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Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy

June 28, 2018 By Louise Brennan

nutrition, nutritionist, diet, advice, pregnancy

Deirdre Swede is a registered Nutritional Therapist. Deirdre Swede Nutrition was founded to provide a focus on female hormonal health. Her mission is to help women live healthy, balanced lives, particularly during their life transitions.


Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy

A baby’s life development begins at conception. Scientific research demonstrates that the health of the egg and sperm affects the health of the baby, so what we eat has an impact on our children before they’ve even been born! A healthy diet is always an important part of a healthy lifestyle, but is especially vital if you are planning a baby or are pregnant. A diet high in refined carbohydrates can negatively impact fertility.

Pregnancy can be a difficult and demanding time for your body, and nourishing it properly is very important during these nine months. In an ideal world, if you are eating a balanced diet, this should be enough to ensure optimum health. However, in today’s busy world when women do not have the time to focus on their diet, they may be depleted of key nutrients, particularly in the first trimester.

Top tips for eating well in pregnancy:

  • Ensure you are eating adequate amounts of protein. Try to eat organic meat and fish, where possible. Limit fish to twice a week and meat to three times, and avoid processed meats. Aim for 55g of protein daily.
  • Try to include eggs in your diet. They’re a great source of protein and vitamin D.
  • Aim for 5–10 portions of vegetables daily, especially dark green leafy veg for folate (the natural form of folic acid). Eat a rainbow!
  • Include organic fruit in your daily diet, but limit intake to 2–3 pieces daily as fruit is high in sugar.
  • Snack on nuts and seeds for added protein (unless there is a family history of nut allergies).
  • Eating healthy fats is important for your intake of fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Cook with coconut oil, butter or olive oil and try to eat oily fish two times a week as a source of Omega-3 fatty acid, which is vital for the development of the baby’s brain. Scientific evidence demonstrates that essential fatty acids can also help to prevent post-natal depression.
  • Keep hydrated. Aim for 6–8 glasses of water daily.
  • Eat slowly to aid digestion.

Foods to limit or avoid:

  • Caffeine is sometimes linked to miscarriage. Limit your intake to no more than 2 cups of coffee daily. I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t bear even the smell of coffee when I was pregnant!
  • Avoid alcohol completely.
  • Limit your sugar intake. Too much sugar has been shown to be detrimental to egg health, and can contribute to gestational diabetes.
  • Limit refined carbohydrates (white rice, pasta, potatoes, bread etc), as the starch in them converts to sugar in the bloodstream. Switch to wholegrain varieties, such as brown rice and pasta, sweet potatoes, wholegrain bread etc.
  • Avoid unpasteurised dairy products, and raw fish and meats.
  • Remove or reduce processed foods. They can be full of food additives and preservatives, sugar, saturated fat and salt.
  • Avoid liver as it is high in vitamin A, which in excess has been linked to birth defects.

If you wish to take a dietary supplement, please make sure you take one that is specially formulated to pregnancy, or check with your health professional. The following supplements can be useful in pregnancy:

  • A multivitamin supplement for pregnant women can be a supportive measure if you feel your diet may not be supporting your nutrient status. B vitamins are particularly important for your baby’s brain development.
  • Folic acid; this will be prescribed by your doctor to reduce the risk of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, but folate, the natural form of folic acid crosses the placenta better and can be found in dark green leafy vegetables and avocado.
  • Omega-3; fatty acids are vital for the development of normal brain and eye function, particularly in the last trimester.
  • Vitamin D; The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that all pregnant and breastfeeding women take vitamin D supplements. Vitamin D is vital for cell replication and division, and low levels of this vitamin have been associated with miscarriage.
  • Iron; iron deficiency is common in pregnancy and plays a role in the early development of the baby’s central nervous system.
  • Ubiquinol, the reduced form of coQ10, which is a powerful antioxidant, is responsible for creating cellular energy, and can be useful when your energy is depleted during pregnancy.
  • Probiotics; taking a probiotic during pregnancy can boost both your and your baby’s immune system, reducing the risk of allergies and infection.

