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In 2011 we found that 41% of mums went back to work sooner than planned, and 76% said there were no facilities available for them to express milk once they got back and some even commented that they had to resort to expressing in the loo.

Babyworld.com is working with Medela to talk to mums and find out more so we can further support mothers as they return to work. We would be delighted if you would share your experiences in our working mums survey.

Simply follow the link https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/workingmums2012  to take part.

It should only take about 10 minutes and everyone who gets involved is in with a chance of winning one of six lovely Mother’s Balms from Neal’s Yard

The Prize

Each week we will randomly pick ONE winner from the survey entries for a chance to win the Mother’s Balms from Neal’s Yard and at the end of the survey we will pick ONE overall winner to win Medela’s multi-award winning electric breastpump

NOTE: Winners will be selected from the babyworld site, so please enter the competition for a chance to win the prizes

Survey and entry closes on 20th April 2012

Enter competition

Win Mother’s Balms from Neal’s Yard

Babyworld.com is working with Medela to talk to mums and find out more so we can further support mothers as they return to work. We would be delighted if you would share your experiences in our working mums survey.

Please Login to take part

To enter a babyworld competition, please ensure your profile is up to date. We will use the information provided on your profile to notify you and the prize providers, if it is not current you may have to forfeit your prize

Competition ends 20th Apr 2012

Terms & conditions

‘Good Care Guide’ (www.goodcareguide.co.uk) is an independent, searchable online database, in the style of consumer websites such as TripAdvisor, giving parents, older people and carers a say about care they have used – just as they can already for hospitals and schools, hotels and restaurants.

Our ageing population and the new baby boom mean that more people need childcare and eldercare.  There will be 800,000 more children under the age of 11 by 2020, while the number of people aged over 85 is expected to double in the next twenty years and a growing number of families need childcare, eldercare or both.  Spending cuts also mean that more and more people have to pay for care themselves. With a white paper on care due to be published this spring, the government has already said that it wants to see websites like Good Care Guide raise quality of care and transform the way people choose care.

Good Care Guide lets families using childcare or eldercare find and rate care providers.  There is nowhere currently on the web to find information about both childcare and eldercare and comment on it, whereas you can easily read reviews about a hotel or restaurant, which is often a one-off visit.  The decision involved for eldercare and childcare is a much more important and life changing one given the fact that it is often 24/7 for eldercare or in the case of a child up to 10 hours a day.

Good Care Guide has information on almost 60,000 eldercare and childcare providers in England, including care homes, home care agencies, nurseries and other group childcare settings and childcare and nanny agencies.  Good Care Guide enables individuals to rate providers they have used for their quality of care, facilities and value for money as well as making positive or negative comments. It will assist older people and their relatives as well as parents looking for childcare to gather information and real, honest feedback on what is available.

Good Care Guide aims to improve transparency and quality of care by giving families a say following numerous media stories and public concerns about the quality of childcare and eldercare.  These concerns about poor care are reflected in recent annual reports from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and Ofsted. Good Care Guide will help drive up the standards of care due to greater scrutiny.

Good Care Guide has been developed over the last year by My Family Care and United for All Ages, both organisations working in childcare and eldercare with years of experience advising families.  The website has been developed with help from Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and a number of national charities.  Good Care Guide lists all registered group childcare settings (Ofsted) and care homes and home care agencies (CQC) in England.

Users can search for providers by location and postcode or name and see what comments and star ratings have been made about providers.  They can also register to leave comments and star-rate providers against three criteria: quality of care, facilities/environment, and value for money. Good Care Guide balances the views of the users alongside official inspection reports.  Care providers can subscribe to Good Care Guide to enhance their listing and to respond to comments. Good Care Guide also allows care providers to report comments, which are then subject to a verification process, as well as alerting the providers when a positive or negative review is posted.  Good Care Guide has built in robust processes to ensure that only users of care comment and providers can challenge false statements.  Good Care Guide will enable users to praise or criticise care – but if they have serious concerns about care they are using, they should contact the care manager, social services, Ofsted, CQC or the police directly.

