We wanted to link you to some resources that might be helpful before doing your antenatal course with us.
Firstly - it’s super important to be doing pelvic floor exercises during pregnancy. Not only does a strong pelvic floor reduce issues such as stress incontinence but it helps you push your baby out during labour. As someone who supports lots of parents postnatally - the other concern I have is that pelvic floor issues are associated with postnatal mental health issues which is why making sure your pelvic floor is strong going into having a baby is so important!
We also wanted to send you some more information about nutrition during pregnancy and beyond. Louise Slope is our resident nutritionist, who is brilliant. It’s also good to start meal prepping whenever works for you (dependent on how much space you have in your freezer!)
You’re not always told about your different options for pregnancy support and as choice is our bread and butter at TVM, we wanted to make sure you knew what you can access even before you do your antenatal course with us. You can have an extra birth partner known as a ‘doula’ who are brilliant and provide emotional support and skilled birth support.
Otherwise, you can also hire an independent midwife if you want private care outside of the NHS. This can be self-funded or accessed via medical insurance (often with work insurance policies). This option is usually chosen if people want to get to know their midwife during pregnancy and know who their midwife will be during labour. Independent midwives can support you at a home birth or in the hospital and the most important thing is that they are your continual support, whatever happens. Antenatal appointments are usually however long you need them to be and at your home, and postnatal support can be anything from daily visits and for as long as you need. You can chat to a few midwives to see who is your best ‘fit’ - and if you’re near Buckinghamshire, our founder Sophie is an independent midwife!
Another thing that is useful to do during pregnancy is a baby/toddler first aid course. Lots of people like to do this online so that they can refer back to it and refresh their memory once baby is here and then again before introducing solids! We recommend Happy Heart First Aid’s online course and TVM clients get 10% off - just enter the code villagemidwife at checkout.
A useful resource if you’re experiencing pelvic pain during pregnancy is the Pelvic Partnership. Lots of people assume it’s just a ‘normal’ part of pregnancy however, there are lots of things you can do to help, so please don’t suffer unnecessarily if you experience this.