If you are thinking of having a baby, are pregnant or are a new mum and would like advice on how to optimise your nutrition, please call me on 07909 916156 or email: mailto:nutrition@deirdreswede.co.uk Follow me on Facebook and Instagram for lots of hints and tips on staying healthy.

Deirdre Swede Nutrition.


If you have just found out you are pregnant, then congratulations! See my blog on what to do next. To book antenatal classes with me, please click here.

Filed Under: Advice, nutrition, nutritionist, Pregnancy, pregnant Tagged With: advice, antenatal, babies, baby, louantenatal, midwife, nutrition, nutritionist, pregnancy, pregnant women

Antenatal appointments

April 11, 2018 By Louise Brennan

antenatal appointments, midwife, pregnancy, antenatal

What happens at each antenatal appointment?

 

This is part of a series of blogs looking at what to expect throughout your pregnancy. The previous blog was on the schedule of antenatal care.

This blog looks at what happens at every antenatal appointment and the things your health professionals are looking out for.

 

Your physical health and well-being – Your health professional (midwife, obstetrician or GP) will ask how you are feeling and how the pregnancy is going so far. They can answer questions on any health issues you may be experiencing. You can experience some unusual symptoms in pregnancy – see my blog on them!

Your mental health – If you are feeling low, it’s really important that you tell your midwife. Antenatal depression and anxiety is common. This is an exciting but anxious time and it’s normal to feel these emotions, but if it’s more than that and you would like some help with your feelings, your midwife can refer you to a counsellor or psychologist. There are lots of charities that can offer support too. One of them is Mind.

Baby’s movements – This is the most accurate way of knowing that everything is well with your baby. Most women will feel their baby move between 16 and 24 weeks. After that, your baby will develop its own pattern of movements, which is unique to this baby. If this pattern of movement ever changes, so increases, decreases or feel different, you must call your midwife or hospital urgently. A ‘quiet’ baby maybe having a rest but it could be a sign of fetal distress and must be taken seriously. Old advice such as ‘lie down’ or ‘drink cold water’ are no longer appropriate for changes in fetal movements. For more information on fetal movements, see Kicks Count.

Blood pressure – Your blood pressure will be taken at every visit. Blood pressure can go up in pregnancy for several reasons. One reason is a condition called ‘pregnancy induced hypertension’. This can be treated with blood pressure (anti-hypertensive) medication if necessary. Another cause could be pre-eclampsia.

Pre-eclampsia – This is a more serious problem. Pre-eclampsia may present with other symptoms such as protein in your urine (see below), headaches, blurred vision, pain under your right breast and swelling of your hands, feet and face. Some swelling (oedema) can be a normal part of pregnancy. Pre-eclampsia is diagnosed by taking a blood sample and a urine sample. If you develop pre-eclampsia, your obstetric team will monitor you very closely to ensure you and your baby are well. The only treatment for pre-eclampsia is to deliver the baby as it’s thought to be related to hormones that the placenta emits. However, the individual symptoms, such as high blood pressure can be treated. Your team will make a plan for delivery that is best for baby and for you.

Urine – Your urine will be ‘dipsticked’ and tested for several things at every appointment. One of these is glucose which may indicate you have gestational diabetes. The presence of protein can mean a couple of things. It can be a sign of pre-eclampsia (see above) or of a urine infection. Leucocyte’s (white cells) in your urine can also indicate a urine infection. Urine infections can be a worry in pregnancy. They can often be the reason for premature labour. This is because if your bladder is irritated by an infection, it can irritate your womb to start contracting. Women can have urinary tract infections in pregnancy without any symptoms. It is important that you produce a good urine sample every time as false negatives can occur from small samples or samples that are collected incorrectly.

Palpation of your tummy – This is where the midwife (or obstetrician) will touch your bump. Your bump will be measured to see if it is growing in line with how many weeks you are. If it is bigger or smaller than expected, you will be referred for a growth scan. If you are having serial scans in your pregnancy and/or your unit is following the GAP/Grow programme, then your bump won’t be measured.

