Rules:

Hey everyone! 👋 I'm currently pursuing my PhD on the association between anxiety and mild infant illness during the first year of motherhood, and I was wondering if any of you would be interested in participating. This would involve taking a short online survey that will help me gather valuable insights. Upon completion, you will have the chance to win a £25 Amazon voucher and/or have the option to take part in a paid zoom interview!

To take part in study 2, you are required to have an infant under the age of 12 months and who is currently suffering or recently suffered from a mild illness (in the previous 4 weeks).

https://livpsych.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8u0zpZPOrdIZW1U

Example illnesses: jaundice, hypoglycaemia, dehydration, sickness and diarrhoea, respiratory difficulties (e.g., bronchitis, croup, whooping cough), ear infection, other infections, cough/cold/sore throat, rashes, conjunctivitis, urine Infection or any other mild illness that did not require admission to hospital for more than one week.

Hey friends, I’m here to ask if anyone has tips and tricks that helped them overcome or better coexist with their morning sickness. I’m not pregnant, but afriend of mine is very early in her pregnancy and she’s unfortunately having a very difficult time.

She’s been dealing with Hyperemesis gravidarum, which apparently is morning sickness on steroids and she hasn’t found anything that helps relieve the symptoms.

She’s been incredibly stressed about her sick time PTO, she’s been stressing about not being able to focus at work, and she isn’t sleeping well.

I don’t want to overstep, but I was thinking about putting together a little care package of things that she might be able to benefit from. Just something to show her her friends are thinking about her and want her to feel as comfortable as possible. but I’ve never been pregnant so i’m looking for any advice on what made your pregnancy more comfortable and what I might be able to do as a friend looking to be respectful and supportive. Of course I’ll be doing some research of my own but I thought there was no one more suited to tell me what a pregnant person would actually appreciate and find useful than the folks who have experienced it themselves

Hello, My employer is outside of California (Indiana) and I am wondering if I am still eligible for Pregnancy Disability leave. I used to live in California until January 2024, now living in Illinois. My PDL would start in a month (4 weeks before my due date) if I am eligible.

Thank you

Hey everyone! 👋 I'm currently pursuing my PhD on the association between anxiety and parenting challenges during the first year of motherhood, and I was wondering if any of you would be interested in participating. This would involve taking a short online survey that will help me gather valuable insights. Upon completion, you will have the chance to win a £25 Amazon voucher and/or have the option to take part in a paid zoom interview!

To take part in study 1, you are required to have an infant under the age of 12 months and recently returned to work AND/OR be in the process of finding childcare or recently found childcare for your infant (in the previous 4 weeks).

https://livpsych.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8IVAQpHs0qq6dVA

To take part in study 2, you are required to have an infant under the age of 12 months and who is currently suffering or recently suffered from a mild illness (in the previous 4 weeks).

https://livpsych.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8u0zpZPOrdIZW1U

Example illnesses: jaundice, hypoglycaemia, dehydration, sickness and diarrhoea, respiratory difficulties (e.g., bronchitis, croup, whooping cough), ear infection, other infections, cough/cold/sore throat, rashes, conjunctivitis, urine Infection or any other mild illness that did not require admission to hospital for more than one week.

Please only take part in one of the above. Your participation would be incredibly valuable and greatly appreciated!

Hi all!

I am a college student in an apparel design program currently in a class regarding market trends with apparel. My group has been focusing on maternity casual wear all semester long and are putting out a survey for a project!

