Copyright 2022 The Mother Village Contact Follow us on Facebook and Instagram