The midwife will then ‘palpate’ (feel) your bump. This is to try and find out how your baby is lying, whether the head is down, and from 37 weeks, if the head is engaged into the pelvis. If this is not your first pregnancy, then the head won’t usually engage until you go into labour.

Listen to your baby’s heartbeat! This is usually the highlight of your antenatal appointment! Once your midwife has identified the position of your baby, it makes it easier to locate his or hers heartbeat and you can listen to that reassuring, rhythmical beat!

Antenatal discussions – Midwives have lots of things that they need to discuss with women antenatally and these will take place at different stages in your pregnancy. Earlier on, the focus will be on the schedule of care and thinking about your place of birth. From 26 weeks, your midwife will discuss fetal movements in more details. From 28 weeks, infant feeding will be discussed.

 

If your midwife identifies any health issues in your antenatal appointment, they may refer you for scans, blood tests or to see an obstetrician.

Follow up – All antenatal appointments should end with details of your next appointment. If you require any further tests in the meantime, you will be told details of when and where they will happen. You will always be given advice of when you need to call the midwife and symptoms to look out for.

 

The next blog will be when to call the midwife.

 

Filed Under: Advice, antenatal, antenatal appointments, baby, midwife, Pregnancy, pregnant, schedule of antenatal care Tagged With: advice, antenatal, antenatal appointment, babies, baby, louantenatal, midwife, pregnancy, pregnant women

Schedule of Antenatal Care

March 11, 2018 By Louise Brennan

schedule of antenatal care, midwife, pregnancy, louantenatal, baby

Schedule of Antenatal Care

 

This blog discusses the schedule of antenatal care. It is part of a series of blogs looking your pregnancy and antenatal care. The last blog was on screening tests in pregnancy.

 

This schedule of care is for women with a low risk pregnancy. If your pregnancy has been deemed high risk, you will be reviewed more often than this. All the below gestations are approximates as it will depend on when your midwife’s Clinics are and allowing for bank holidays etc.

 

 

10 weeks – The NICE guidelines recommend that all women have their booking appointment with their midwife by this gestation.

 

12+6 at this appointment, you will receive your blood results and your pregnancy notes, if you haven’t received your notes already. It’s important that you carry your notes with you all times, even if you go away, as they will contain all the details of your pregnancy, including blood results and scans, which would be helpful for the health professionals if you ever needed to be seen in another hospital.

 

10 – 14 weeks – dating scan. This scan will date your pregnancy by measuring your baby to estimate your due date. This is also the time you will be offered combined screening. This test looks for chromosomal abnormalities such as Down’s syndrome, Edwards Syndrome and Patau’s Syndrome. You can choose to be tested for some of these syndromes or for all of them. You can choose to opt out of screening all together.

 

16 weeks – routine midwifery appointment to check on you and your baby. This a good time to start looking at antenatal classes. You can choose between NHS or private classes. For more information on my classes, click here.

 

20 weeks – this is your second scan and although it’s great to see your baby, it is important to know it is another screening test. The sonographer will be looking at the structures of your baby and ensuring everything is normal. You can usually find out the sex of your baby at this scan. If you want a surprise, make sure you tell the sonographer so they don’t tell you in error! If your pregnancy is low risk and remains so, this maybe the last scan of your pregnancy. Some units may scan again at around 34-36 weeks to check the growth.

 

25 weeks -routine appointment with your midwife – for first time mums only.

 

If your maternity unit is following the GAP/Grow project, you will be seen every 3 weeks from now on. If your unit isn’t following this, you will be seen every four weeks.

 

28 weeks – routine midwifery appointment. You will have blood taken to check your iron level. If you are Rhesus negative, you will have your Anti D injection at this appointment.

 

Between 30-36 weeks is the optimal time to attend antenatal classes

 

31 weeks – routine midwifery appointment

 

34 weeks – routine midwifery appointment

 

37 weeks – routine midwifery appointment – if this is your first baby, your baby will be in the position he/she is going to be for the birth. If this is a subsequent pregnancy, your baby’s head won’t engage until labour starts.

