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Want to celebrate this Christmas without the alcohol?

recipes Dec 05, 2016

Christmas is synonymous with alcohol and celebrations! So if you are bored of sparkling water and fancy something a little different and don't want to feel like you are missing out, check out these great recipes below:

Virgin Mojito
Ingredients:

3 Limes
Soda water
Small bunch of mint leaves
1 tsp sugar
2 glasses
Method:

Crush the mint leaves together with the sugar in a separate bowl. Squeeze the limes. Add some ice to each glass and split the lime juice evenly between the two glasses. Add the mint leaves into the glasses and top up with soda water. Stir and enjoy!

If you want to go crazy altogether, some alternatives are to add your favourite puree in like passion fruit or raspberry!

Berry Fizz
Ingredients:

100ml of cidona or ginger ale
100ml of cranberry & apple juice (if you can’t find the mix use 50ml of each)
splash of lemon or lime juice
1 tsp of sugar and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
Method:

Rub a lemon or lime around the rim of your champagne glass and then dip into the...

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The fastest, healthiest breakfast for all the family!

recipes Nov 28, 2016

So in my house, we have different tastes...depending on the mood. Son 1 knows what he likes and doesn't often care to veer off the path of normal, and son 2 will throw his chops around most foods thankfully.

Like all houses, school mornings can be rather stressful to say the least...or any morning when you need to get out the door. So this recipe is so fast, delicious, healthy and so easy to make...and for the most part...keeps everyone happy :)

The following recipe makes 5 decent American-style pancakes...and I find is enough for 2 people (1 big, 1 small). 

Ingredients:

  • 2 free range/organic eggs
  • 1 banana - I'm always using ones which have come home battered and uneaten in the school bag
  • Roughly 1 cup of organic porridge oats...vary the amount to how runny/thick you want them
  • Sprinkle of cinnamon - if you could be bothered

Method:

Pop all into a blender - I use my ever-reliable Nutribullet - for 1 minute. Pop a bit of coconut oil (or whatever oil/fat you wish) into a...

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How Herbal Medicine can help you in Pregnancy, labour and birth.

I'm so fascinated by the holistic world of herbal medicine and alternative therapy. When I got the chance to interview Marina Kesso, Herbalist and Naturopath, I was so excited! She's an incredible lady and helps so many Pregnant women, and new mamas cope with their ailments, and improves the quality of their lifestyle, all through the wonders of Herbal Medicine and Naturopathy. 

HP: Marina, thanks so much for your time today. Can I ask how you got into the Herbal Medicine world?

MK: Thanks so much Helen, I'm thrilled to chat to you. I was living on a small farm in Leitrim, growing lots of different herbs and plants for years. Living on the farm, we tried to live sustainably and ate only what was in season. Even though my background is Fine Arts, herbs and plants were a big passion. Living in the countryside, lots of locals knew I grew them on the farm, so they kept coming to me to get different plants for them. It came to a point where I wanted to know more about...

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Exercises to Relieve Back Ache during Pregnancy

Pretty much every pregnant woman suffers from some form of back pain. Here are 5 simple exercises to do daily which will relieve back pain. Also listen out for my 2 tips to help prevent back ache too!

Exercises start at 2mins 50 sec.

Enjoy

 

If you would like to learn more about freeing yourself from discomfort in Pregnancy, feeling strong, sleeping soundly, and feeling prepared for your labour, check out our comprehensive Online Prenatal Program.

 

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The 4th Trimester - what is it & why is it so crucial?

new mama Oct 17, 2016

Why is it that you can never seem to put your newborn down? They were happily asleep in your arms and literally as soon as you put them in their crib - boom! Tears galore! The concept of the 4th Trimester (a term used to describe the first 3 months of a baby's life) isn't new, but many new mamas don't spend time thinking too much about those first few weeks and months, as their main focus is on 'THE BIRTH'!

