When bonding takes time...

I've just read a very moving article from The Guardian written by the mother of a baby born prematurely after she developed pre-eclampsia explaining how it took time for her to relax and learn to love her daughter.  The link is here.  It's worth reading, especially for anyone who had a premature baby or who ever felt any uncertainty about the way they "bonded" with their own newborn.  We have come to expect that mothers should experience an almost mystical link with their babies at the moment of birth, but the reality is often far from that, particularly after a difficult birth or when a baby is born very early. Perhaps it's time to appreciate quite how far our rose-tinted ideals about motherhood can sometimes be from real women's experiences.

ACeBabes chatroom sessions

If you're not familiar with ACeBabes, you should be!  It's the only charity working to support those who are pregnant or have children after experiencing fertility problems and has an active community of members who offer peer support to one another.  The charity's website has a forum and chatroom, and from next month I'm going to be hosting monthly sessions in the chatroom to encourage members to come and talk to one another online.

I hope that everyone will feel able to join us for the chatroom sessions, from those who have just found out they are pregnant right through to those who are already parents - and you can find out more about the ACeBabes chatrooms at http://www.infertilitynetworkuk.com/acebabes/?id=13252

It's an area I feel quite passionate about, as I think the specific needs of those who conceive after trying for some time are often completely overlooked, and it's the subject of my book Precious Babies, which is due out in October.