 

You may be seen more regularly now. 37 weeks is classed as ‘term’. This means your baby is ready to be born at anytime. It’s worth getting your hospital bag packed. If you have written a birth plan, your midwife can discuss this with you. If you haven’t, it might be a good time to think about what you might like for your labour and delivery.

 

38 weeks – routine midwifery appointment. You can start to have vaginal sweeps from now to try and get labour started. If you can, this is a good time to stop working. It gives you a couple of weeks to relax before baby comes.

 

39 weeks – routine midwifery appointment. You can have a sweep at all appointments if you wish. Anything that might help you get into labour!

 

40 weeks – routine midwifery appointment. Your due date will be around now. Your midwife may book you in for induction for when you are 10 days overdue.

 

41 weeks – your midwife will book you in for induction of labour if they haven’t already. It is definitely worth having a sweep now if you haven’t been having any!

 

42 weeks – Your baby should have delivered by now!

Occasionally women decline induction of labour to see if their labour will start spontaneously. This can be risky past this point as the evidence shows that the placenta doesn’t work as well which means your baby may not receive and much oxygen and nutrients as they were before. If you wish to decline induction at this point, your health professionals will make a daily plan for your care.

 

The next blog will be on what happens at each antenatal appointment.

 

 

For information, please go to the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE).

 

Filed Under: Advice, antenatal, antenatal appointments, baby, blood tests, booking appointment, hospital bag, midwife, pregnant, scans, schedule of antenatal care, screening tests Tagged With: advice, antenatal appointment, babies, baby, birth plan, blood tests, hospital bag, louantenatal, midwife, pregnancy, pregnant women, scanning, scans, schedule of antenatal care, screening tests

Why Your Baby Will Never Sleep Through the Night

February 22, 2018 By Louise Brennan

sleep, sleep consultant, baby, babies, infants, midwife

Kate Cohen is a Certified Children’s Sleep Consultant and a member of the Association of Professional Sleep Consultants. She works with families around Hertfordshire and beyond to advise and help tackle all things sleep.

 


Why Your Baby Will Never Sleep Through the Night

That’s right, I said it. Your baby will never sleep straight through the night.

And neither will you, for that matter.

In fact, pretty much anyone who isn’t heavily sedated before going to bed can expect to wake up multiple times in the night.

This isn’t due to stress, caffeine, lack of exercise, or any other factors that can contribute to a lousy night’s sleep. It’s a normal, natural part of the human sleep cycle.

We’re all familiar with the various stages of sleep from our own experience. You might not be able to put a name to them, but you’ve certainly felt the difference between waking from a light sleep and a deep one.

Simply put, when we fall asleep, we spend a little while in a light stage of sleep and gradually progress into a deeper one. We stay there for a little while and then gradually re-emerge into the lighter stage, and when we do, there’s a good chance that we’ll wake up.

That all sounds great, right? You fall asleep at eleven or so, hit that deep stage by midnight, hang out there for six hours or so, and then start to come back to the surface around 6:00 or 7:00, gradually waking up refreshed and ready to face the day.

Except the whole process only takes about an hour and a half.

That’s right. From start to finish, going from light sleep to deep sleep and back again takes between 90 – 110 minutes.[i]

Luckily for us (and for those who have to interact with us) the process repeats itself pretty easily. Either we’ll wake up for a minute or two and fall right back to sleep, or we might not even really break the surface at all.

Ideally, this happens five or six times in a row. We get a restful, restorative snooze in the night, and we reap the benefits of it throughout the day.

But enough about us grown-ups. What about our little ones?

Infants, despite their increased need for sleep, have a much shorter sleep cycle than adults. On average, an infant goes from light sleep to deep sleep and back again in an astounding 50 minutes.[ii] So whoever coined the term, “Sleep like a baby” was clearly misinformed. In fact for newborns up until 3 months their cycle is even shorter at only 35 mins!