Stephen Burke, Director of United for All Ages and a Director of Good Care Guide, says: “Good Care Guide will make it much easier for consumers of care to find out what other people really think about care providers.  It’s unique by covering childcare and eldercare, and will provide families with a tool that will enable them to judge the quality of a provider from the honest feedback of other users and enable care users to share their experiences, good or bad.  We hope that Good Care Guide becomes a deciding factor in choosing care after someone has read the official inspection report as well as visited the provider.”

Ben Black, Managing Director of My Family Care and a Director of Good Care Guide, comments: “Genuine user feedback has been a long time coming to the care industry.  We’re glad to be making it a reality.”

About My Family Care and United for All Ages

My Family Care – Making work+family work.  My Family Care is the leading provider of family friendly solutions to companies in the UK and internationally. My Family Care is passionate about helping employers with their work+family strategies and implementing employee solutions.  Our vision is to prove that the employee who combines career and family successfully can be the most engaged and productive member of any team.  My Family Care services include Consultancy & Training, Care Search, Backup Care, and Life Transition Coaching.  www.myfamilycare.co.uk

United for All Ages is a social enterprise that aims to build a stronger Britain by bringing younger and older people together through shared sites, shared caring and shared interests.  Launched in 2010, United is working with councils, charities, universities and companies to make ‘Britain for all ages’ a reality.  United for All Ages was set up by Stephen Burke and Denise Burke who both have substantial experience in childcare and eldercare.  Stephen was chief executive of two national charities, Daycare Trust and Counsel and Care, and was cabinet member for social services and vice-chair of a primary care trust in a London borough.  Denise led on childcare for Peterborough city council and headed up youth and childcare for the Mayor of London as well as being chair of BBC Children in Need for London and the South East.  Stephen is now co-chair of Grandparents Plus and trustee of several older people’s charities.  United for All Ages has focused on developing ‘care for all ages’ and ‘centres for all ages’. www.unitedforallages.com

When Nicola Henderson took her baby boy home he was 90 per cent formula-fed. But with a lot of support from her husband and health visitor she turned the situation round.

After an emergency caesarean, my son Michael having to be monitored in the neo-natal unit for 3 days and a total stay in hospital for us of 11 days I think it’s a miracle that I managed to persevere to establish breastfeeding at all, never mind that 7 months later I am still breastfeeding.

The separation did not do me any favours, and it was 5 days before my milk came in. I  remember using the hospital breast pump regularly, and sometimes not even managing to produce 1oz. One of the worst moments was when it had taken me ages to hand express some colostrum into a syringe which I was to feed Michael with, only to accidentally squirt it out onto his clothes. I could have cried! ( in fact I think I did)…dark days indeed. But it went downhill from there when Michael lost too much weight and the paediatrician recommended formula feeding. So when we came home Michael was about 90% formula fed. But with a lot of support from my husband and health visitor, and a LOT of  determination on my part I slowly managed to turn the situation around. With Michael  being a big baby at 9lbs 7oz when he was born he had big appetite, which I wasn’t prepared for. My inexperience meant that I wasn’t feeding him enough to start with, so the first few weeks at home his weight gain was minimal. As you can imagine this caused feelings of doubt and guilt in me. It was only when my health visitor said, “If Michael even blinks try feeding him” that this improved. The only thing was he blinked a lot! This in turn led to what felt like hours on end breastfeeding.

When Michael was about 12 weeks we turned a corner, feeds were taking less time, and the  convenience when out and about (or at home) can’t be beaten. He has regularly put on 10ozs in a week, and is a very healthy and happy baby. I am so glad that I persevered with  breastfeeding, as I know it is the best thing for Michael’s health now and in the longer term too. Not to mention that it is good for my health also.

