One of my gorgeous pregnant ladies in class once said to me "I don't need to worry about doing pelvic floor exercises now cause I'm having a section, right?"

There is this myth that Pregnant Women don't need to get their pelvic floor in order before, or during pregnancy, just after the main event. Couple this with the common 'preggo stance' of an overarching low back, where you stick your belly out in front and backside behind, you are setting yourself up for abdo-pelvic-back disaster once baby arrives!

My lovely lady was also carrying twins, so I'll tell you what I told her:

First off, let's talk anatomy - what is the 'pelvic floor'?

It is a large hammock of muscles which run from the tail bone at the back to the pubic bone at the front. There are two layers of muscles which are intertwined around and within each other. They control each of the 3 openings in women, and two in men. The pelvic floor muscles also serve as a passageway for baby during a vaginal delivery. To keep the...

Ok, it's 5 months since you've had your gorgeous little one, but you feel your belly is still looking pregnant. I'm not talking about the natural excess weight that we all put on during pregnancy, but instead, this is a noticeable belly 'pooch' that is not in line with the rest of your body. You may also have accompanied back pain, and, or some mild incontinence when you laugh or sneeze. What is going on? Is this normal after having a baby?

The answer is NO, but it's extremely common. What you are actually dealing with here is a separation of the abdominal muscles which happen during pregnancy, the 6-pack muscles (Rectus Abdominis), which runs the whole length of the abdomen, from the middle of the ribcage through to the pubic bone. In pregnancy, particularly at the latter stages, the muscles are designed to stretch from the pressure of the growing baby. For many women, within the first 3 months they naturally knit back together, but for so many other women, they don't....

Last week we took the kids off to Paris for a Disneyland adventure! We had never been before, we are not Disney heads and really did not know what to expect! I had joined this incredible Facebook group which was a big help for tips and suggestions.

Off we flew with Aer Lingus to Paris on Monday morning, 3 kids in tow. It was really straightforward and thankfully Nico was a legend on his first flight. We got a private taxi transfer straight to the hotel, which I had prearranged and would definitely recommend with young kiddies. We stayed in the Newport Bay Hotel on site. There are 4 hotels on the 'campus' and if I was staying with little kids, I would most definitely advise staying in one of them for ease. You also get early entry to the park, which is a definite bonus when it comes to queuing. The main parks open at 10am to the public, but we could get in from 8.30am. We did that for a couple of mornings and it most definitely paid off. You also get Fast Passes on your hotel...

I was reading an article recently by the fabulous Gail Tully, from Spinning Babies, and I had an 'aha' moment! More than 7 years ago while I was in labour with my 2nd son, I remember sitting on the edge of the bed, with my feet towards the floor. I kept arching my back and leaning backward during a few contractions, over about 30 minutes, just before he was born. I never really 'got' why I did that until now!

When I read the article...I'll explain it now in a second...I thought to myself, 'jeepers, I wonder if that what I was doing before Sebastian arrived'.

Gail's article was about Walcher’s Position. This can help to engage (engagement means the widest part of the baby’s head has dipped below the entrance to the pelvis (the brim)) a baby that is still high and hasn't entered the pelvis yet.  The baby may be stuck at the brim or inlet (entrance) of the pelvis, and needs help to engage. Getting into Walcher's position, and staying there during...

On Sunday 25th March, I was blessed to deliver my third baby, a beautiful boy, into this world. I'm delighted to let you know that I had, once again, an active, short and kick a*s rockstar birth! It was fast and intense at times...so let me share my experience with you:)

On the days leading up to Nico's labour, I had been keeping myself really calm, happy and active. On the Saturday, I went for a lovely long walk, getting myself up a few gentle hills! That night, I went to bed after my nightly bath, super relaxed, and at 2am I woke up with a start! I jumped out of bed as my waters had started to release...but only a little bit. After a quick trip to the loo, pretty much immediately, some very mild contractions started, along with a bit of a 'show'. 