So for me the most important thing you can help your baby with is to teach them baby to fall asleep independently initially, and when they wake up so that they can take longer periods of continuous cycles of sleep.

That’s it! Well that’s not all of it, you’ll need to consider lots of other factors like nutritional needs and comfort and warmth which are vital for any age of child but for me it all starts with a good sleep habit of self-settling.

For newborns my aim is always to take the pressure off a bit, they are tiny and lovely little things that you want to hug and cuddle and you should! Slowly though as they grow older it’s important for me to try and encourage self-settling to get to good sleep habits by around 3-4 months. This isn’t sleep training by the way, it’s really only key to try and start on that journey very gently.

From 4 months older sleep issues can develop and it’s from then that it’s worth considering whether your baby is settling independently and if not, is this causing them to wake more than they should or more than you are prepared for? If you think that then it might be time to address how they fall asleep.

Once they’ve learned the skills they need to fall back to sleep on their own, they’ll wake up after a sleep cycle, their brain will signal them to go back to sleep, and that’s exactly what they’ll do.

That is unless they need to feed in the night. I’m not super keen on forcing a baby to sleep through the night until they have the right weight and good set up in the day, so as long as you know your baby is waking up for food rather than for comfort that’s fine. (if you need any guidance on this just get in touch!)

If you are considering doing a bit of sleep training or setting up some good habits, you’ll often hear of the biggest arguments from critics of sleep training is, “Babies are supposed to wake up at night!”

And that’s absolutely, 100 per cent correct. Babies, just like adults, are supposed to wake up at night. In fact, it would take some powerful sedatives to prevent it.

So although your little one is going to wake up numerous times a night, every night, they can quickly and easily learn the skills to get back to sleep on their own. It will only seem as though they’re sleeping for longer or even through the night.

If you are due to have a little one soon and you want to get into great sleep habits or you have a little one that you would like to sleep better, then I run workshops to help educate mums or mums to be on all things sleep and how to get into great habits whatever the age! My next workshop is in St Albans on the 10th March – you can find out details here.

I also work with families 1 on 1 to offer bespoke support on sleep issues with children aged between 0 – 6 yrs old. If you would like to know more about the work I do or to book a free 15 min call to discuss anything sleep related then have a look here www.sleeptimebaby.co.uk

[i] US National Library of Medicine – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0072506

 

[ii] US National Library of Medicine – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3439810/


For any postnatal midwifery advice, please see here

Filed Under: Advice, baby, Infants, midwife, post-natal, postnatal, Pregnancy, sleep, sleep consultant, sleep habits, workshops Tagged With: advice, babies, baby, infants, louantenatal, midwife, postnatal, pregnancy, sleep, sleep consultant, workshops

Screening tests in Pregnancy

February 11, 2018 By Louise Brennan

screening, scans, blood tests. pregnancy, midwife

Screening tests in pregnancy

 

This blog is about screening tests in pregnancy. It is part of a series of blogs regarding your pregnancy and antenatal care. The first blog was about what to do when you find out you are pregnant.

You will be offered lots of screening tests in pregnancy. They are designed to detect any health problems that you may have and offer treatment if needed.

You may decline any tests or treatment in pregnancy. Your health professionals will ensure that you are fully informed about the tests or treatments that you wish to decline.

 

Booking Appointment

You should receive information about screening tests prior to your booking appointment. The blood tests that will be offered are –

 

Full blood count – It is common to have a low haemoglobin (Hb) in pregnancy so this test looks at your booking Hb. It also looks at your white cell count (which could show an infection) and your platelet levels as well as other markers in your blood. This test is repeated at 28 weeks to monitor your haemoglobin levels. If your iron level is low, you may require iron tablets.