After a caesarean section Sharon Campbell’s baby spent two weeks in Special Care, he was jaundiced, sleepy and completely uninterested in breastfeeding! Despite the odds Sharon persevered and breastfed her son until he was a year old. Sharon is now expecting twins and
is fully prepared for the ups and downs!

I had always wanted to breastfeed my children. To me it was what my big boobs were meant for! When I fell pg with my son formula feeding wasn’t even an option in my eyes! I eagerly read up on breastfeeding & booked myself onto my hospital’s Bloomsbury Workshop for 3wks before I was due. I sailed through my pregnancy till 34 wks.

I got up one morning for work just feeling not quite right & with a pain below my ribs. I ended up in hospital that night, very dehydrated & with ‘elevated liver enzymes’ There I stayed while the docs tried to work out what was wrong. My blood pressure etc was all fine so pre-eclampsia was ruled out. On my 4th night in hospital the pain under my ribs came back really bad. I had had it a few times over the last few days so thought ‘I’ll buzz for some painkillers & go back to sleep’ To cut a long story short, my BP was through the roof, baby was in foetal distress with a heartbeat of 80 & within the hour my son was delivered by emergency cs & whisked away to SCBU. I hadn’t even held him.

The rest of that night & the next morning was spent trying to get my BP down & recover from the surgery. Ben was doing fine in SCBU, he was on CPAP briefly & being fed by drip but was very healthy. He was so tiny & skinny , only lbs. 12.

Eventually the midwife looking after me brought me in a breast pump & showed me how to work it. I managed to get two drops of colostrum & that was it. Over the next day or so I pumped away but got no more than a few ozs in total which was quite depressing. Ben was
also given two bottles without consulting me which depressed me even further.

On his third day one of the SCBU midwives decided, during evening visiting, that it was time to try him on the breast which was a complete failure. I was very tense, there was a roomful of visitors (none mine) & Keith & I behind a screen with a very sleep baby. He showed no interest in even waking up never mind feeding & the midwife then checked his blood sugar which was very low so he had to be tube fed instead. I went back to the ward & continued expressing, telling myself he would feed the next day.

Over the next few days, which included Xmas & Boxing Day we managed to get him latched on & feeding a little on a few occasions but as he was small & also very jaundiced progress was very slow. I remember one evening a young midwife spent quite a while helping
me latch him on only for Ben to fall asleep after about 6 sucks. I just sat there with tears running down my face. Meanwhile I continued expressing & soon had quite a stock of milk in the SCBU fridge. He might not have been able to latch on & suck but he wasn’t going
to go hungry either!

I naively thought we would both be home by New Year so stayed in the hospital to be near him. In some ways it was easier as I couldn’t drive because of the CS & I could try feeding him every few hours. We had so many ups & downs over the next week or so but it never
crossed my mind to give him a bottle. I was worried the nursing staff may suggest it but none ever did. The staff on the whole were very encouraging though some were more hands on than others. One in particular, Helen was excellent & I was waiting desperately for her return on the days she wasn’t working!

Gradually Ben became more alert & wakeful , though he still needed more phototherapy treatment, and he was feeding more from the breast & less down his NGT. It was still 2 wks though before they were happy for his tube to be removed & he was transferred to the post
natal ward. We spent another 3 days there as it was decided he needed yet more phototherapy.

When we got home from the hospital we were both in the swing of things though he did have to be wakened quite often for feeds & always fell asleep at the breast. He was soon gaining weight & my confidence in my ability to nurture him grew & grew.

In the end Ben & I breastfed till he was one yr old when we were both happy to stop. I am so glad I stuck to my decision to breastfeed & give my baby a great start in life. It was very hard in the beginning but the thought of making up a bottle at 3 in the morning didn’t
appeal much! In the long run I found it very easy, no shopping for formula, washing, sterilising or making up bottles though I did express so I could have the occasional afternoon/evening out. My son is now a healthy 2yrs & 3mths & we are expecting twins in July. I know it’s not going to be easy this time either but I hope to breast feed them exclusively for the first few weeks then probably supplement with formula. I would encourage any pg mum to give breastfeeding a go. You’ll never get the same feeling of closeness & satisfaction from bottle feeding.