This is a quick google forms survey that should take no more than 10 minutes to fill out

I would love if you could fill this out for me and my group so we could get a wide range of answers for our project! Thank you!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/11vYlra7q_MiqzNGtViGt3IkrSTQ1q11eDCAxKflmrMk/edit

Hi! I'm not planning on giving birth soon because I'm only 18. And I honestly don't even know if I ever will be able to. Pregnancy is almost like a phobia to me. But since I'm with a very good partner, I'm considering having a family with him. But the thing is that I'm a really short and tiny woman. My height is 1m43 (~4'6) and I weight around 35kg (~77 lbs). I stopped growing at 13 and I probably won't grow more. I also am really anxious at the thought of pregnancy. Doesn't seem like a enjoyable experience to me. It's probably normal at 18 to be scared by all that but yeah... The good part is that I have a really supportive partner. And I feel like raising children with him will be a good experience. I'm not afraid of raising children anymore. But pregnancy still scares me a lot. I read a little bit about dangers for short women giving birth and they say under 1m50 (~4'9) there can be problems of space for the baby and so it hurts even more and can be dangerous for the baby. I would like to know if there are any short women that can share their experience with me or professionals that know the answer to my question. Thanks for reading!

Hello, my wife and are expecting our first baby in about 4 mos, we started late in our early 40s. She's had a few OBGYN visits, including the big 20 week one. All looks good health wise. She takes her prenatal vitamins, we try to eat healthy, she feels things here and there, other than that it seems like everything is pretty smooth. I compliment her that she looks beautiful and that I'm so proud of her bearing our child. Any suggestions on how I can be more supportive?

Also will it help to sign up for Lamaze classes or whatever is more effective in today's age, I know Lamaze was something of the 50s?

Hey, so I recently found out I'm pregnant, which is great. But I don't have the proper insurance to cover these expenses. This will be my first and Im very confused on how to get "change of life" insurance for my ob appointments that need to be set up. I'm in Pennsylvania and there should be open enrollment all year for these types of things but they certainly make it difficult to access.

Any advise/ direction- would be very much appreciated. TIA

I'm new here, so I don't know how it works, I need to read other's experiences and some advice. My husband and I are 33 years old and have a son who is almost two years old. A week ago we found out about our pregnancy, which although it was not planned, was the result of carelessness of which we are aware, the point is, we planned to have a second child maybe in a year or so, so the news hit us hard, we considered terminating the pregnancy, we were very afraid because we felt that our son is still very young and needs us a lot, we are terrified that he will be very It is difficult to continue with two babies who get along so little and I mainly fear that those parenting situations that one goes through the first months, combined with a 2-year-old child, will end up separating us, although in reality, I have thought about it a lot and I am willing to continue with the pregnancy, knowing and fearing what could happen, but my husband is still very reluctant to the idea, he still considers the option of not having it, he is very worried, I believe that despite it not being planned , the baby is here and we are together and well, I think we can face it. Parents who have had children a few years apart, can you tell me what it was like?

I was wondering if anyone could provide a recommendation for a pair of joggers (tapered leg) that can be dressed up (not lounge/sweatpant joggers). This is usually my go-to for summer months, particularly here in the UK when the weather isn’t too hot.

I’ve worn Albion Fit joggers, but I don’t think the fit would be maternity friendly (not super stretchy) even if I sized up.

Thanks!

https://livpsych.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8u0zpZPOrdIZW1U

Example illnesses: jaundice, hypoglycaemia, dehydration, sickness and diarrhoea, respiratory difficulties (e.g., bronchitis, croup, whooping cough), ear infection, other infections, cough/cold/sore throat, rashes, conjunctivitis, urine Infection or any other mild illness that did not require admission to hospital for more than one week.

Hi, So I'll be 28 weeks Thursday. At what point do you call the OB? Saturday came, and I was in and out of fhe car, but I didn't do anything strenuous or a bunch of walking. However, I was experiencing sharp pain in the center of the bottom of baby bump. It would last about 10-15 minutes and then go away, but there was no regular timing so I just figured it was round ligament pain. However, by early to mid afternoon, I was also dealing with a cluster headache as well as braxton hicks. So I rested and did nothing the rest of the day. However, that night, I was still having braxton hicks and was feeling shaky and the pains from earlier were back. I took my blood pressure and it was 134 systolic, which according to google wasn't a cause for concern. I ate something, and retested. It had dropped and now my diastolic was 58, which also according to google was not a cause for concern. Sunday comes around and im still feeling some Braxton Hicks, but the pain is gone and im not feeling shaky. I took it easy all day and then that evening we went to the very small county fair. I picked up my 11 month old and started walking and immediately my belly went hard and it was extremely uncomfortable. I gave her to my husband and i rested for a bit. We got dinner and then went home. Today (Monday) no pain, but I have had a few braxton hicks. Maybe 3 all day? Should I call my OB? Should I go to labor and delivery? Baby is moving.