 

Group and Save – This is to determine your blood group. If you have a Rhesus negative blood group, you will be offered an injection of Anti D at 28 weeks and after the birth of your baby. This is a blood product that stops your body from producing antibodies if your baby’s blood and your blood were to mix. Unless you know your partner’s blood group, the assumption will be that your baby is Rhesus positive; as it is the dominant blood group. You can decline Anti D if you know your partner is Rhesus negative. The baby’s blood group will be checked at birth. If your baby is Rhesus negative you won’t need Anti D. If your baby is Rhesus positive, the recommendation would be for you to have Anti D.

 

HIV – All women are offered HIV testing in pregnancy. There have been many advances in the treatment of HIV. Women who have low viral loads at the time of labour can aim for a normal delivery. Treating women during pregnancy can help to reduce the baby’s chance of contracting the virus.

 

Syphilis – This is a sexually transmitted disease that if left untreated can cause health problem in babies. Any women found to have syphilis can be treated with antibiotics to treat them and to protect their babies.

 

Hepatitis – Hepatitis is an infection of the liver. Women with hepatitis in pregnancy need careful monitoring. The baby will be treated after birth by a course of vaccinations.

 

Sickle cell disease (SCD) and thalassaemia major – These are inherited blood diseases. People who have these conditions will need specialist care throughout their lives. Anyone can carry the trait for these blood disorders and this doesn’t normally cause any problems. If you are found to be carrying the trait, your partner would be offered testing. If your partner also carried the trait, you would have a 1 in 4 chance of your baby having the full disease. In this case, you would be offered full counselling into the options open to you. It’s for this reason that the recommendation is for all women to have their booking bloods taken by 10 weeks of pregnancy.

 

Tests for diabetes – Depending on your family history, ethnic origin, body mass index (BMI) at booking, previous big babies or previous gestational diabetes, you may be offered screening for diabetes. This is usually done by a glucose tolerance test (GTT) but some hospitals may also offer you a fasting glucose test. The GTT requires you to fast for the first blood test, have a sugary drink then your blood is taken at one hour then two hour intervals after you finish the drink. There may other situations in pregnancy where you may be tested for diabetes, for example, if your baby was growing bigger then expected.

 

Dating scan

 

This scan is performed between 10 -14 weeks of pregnancy. It is to date your pregnancy and give you a due date. Sometimes, depending on how certain you are about your last period date, this may be used to work out the due date over the scan date.

 

Combined screening

 

This is also the time you will be offered combined screening. This test looks for chromosomal abnormalities such as Down’s syndrome, Edwards Syndrome and Patau’s Syndrome. You can choose to be tested for all of these syndromes or for some of them. You can choose to opt out of screening all together. If you are more than 14 weeks, you will be offered test that can performed up to 20 weeks but is less accurate that the combined screening test.

 

The test combines the thickness of the back of your baby’s neck and a blood test. This will give you a ratio as to how likely your baby maybe affected. It is really important to know that this is a screening test; it’s not diagnostic. If you receive a low risk result, it means it’s there is a low chance that your baby is affected.

 

I think it’s really important to talk to your partner and make an informed choice about the combined screening test. Some of the reasons you may want to be tested include –

 

  • To reassure you that everything is probably ok
  • If you would consider terminating the pregnancy if there was something wrong with the baby
  • To prepare for the birth if you know that something is wrong. Any abnormalities detected would require follow up so a plan can be made for the care of the baby at birth

 

Reasons not to have the test could be –

 

  • If you don’t want to know if there is anything wrong with the baby
  • If you would not terminate the pregnancy if you had a diagnostic confirmed result
  • If knowing there was something wrong with the baby would be too stressful for the rest of your pregnancy

 

This decision is completely personal to you both and only you can make it.

 

If the result showed a high risk of your baby being affected, you will receive full counselling and be offered diagnostic testing. This test would give an accurate result. You don’t have to go ahead with this if you don’t want to. You will be given lots of help, advice and support to help you make a decision that right for you. There is also charity called Antenatal Results and Choices (ARC) that can provide you with help and support.