Determined to breastfeed, Deborah Speakman, didn’t let an early return to work or the impending war in Iraq deter her!

Would I give birth on a plane?

I was due to have my baby in November 2002 in Kuwait where myself and my husband were working as teachers. Every night we watched the news anxiously to see if there would be an announcement about the impending war in Iraq. I began to feel certain that I would
be giving birth next to the drinks trolley in aisle of a 747 as we would have to be evacuated from the country! Our Luck was in when Zachariah arrived early and the imminent war seemed to be postponed for a while so I was spared the indignity of a birth in the air.

Desperate for it all to be perfect….

Like all mums I had done my reading and listened to countless breastfeeding stories so I was desperate for it all to be perfect. Zach was extra small at just under 5 pounds so I knew feeding well was going to important. With no aftercare or midwives around my husband and friends were all important. Things were going really well and John my husband proudly told everyone that t was ‘ the boobs’ that were helping Zach to grow so well. A little bit embarrassing yes! But the support really buoyed me up, lets face it getting up during the night feeling drunk with tiredness is not fun so having someone tell everyone you are brilliant at it helps a lot. Having someone to call at very ridiculous hours also helps, I remember after one such traumatic incident when Zach decide to throw back an entire feed at an inconvenient hour of 1.00 am having a calm friend ( great too if they are a nurse)
to tell you every thing will be ok and give some sensible calm advice helps to. So everything is going swimmingly but two little things are on the horizon and are determined to throw me off course form my breastfeeding they are returning to work and the looming war.

A cellar of breast milk!

In Kuwait you are only allowed ten weeks maternity leave this was beginning to feel shorter and shorter and I had begun using a pump and filling my freezer to capacity with little bags full of milk. I was determined even if my maternity time was short I didn’t want Zach to miss the benefits of breast milk. It became quite common place for friend to pop round for coffee and without warning they would be taken to my fridge and asked to admire my vast ‘ cellar
‘ of breast milk, thankfully they were supportive and admired ( or humoured) me .

So when the day arrived for the return to work I left Zach with my nanny and I left my boobs so to speak behind also. To keep up my handy work I had to express at work. There is no getting away from the fact that this is not glamorous , especially when done in the ladies loo. Also explaining to male colleagues ( ones without children !) just left them looking at me in a midst of fascination, awe and one good friend referring to me as Madonna ( express  yourself). A spare pack of breast pads and a clean t -shirt also help for those
ultra sexy leaks. Still I did feel a bit of a super mom and was very proud of myself for managing to keep this up.Cue next obstacle…..

The war finally broke out

Yes, the war finally broke out and we were evacuated back to the UK. In a strange way all my anxieties were unfounded as this is when breastfeeding really came into its own. Having portable food when you have a lot of travel to do really cuts out the preparation and thinking time involved. As long as I kept well I knew Zach would be well. Feeding Zach during takeoff and landing and at anytime when he became tetchy helped both of us. There is no denying however hard it can be you feel very close to your baby and a strong bond is forged. To-ing and fro-ing over the next couple of months at least Zach knew the stability of ‘ the boobs’. We returned back to Kuwait when things died down and I finally finished breastfeeding at six months.

He is now a very healthy 2 and half year old and we have been home for a year but plan to return to Kuwait is September to resume our international teaching careers and we plan to have more babies out there. Breastfed of course! Just keep your eyes on the ten o’clock news for any more evacuations…

Claire Smith had to suffer the indignity of a midwife asking if she “had always had breasts like this?”! With further unhelpul comments from her mother-in-law to follow it’s tribute to this mum that she ever managed to breastfeed! However Claire has now breastfed two babies
and is expecting her third who she intends to breastfeed too.