My young beautiful niece is having a baby. There’s a gender reveal coming up and I’d love to give her the best possible gift. I have zero clue! Any pointers?

Hi everyone I’m just a little upset and want to rant. I’ve had my baby she’s 11 weeks old. The clinic that I was going to that takes my insurance just sent me a bill for my FIRST visit. The visit in which I had my ultrasound to check for baby’s heartbeat. They informed me that they accepted my insurance hence why I went there. The rest of the appointments I haven’t received a bill for. i contacted my insurance they informed me that I should’ve never received the bill. From my understanding the midwife that took my appointment filled something out wrong or she wasn’t covered by my insurance. I’ve had so many different midwives during my pregnancy but in the same clinic. Sometimes I’d have my appointment with one but since babies come on their own time that midwife would be delivering or something else so I would get someone else. My insurance issued a statement to them to which they sent me a copy. The billing department is refusing to contact my insurance and instead is always asking me to contact them and claiming they have yet to receive payment for this bill. I’m just annoyed. Has this happened to anyone before?

I'd like to have a positive impact on the local community and want to see if I can do that first through the community of MUMS!

I'm thinking of developing a service that allows Mums and Mother's to be, to rent out maternity clothes. I've come across a number of Mothers and Mum's to be who spend so much upfront on maternity clothes and then end up never wearing them again. Not only should this help out your wallet, it will also do amazing things for the planet.

As strong mums, I would love to hear your feedback. I've put together a super quick survey that should take you less than 2 minutes to fill out! This will help me see if this is something that would make Mum's lives better across the world.

https://ecomum.scoreapp.com

Thankyou for taking the time to read this post and hope this sort of content is allowed here <3

First time expectant mother here! I’m trying to plan what I’ll be needing to add to my wardrobe as I progress in this pregnancy! I’m only 7 weeks now (due in November) so this is for the future. But I’m already trying to plan if I’ll need maternity clothes this summer or if I can make do with what I have.
I’m a smaller person who will likely show pretty quickly as I wear a XS/S and a 25 in jeans.

I know everyone is different but I would love to know what to expect!

So long story short I work for the NHS and received OMP & SMP. I’m due to go back soon (if I don’t I have to pay back my OMP) I’m not in a position financially to pay it back. However I do not want to go back! They are aware I am only coming back for 3 months to pay it back then leaving (due to some depression/anxiety issues I have leaving my daughter) I have 6 weeks holiday to use, so only have to work 6 weeks. Question is, if I get signed off for 6 weeks with my mental health does this clear my debt to my work?

I’d happily take the 6 weeks unpaid - I’m not after the money, I just will not be leaving my child point blank!

Has anyone on here been made to pay NHS OMP back?

(Please no comments telling me to ask for part time etc, been through all situations and this is the last option left!)

Anyone else on unpaid maternity leave? How are you surviving and making extra income while on maternity leave? We put aside money to prepare and had unexpected expense (of course perfect timing) we had to dip into bill money for. I’m so stressed about everything financially. It’s to the point our electric is going to be shut off tomorrow and we’re going to have to live with it until next paycheck I feel selfish putting my spouse through financial stress all on him when he wanted to go back to work last week to keep us afloat but postpartum has hit me hard and couldn’t bare him going back to work so soon I was having extreme panic attacks every morning He is back to work and I’m feeling okay and able to maintain the kids on my own without him here. I’m just a mess emotionally because of financial stress and want out of the hole. I go back to work next week and honestly going to miss my kids so much but I know financially we will be better off.