 

Anomaly scan

 

This scan is performed between 18 and 21 weeks. At this scan, the sonographer will be looking at the structures of your baby and ensuring everything is normal. It not possible for this scan to detect every problem. You may also be able to find out the sex of your baby. If you want a surprise, make sure you tell the sonographer so they don’t tell you in error! If your pregnancy is low risk and remains so, this maybe the last scan of your pregnancy.

 

The next blog will be on the schedule of antenatal care.

 

Please click here for more information on screening tests in pregnancy.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Advice, antenatal, baby, blood tests, booking appointment, midwife, Pregnancy, pregnant, scans, screening tests Tagged With: advice, antenatal appointment, babies, baby, blood tests, louantenatal, midwife, pregnancy, pregnant women, scanning, scans, screening tests

Newborn Photographer

January 30, 2018 By Louise Brennan

Baby, photograph, photography, midwife, newborn, photographer
This is a guest blog from Bailie and Belle Photography.
Newborn and baby photographer from St Albans.

Safety when photographing a newborn

Newborn photography isn’t easy, firstly from a business point of view all those beautifully soft & cute bonnets and props cost a pretty penny and all the extras you need are endless. However it is a deeply satisfying to create moments for parents of their perfect newborn to place on their wall to look at forever!

I have been a newborn photographer in St. Albans for over six years now. In that time I have photographed hundreds of babies. I have also invested countless hours in newborn training, setting up the studio so it is just right and making sure every detail is counted for. From nappies and wipes, to heating and nice comfy seats and snacks for mum and dad, it all counts.

The most important thing however, for me, is the safety of that brand-new baby, sometimes only a few days old, that you are holding and soothing. It struck me that I am the next person to hold your baby just as much or nearly as much as your midwife or health visitor does when you are in labour or after birth. That is a huge responsibility!!

I have attended health and safety courses, first aid courses, gotten midwives to check out my studio and heating, had endless training from the best newborn photographers in the world and most recently I was very proud to become the UK’s fourth certified newborn photographer with the Master Photographers Association.

I am going to give you my top tips for choosing your Newborn photographer and hopefully that will help you with your decision:-

 

        1. Choose someone with experience, in my opinion one training day is not enough, some photographers have no training at all, or with YouTube videos, to me this is not good enough, but I leave that to your own perspective.
        2. Choose someone that is insured. Whilst no-one would ever want anything bad to happen, the point of insurance highlights to me that the photographer you are dealing with respects their art enough to get it.
        3. Choose someone who has a full portfolio, I would be wary of anyone who is asking for newborns so that they can practice, unless it is for a very well-known trainer, or they are already experienced and are wanting to try out new props for example.
        4. Ask for before and after’s – Compositing of images is a must, a finger can hold a Childs head up not putting strain on their neck, an image I am showing you below, shows how baby can be seen in dad’s hands on a beanbag, and made to look like they are being held up. This should never be done without the safety of the beanbag.
        5. Make sure they use an assistant or a spotter. Babies can literally leap from certain positions, they should never be left unattended. My clients always help me out during a session, unless my husband is assisting me that day.
        6. Ask what training they have had. Photographers that are passionate about a business will invest in training for their business, and to become a better photographer.
        7. Choose a qualified photographer, this ensures they have passed a detailed selection of their images through some of the most qualified photographer judges in the industry. Especially in Newborn photography this is important.
        8. Not all babies can do all the poses, they are all born differently and although they are more pliable during the first couple of weeks of birth they must not be pushed into a pose. You will know if your child is saying NO! Just ask your photographer to stop doing those poses (they should have already stopped).
        9. Ask questions. You will know if you have a chat to a Newborn photographer their level of experience, we are all very nice people, we love chatting.

 

I hope that helps you a little, if you ever want to have a chat, feel free to give me a call about anything at all.

Carli – Bailie and Belle Photography St. Albans

www.bailieandbelle.com


You can contact Louise for any postnatal midwifery advice.

Filed Under: Advice, baby, photographer, photography, post-natal, postnatal, Pregnancy Tagged With: advice, babies, baby, louantenatal, midwife, photographer, photography, postnatal

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