Let's take a step back and think of the environment from which they came. Inside mama, there wasn't a care in the world. It was warm and dark, and all their needs were met. Baby was wrapped up super tightly in the amniotic sac, there were dull noises around constantly, they were carried and rocked all the time, food was supplied on demand, their bums were clean, it was a wet environment, and they had constant contact with mama. And this environment doesn't change - it's constant!

Now, forward on a couple of weeks and holy moly it has all changed. Society norms are to not...

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So what was your birthing experience like?

Hmmmm, there is nothing quite like discussing your birthing experiences to get the emotions running. What should be an empowering and joyful journey for all women, is increasingly becoming a very challenging experience, certainly in Ireland. This is in part due to a serious lack of resources in the hospital environment...putting it bluntly...there ain't enough midwives for the birthing population and the hospitals are having to cope with so many more births than they were designed for. Plus, structurally in Ireland, we do not have the set up to offer choice to women to birth more in the community.

I sat down with Psychologist and mother of 3, Allison Keating from Bwell Clinic, to have a chat about it all!

I truly hope you enjoy the discussion and find some useful nuggets of info in there for you.

Please do share the video via the links on the left and I'd love you to subscribe to the new YouTube channel. If you enjoyed the chat, please give us a little thumbs up!

For more...

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Strengthening Exercises for Pregnant Women with Pelvic Pain

Pelvic Pain in Pregnancy can be pretty rotten. I experienced it for a while on my 2nd baby, but worked my way through it with some strengthening and stabilizing movements like these. 

 

Try to practice daily for best results. Take a look at the 7 - Week Online Prenatal Program for lots more detail to help you through your pregnancy and delivery. 

Please share & like if you find them useful!

Big love 

xx Helen xx

  

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Chatting all things miscarriage...

miscarriage and loss Sep 14, 2016

After I had my 2nd miscarriage in July 2016, I felt compelled to write about it here on NurtureMamas. It was then published on The Huffington Post and The M Word (Maïa Dunphy's successful blog). Since then I have received so many messages from amazing women.

Just recently I sat down with the wonderful Psychologist Allison Keating from bwell.ie to chat about all things miscarriage. It's a very frank discussion where I talk about my own experiences and Allison guides me through how to deal with the related emotions. Allison also gives advice on how to cope with loss.

Click here to get access.

If you find this useful, please share it with other ladies in your life, or contant me at [email protected].

Big love xxxx

  

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I've shooting pain in my backside which runs down my leg...help!

pain Sep 05, 2016

Ahhh you wake up in the morning after an interrupted night's sleep to find that you can barely move. You have shooting pain in your backside (one side in particular) and when you attempt to put weight on your leg, you shudder. Anything sound familiar Mama-To-Be? Sciatica...or more specifically, sciatic pain.

'Sciatica' is pain that radiates along the path of the sciatic nerve, which branches from your lower back through your hips and buttocks and down each leg. This causes inflammation, pain and often some numbness in the affected leg. Typically, sciatica affects only one side of your body.* Pregnancy doesn't 'cause' it but it can make it worse.

In pregnancy, as baby grows and we gain weight, the back is put under more pressure, the uterus often presses down onto the nerve, the posture is affected, and we have more fluid in the body. All combined can lead to a compression of the sciatic nerve, which is the largest nerve in the entire body, and inflammation, pain and numbness...

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Birthing Positions - does it really matter?

Uncategorized Aug 14, 2016

What do you think the following stats have in common?*

  • 23% less likely to have a forceps or vacuum-assisted delivery
  • 21% less likely to have an episiotomy
  • 54% less likely to have abnormal fetal heart rate patterns

These are the comparable statistics for women who birth in an upright position v non-upright positions. They are pretty blooming powerful stats right?! You are also more likely to have a shorter labour and less likely to have a c-section. So why, despite these benefits, do so many women opt to lie down on their back to give birth? 

Giving birth lying flat on a bed or in a lying down position is actually quite a modern trend. If you were around a few hundred years ago, then you would most likely be squatting, on your hands and knees, or sitting on some form of a birthing stool. Have a look below at some of the super cool carvings, sculptures, and drawings of women throughout history, giving birth. My favourite is the South Indian carving below...

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