Excitedly, I knew that the journey was starting, so I popped back into bed to get as much rest as I could. The surges were there, but were really mild and I nodded off every now and then. I...

Such a sexy topic!!! But one that affects many Pregnant Women, particularly at the end of pregnancy. Popping your legs up against the wall is really effective at helping to reduce the fluid build-up which happens during the day. You might need lots of pillows or cushions under the hips, shoulders, and head to make it comfortable for you, and remember, if at any point, you feel uncomfortable or dizzy, immediately roll to the side. Follow my advice in the video.

If you find lying on your back even for one minute is not an option for you, any amount of raising your legs up will be beneficial, so sitting more upright on the bed or couch with pillows under the legs, will also help.

It's also a lovely short exercise to do if you are not pregnant and if you have been on your feet or sitting at a desk for a lot of the day.

The lighting in the video is a little dark, but functions great!

Please do like and share xxx 

If you'd like help getting baby into a good birthing...

As I approach my own third birth, my mind drifts back to the amazing interview I did with the incredible Dr. Sarah Buckley, during the Pregnancy Wellness & Empowering Birth Online Summit.

If you haven't heard of her before, Dr. Sarah Buckley is a world-renowned author of the internationally best-selling book Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering, and in the summit, she discusses how our hormones are programmed to enable us to have an empowering birth but also to instinctively care for and love our new little baby...among many other amazing benefits.

Sarah wrote an ebook (which I'd highly recommend you all read), and the opening line is: "Giving birth in ecstasy: this is our birthright and our body's intent". I asked her to explain what she meant by this. She started off by talking about how an ecstatic birth is 'Mother Nature's superb design' - it's hardwired into all mammals. Really, what follows is mindblowing. Sarah talks about how the orchestration of hormones during birth...

Good question! It's one I get a lot :)

So I would break this into 4 areas - Physical, Mental, Breath and Community.

Physical:

I'm not a believer in doing very little exercise just because you are pregnant. In fact, if you exercise for about 30 minutes a day, it is proven to help you have a more comfortable pregnancy, a shorter and therefore easier labour, and a faster recovery. So a 'shorter and therefore easier labour' should bring music to your ears mamas-to-be! Focusing specifically on labour and birth, prenatal yoga will help you stay strong, toned and open, therefore making your labour easier and more manageable, and helping you have the strength and stamina required to keep you upright for as long as possible. Sometimes, and of course not all the time, labour can be a long process particularly for first-time mamas, whose bodies haven't gone through the experience of childbirth before. The majority of first-time mamas who come to my classes in Dublin, can be quite surprised...

Ok, so you’ve had your darling baby but holy God your back is wrecked! Now you are constantly picking baba up, bending forward, feeding, rounding your back and probably are noticing that your core tummy muscles have somewhat disappeared. What can you do? 

Let’s not panic and recognize first off just what an amazing body you have and that we need to treat it with some respect! So slowly slowly is the name of the game.

The strength of your back depends on so many things – how your pregnancy was, number of pregnancies you have had, how much weight you put on, how strong your core muscles were pre & during your pregnancy, how fit you were and are now, and how long it has been since you gave birth.

In order to start back exercising, make sure you have GP clearance. If you have suffered from any form of Pelvic Disorder during pregnancy or have any Pelvic Trauma post birth, you must go to a Physiotherapist before you start exercising again. Also if you feel...

When you were pregnant, all your energy, thoughts and resources went into feeling as good as you possibly could, and into your impending birth!  Your mind wasn't that focused on how you were going to manage life once baby arrived. No doubt you thought you were going to sail through this thing called motherhood. You bought all the gear...you looked excitedly at the buggy system you had just invested massively in. You knew that some babies could be 'tough going', but yours would be cool. You and your partner would be able to deal with the baby's arrival. You were looking forward to spending those first couple of weeks together as a new family going out for brunches, little walks and spending quality time together. The change in your relationship would be for the better, and 6 months off work seemed like great craic...sure how would you even fill your days? Think of all those lunches and coffees you could have, right?!

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