Maisie was born on 27th August 1997. I had problems breast-feeding from the start. One duty midwife said to me “have you always had breasts like this?” Her insensitive comments crushed me. I’d always had slightly inverted nipples, but to be honest id never even given
it a second thought. It certainly didn’t cross my mind that I’d have problems feeding my baby. I cried and cried and by the following morning Maisie was screaming. One midwife suggested cup feeding her a little formula, which I reluctantly agreed to, thinking this
was the slippery slope to bottle feeding. Maisie lapped like a little kitten from the small plastic cup, and took just an ounce of milk. It helped take the edge off her hunger, and I got her to latch on easier.

When my milk came in I looked like Jordan on steroids, and the engorgement of milk made it nearly impossible to latch Maisie on. I was sore, and after hours of feeding, I was bleeding too. I was in tears most of the time. What you will find out as a new mum is that this is the time when all your well wishing friends, relatives, neighbours and nosy parkers will “pop in” to visit you and your baby, and they revel in dishing out ‘advice’. “It’s not worth this”, “you’ve tried your best, nobody will think badly of you if you give up now.” And one from my Mother in Law “I told you so, didn’t I? She looks hungry to me” So on top of everything, I was also being cruel by starving my child!

By the end of the first week, I was so raw; my health visitor gave me some latex nipple shields to try. They were amazing, the relief it gave me was instant, and Maisie latched on immediately. The downside to this was that the baby learnt to suckle in a different way, similar to bottle feeding, and the shields also caused thrush to develop… six months later I was still feeding, with the shields, until a nasty bout of mastitis helped me decide id done enough.

When my second daughter Ffion was born in 2000, I was more prepared mentally for the breast-feeding. I was calmer, and this must have rubbed off onto the baby, as after the initial problems before my milk came in, I managed to latch her on myself quite easily! I did
suffer soreness, but was determined not to have the hassle of shields again, and it soon went. I used cabbage leaves and chamomile cream, and plain old fresh air. I even managed to feed through two bouts of mastitis, which I was proud of, before I weaned her at eight months.

I am now pregnant with baby number three, and intending to breast-feed again. My advice to new mums would be, Relax, Stay determined and have faith in your decision to breastfeed. You will get there!!

According to the ACR up to 322,000 U.S. adults have systemic lupus—a disease in which the body’s immune system becomes overactive and attacks healthy cells, tissues, or organs.  Roughly 1.3 million adult Americans suffer from RA, a chronic autoimmune disease that causes painful joint inflammation.  Medical evidence reports that both RA and SLE are more common in women, and onset often occurs during reproductive years which can lead to challenges in family-building.

To further understand the role of infertility, pregnancy loss and family size choice in women with RA and SLE, Megan Clowse, M.D., Kaleb Michaud, Ph.D. and colleagues from institutes across the U.S. surveyed 1,017 female participants in the National Data Bank for Rheumatic Diseases.  Respondents to the reproductive-health questionnaire included 578 women with RA and 114 with SLE, who based upon their responses, were then categorized as:  those interested in having children at symptom onset who had either fewer children than planned (group A) or the same number as planned (group B), and those no longer interested in having children at diagnosis (group C).

Study findings reveal that over 60% of respondents were in group C.  Researchers found that 55% of women with RA and 64% with SLE had fewer children than originally planned.  Women with RA who were in group A had an infertility rate 1.5 times higher than those in group B, but both groups had similar rates of miscarriage.  Women with SLE in group A had a similar number of pregnancies as those in group B, but a 3-fold higher miscarriage rate.

Overall the infertility rate among participants with RA was 42% in women who had fewer children than desired.  In women diagnosed with RA during childbearing years the infertility rate was higher than in those diagnosed after childbearing was complete.   For participants with SLE no significant increase in infertility was noted.  However, among women with lupus having fewer children than desired was associated with pregnancy loss.  The authors suggest that patient education to enhance awareness of safe medical options during pregnancy and effective control of these autoimmune diseases will assist women with achieving their childbearing goals.

