Blog posts of '2011' 'November'

As a mother of two, Lucinda 2.5 years and Xavier 10 months, I’ve come to better understand the anxieties and pressures associated with wanting to keep ones children safe from harm. Also, after having worked for different governments on a variety of child safety and injury prevention projects, it became apparent that there is a need to inform and empower parents and carers in an effort to raise awareness and reduce the incidence of child injuries in the home.

Unintentional injuries to children can have minor to severe impacts on children, their families and even their communities. Most injuries that occur in the home are minor, but some can result in tragedy. Causes of injuries are endless, but commonly include; falls, poisoning, near drowning, choking and suffocation, animal bites, burns and scalds, being crushed or struck, and cutting and piercing.

Safe Spaces for Kids provides a holistic approach home child safety through service and advice. We help expecting parents, parents of young children, grandparents and carers reduce the risk of injuries in their home by performing a thorough home safety check and recommending tailored, preventative strategies. Safe Spaces for Kids can take the stress out of creating a safe home environment by providing the following services:

• Home safety checks
• Advice
• Home safety products and installation
• Car restraint checks and installations
• Playground soft fall

Visit www.safespaces.com.auor get behind us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Safe-Spaces-for-Kids/238314526213235and Twitter @safespaces4kids to support our passion to protect children from harm. Even consider who, in your life, could benefit from attaining the services of Safe Spaces for Kids.

Director: Adriana Hartskeerl

info@safespaces.com.au

“A modern womans guide to A Natural and Empowering Birth”

In-store 17th December 10am to 2pm

Come along and meet Katrina Zaslavsky

and get your pre-christmas sneek peek

at her new and inspirational book..

Great Christmas present! Come along and get yours signed by the Author!

Are you RIPE and READY for this book?

• Embrace Your Pregnancy: You are pregnant and wondering how you are going to get through the next nine months, instead of embracing it as an incredibly beautiful life changing experience

• Be Inspired: All you ever hear is horror stories,symptoms and complaints on the topics of pregnancy and birth and you would like to hear something more positive and inspiring for a change.No one has shared with you the beauty, magic or miracle of giving birth

• Overcome your Fears: When you imagine getting the baby out, it creates feelings of intense fear or panic

• Go Natural: You would really love to go natural if possible and maybe even drug free (you instinctively don’t like the idea of all those drugs and needles or medical interventions) if only you knew how,and was shown the road was totally possible and achievable

• Empower Yourself: You are ready to be empowered for life and reclaim your birth power as a woman and birthing goddess!

What others say about A Modern Woman’s Guide......

"What Katrina has created is like a beautiful, nurturing 'community in a book' which includes the reader.  But this book is not just inspiring for the woman who is pregnant and preparing to give birth naturally; It's a must read for all of us who are on a journey of facing our fears and want to experience the joy of living in the full sense."  ~ Vanessa Finnigan,creator of Holistic Bliss Magazine

“I loved reading A Modern Woman’s Guide to a Natural Empowering Birth....We really need get back to a place where women trust birth, trust the process and above all else, trust themselves and their ability to birth their babies and your book will encourage readers to do just that. I think you are onto something powerful here.... Love it!” ~ Simone Snyder CMT, CD, ICCE, International Childbirth Education Association (ICEA)

“Reading it is very much like being surrounded by wise women teaching the lessons of birth we wish we all had received as young women. This book will be a great blessing to those women who go seeking for birth wisdom. ~ Jenne Erigo Alderks, Board member and Grassroots Advocates Co-Chair for The Coalition for Improving Maternity Services

“A Modern Womanʼs Guide to a Natural Empowering Birth has opened my heart and eyes to how childbirth can and should be. I now know exactly how I want my labour to be and am looking forward to experiencing every second of it. No fear, no worries. Thanks Katrina for giving me and other mums-to-be this incredible gift.” ~ Shannon Dunn, first time mum-to-be, Conscious Life Media

Afterword by Dr Sarah Buckley MD, internationally renowned author of “Gentle Birth Gentle Mothering”

It is really common for new dads to feel resentful and left out when a new baby arrives on the scene.  Up until this point it has just been the two of you and now you are a family; becoming a family is a massive transition, not to be underestimated! It is incredibly common for partners to feel disconnected around this time, in fact one study quotes that 50% of couples rate the quality of their marriage as “in decline”, around this time.

It’s ok that there is a bit of space between you and your partner as long as an effort is made to reconnect again when baby is not as dependant on mum any more….and newborn babies ARE really dependant. Human beings are the most vulnerable of all mammals- think about how other mammals are born and can immediately stand and walk! It helps to remember that this is not forever – your baby will grow bigger and stronger and soon be able to be left in the care of others: this is when mum and dad need to commit to dates in the diary to reconnect with each other!

It is really normal for intimacy between you and your partner to appear to be in decline when bub is on the scene! Often Mum has had so much physical contact with the baby during the day that any further skin to skin contact seems just too much- it might be hard not to take this personally but it truly is not because she has gone off you- she just needs a little bit of space.

Even though there is increasing awareness regarding support for new dads, there is not as much support for dads in the community as there is for mum around the time of becoming a parent. Dads also don’t have the luxury of talking about how they feel with a network of friends, like women tend to do.

If you are a new dad and struggling, the best place to start and find some support is your local GP. Another great resource is the Post and Antenatal Depression Association (Ph: 1300726306) – you may call up during the week and speak to a telephone counsellor, and you don’t have to have postnatal depression to give them a call- you may just want to talk through some of your worries. There are a few male counsellors available that you may feel more comfortable talking with.

Did you know that 10% of dads suffer from post natal depression? They are even less likely than women to seek help for their symptoms and often if they do get help it is only much later on. This I think is for a couple of reasons: firstly the dads are often not as connected to health professionals like the mums are. (New mums spend a lot of time at their maternal child health nurse and GP!) Secondly they are often holding the family together around the time when mum is diagnosed with postnatal depression and fail to look after themselves too. (One of the biggest risk factors for men to be diagnosed with postnatal depression is having a partner who has postnatal depression)

This is a difficult and challenging transition for mums AND dads- so being aware that men need support too, is a good start!

By Dr Melaine Strang - Seminar at Preggi Central on the 4th December CLICK HERE for more information.