This week, I have a guest post for you, written by Lyanne Nicholl, campaigner and author of the new book, Your Postnatal Body: A Top-to-Toe Guide to Caring For Yourself After Pregnancy and Birth (in which I make a small cameo, but don’t hold that against it…) Lyanne interviewed me for a section in the book that […]
Tag: ttc
To wait or not to wait?
You may have seen the news reported yesterday that a large, high quality study has confirmed that conceiving in the months immediately after a miscarriage does not raise the risk of complications in a subsequent pregnancy. This subverts the current advice given by the World Health Organization that it’s best to wait six months after a loss […]
The enduring myth of ‘perhaps we shouldn’t have told anyone’
‘Congratulations!’ my friend whispers, before bear-hugging me and then Dan. We smile and say thank you, but immediately follow it up with: ‘But it’s still early so, you know…’ Of course she knows. We all know the ‘rules’, don’t we? Convention dictates that a pregnancy is not to be spoken of until the end of […]
Guest monologue: ‘My brain wants one thing, my body wants another’
By Steph (@crossing_everything) I thought my days of crying in work toilets were over. But a few months ago, when an unsolicited scan picture with the cheery caption ‘baby no.2 on the way!’ appeared on my phone, I was right back there. Silently crying in a soulless toilet cubicle, jealous of the simplicity of a […]
The Mother of all Days
This is just a short note ahead of Mother’s Day to say that whatever you’re feeling this year, it really is OK. Most of all, whether you’ll be enduring social obligations through gritted teeth, pretending the day doesn’t exist, or joining in and celebrating at long last, please don’t feel guilty. When I asked people […]
Guest monologue: The strength it takes to keep trying
A guest post by Victoria @vic_roud Exhausted. Feeling frazzled from trying to juggle everything – work, activities, appointments, planning and cooking healthy meals each day. Struggling with lack of sleep. All the picking up off the floor. Most mums will understand this fraught state of being; but I’m not a mum. This is ‘trying to […]
COVID-19: Some fears and some facts
It’s difficult to know what to write at times like these. My anxiety that something will go wrong with this pregnancy (our fifth) reached new heights this week. It’s been surreal feeling my nebulous, shapeless worries harden into concrete, very real fears in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Will I still be able to have […]
Guest monologue: Whatever you say, please don’t say ‘at least’
A guest post by Isla, @izzymatt ‘At least…..’ ‘At least’ is a phrase I’ve heard so often in our journey through secondary infertility and, in truth, I imagine it’s probably the most used phrase tossed towards anyone who has suffered through loss. It’s so terribly British. Our stiff upper lip sensibilities draw us immediately to […]
Guest monologue: I wish I could be friends with my womb, but I’m not
A guest post by Katie @withoutottilie Me and my womb aren’t exactly the best of friends. I love being a woman. And yet the one physical organ that defines my womanhood, has caused me nothing but pain. Our difficult relationship started on 28th February 1989, my Mum’s birthday, when I was 11. I knew about periods because […]