“Our study highlights important reproductive-health concerns for women with RA and lupus,” said Dr. Clowse.  Study findings reported that concerns about inability to care for their children, adverse effects from medications taken during pregnancy, and genetic transmission of their disease to offspring lead to fewer pregnancies in women with RA and SLE.  “Further study of the underlying causes of infertility and pregnancy loss in women with RA and SLE is needed to help fulfill their desire for children,” concludes Dr. Clowse.

This study is published in Arthritis Care & Research.

The one-hour workshop, which is part of a half-day Open Day at the charity’s headquarters, will take place on Wednesday 14 March, and will be led by Deborah Hay, a barrister at Hardwicke and Imelda Brennan, solicitor at Langley Wellington LLP.

The workshop is open to anyone that cares for a child with special needs. Delegates will have the opportunity to learn more about Tribunals, which rule on disputes between parents and Local Authorities about young people’s education.

Parents and carers attending the workshop will also have the chance to hear about the experiences other people have had in securing funding for their child’s special educational needs, something that affects around 3% of all school children.

The event will take place at Young Epilepsy’s headquarters in Lingfield, Surrey.  Places are limited so anyone interested in attending is encouraged to book soon by sending an email (including contact details) to educationbusinessunit@youngepilepsy.org.uk.

With thanks to Vintage and Cake for use of photo

The Eve Appeal gynaecological cancer research charity is asking women to Make Time for Tea during Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month in March, hold a tea party and celebrate the revival of all things vintage to help save the lives of the women we love.

Over 6,500 women in the UK are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year and 4,400 will die.  Grim statistics, yet funding and awareness of ovarian cancer remains low.  The Eve Appeal is determined to change this and by taking part in the Make Time for Tea campaign you will be helping all women by funding groundbreaking research into this deadly disease.

This year’s campaign, now in its seventh year, has a vintage theme and will be spearheaded again by ITV presenter Lorraine Kelly. Lorraine has offered  ‘money can’t buy’ competition prizes open to anyone holding a tea party – the opportunity to attend the live filming of ‘Lorraine’ at the ITV Studios in London followed by brunch at a top London hotel – and winners of the 3 competition categories will also be treated to a professional cupcake master class.

This year (2012) the Queen celebrates her diamond jubilee so what better time to put on that glamorous ‘tea dress’,  get out the porcelain and invite your friends or colleagues to some vintage fun at a quintessentially British tea party – as it used to be.  Or what about a tea dance?  Girls in pearls, bunting and retro porcelain – vintage glamour amidst the hustle and bustle of modern life.

In the UK we drink 165 million cups of tea every day so next time you put the kettle on please think about the 4,400 mothers, sisters, grandmothers, aunts and daughters lost to ovarian cancer this year.  Let’s make 2012’s diamond jubilee year the best yet – we’re aiming for 500 tea parties to help us reach our target of £150,000.

Says Robert Marsh, CEO of The Eve Appeal “It’s such an easy way to fundraise.  All you need to do is put the kettle on and host a tea party – at work, at home, at school, sports clubs and more.  So come on ladies… and gentlemen, enjoy some retro glamour, put on a fabulous frock and invite your friends or colleagues to have some vintage fun during March while raising much needed funds for all women”

Lorraine Kelly is just one of a number of celebrities who will be supporting the campaign.  Says Lorraine “I can’t think of anything nicer than a refreshing cup of tea and a lovely slice of cake – particularly when this little indulgence could make such a difference to ovarian cancer research.  Help out The Eve Appeal and hold a vintage tea party…. it’s so easy I’ll be putting the kettle on myself – and I’m sure I’ve got a twinset and pearls somewhere! “

For more information about hosting your own vintage Make Time for Tea party and winning the chance to join Lorraine at the filming of her show, contact 020 7299 4430 or visit www.eveappeal.org.uk for a fundraising pack.