Jan Steward
On Friday 13th January, I was asked to go onto Radio 4’s PM programme to counter argue with Prof. Warwick and her statement regarding so called “foetus parties” an apparently derogatory term we as a company had never heard of before. I declined for 2 reasons.
Read the rest of this entry »
Jan Steward
Maternity care must involve fathers more - http://www.nationalhealthexecutive.com/Maternity-care-must-involve-fathers-more.htm
Babybond is 12 years ahead of this statement. Since day one, involving Fathers has been a priority.
Mike is a hands-on dad, and hates being left out (always has done and always will do) and, knowing this, made me feel uncomfortable when it happened. This is not a criticism of the NHS because we received excellent care both times. Unfortunately, it is an observation that, in a busy situation, there is little or no time for on-lookers.
Read the rest of this entry »
Jan Steward
OK, I feel I’ve been hiding a big grin and a very big secret for such a long time and, on 10th November, it’s finally been officially announced – I am a finalist for the 2011 Everywoman Hera Award.
I received a phone call out of the blue at the end of September from a lovely lady telling me I was a finalist in the 2011 Everywoman awards. I had completed the application form as a last minute exercise back in July. To be honest, although I felt excited and passionate and in my application something just seemed to flow, I never thought I would hear any more. I hadn’t truly appreciated the prestige of the award until I investigated the previous winners, there are some pretty significant names on the list. I feel so proud that my name and Ultrasound Direct will be added to the list of finalists for 2011.
Read the rest of this entry »
Boy or Girl?
What is a gender scan?
Fairly obvious really – this is where the Sonographer will try to get a good view of the baby’s bottom. This is the only way you can tell the sex of the baby with ultrasound. I really don’t want to rule out all “Old Wives Tales” (OWT) completely, but this is definitely a time when science and technology does win out over nature. One very common OWT we hear, even apparently given by some midwives, is the speed of the baby’s heartbeat distinguishes between a boy and girl. 140 BPM appears to be the commonly used threshold, or “try to tell between a galloping horse and a steam train.” But surely its common sense – a baby’s heartbeat is normally irregular during development. If baby is awake and active it will be faster than when the baby is having a quiet time. This is all very normal. So a one off heartbeat reading won’t give you any information since you probably don’t know what the baby is doing at the time.
Another common OWT is carrying the baby all up front means boy and on the hips mean girl. How can this be? Women are all different shapes and sizes, what does it mean if there is a nice even spread all the way round?
Read the rest of this entry »
Jan Steward
After 12 years of Babybond I still need to pinch myself when I read comments from all over the UK from people who have been to Babybond. The Babybond Facebook page is a delight to read and a great way for me to see & feel the experiences of families all around the UK that have been touched in someway by their Babybond experience.
To understand the ideas and the concepts behind Ultrasound Direct, it is perhaps better to start at the beginning of Babybond and get to know who is behind it and how it all began.
Read the rest of this entry »