The application asks my last day worked and last time I was physically in work was March 10th, HOWEVER, I have like 6 scheduled shifts before my due date that are off for vacation/PD. So my last paid day before leave is April 9th. So would I put April 9th as my last day? My due date is April 21st

I'm 14/40 with my 1st, and just found out I have low Papp-a. Not drastic, but not mild either. The team are really reassuring and I've seen people who had it with no problems at all. But obviously, my head... Anyone got any reassuring stories please?

16monthsF no medication or medical issues My daughter has a small pearl sized lump each side of her neck. When I try to feel them they instantly move somewhere else. She has had a cold and runny nose recently. She is clingy and tired but still very playful. Is this something I should be concerned about? It’s been there around 2-3 weeks

Hello everyone,

I hope you're all doing well. I'm reaching out here for some advice on behalf of my wife. She gave birth about two months ago, and we're navigating the process of accessing government aid for benefits related to postpartum anxiety.

Her OB/GYN has already submitted some forms that enabled her to receive six weeks of support. However, we've learned that she may be eligible for an additional six weeks of assistance through her general practitioner (GP). Unfortunately, her GP isn't certain about the specific forms needed to facilitate this.

If anyone has any insights or suggestions on which forms her GP should submit to the EDD for postpartum anxiety benefits, we would be incredibly grateful for your guidance.

Thank you in advance!

Hello!

I am scheduled for a c-section in early May and wanted some advice/tips about what the most helpful and nessicary items for recovery are. I should preface, this is not my first c-section. I had to have an emergency one my last delivery so I didn't get the opportunity to learn about the most helpful items, tools, advice.

This is my 4th and final baby. My first 2 were delivered vaginally but I have opted to have a c-section this time #1 because I'm getting my tubes tied and #2 so that I'm not suddenly thrown into an operating room again after 27 hours of labor..

Not to make this wordy, but I have googled things to bring but a lot of them seem more for looks than for use. I want to make the most out of this experience and give myself a chance to have a better experience this time around.

Thank you!

👣Are you a couple expecting your first baby?

🔍 We are seeking couples from Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK who are up to 22 weeks pregnant to participate in the STORK pilot study: Supporting the Transition to parenthood through Online Sex and Relationship Knowledge.

❓What is STORK: The first online couple-based program designed to enhance knowledge about changes to sexuality during pregnancy and postpartum and skills to cope with these changes. STORK was designed to strengthen couples’ relationships across the transition to parenthood.

📅 What is involved: You and your partner will complete 5 online modules in pregnancy (1 per week) and a final module at 2 months postpartum. You will also complete 2

surveys — before and after you have completed the program — that gather information about your relationship, your pregnancy experience, your feedback on the STORK program, and your child.

💰 Compensation: As a thank you for your participation, you can receive $33 CAD or currency equivalent each ($66 CAD or currency equivalent per couple). Your time is valuable to us!

🌈 Inclusivity matters: STORK requires one member of the couple to be currently pregnant. Otherwise, STORK is open to individuals of all genders, bodies, and sexual orientations.

Couples who have had previous pregnancies but do not live with a child can participate if they otherwise meet eligibility criteria.

💌 For more information or to participate in the STORK pilot study, contact us at STORK@dal.ca.

https://qualtrics.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0MPyLcurzaMwy3k

Hi

I wondered if anyone could please shed some light on this topic.

I recently stumbled upon a research paper about folic acid increasing the chance of you child having a childhood cancer. This was due to the mother taking high doses of folic acid during pregnancy.

For my entire pregnancy I took 5mg daily as I have epilepsy. I also took 450mg daily of lamotragine.

How much of this is true? I instantly feel guilt and regret for not doing my research. I just thought taking folic acid was healthy and normal for pregnancy

Postpartum Depression and Social Networks in the Era of COVID-19

Hello all! I am a graduate student conducting research for my thesis examining the personal relationships and emotional well-being of mothers who gave birth during or just before the COVID-19 pandemic so that we can further our understanding of how to best support mothers during times of stress. If you choose to participate, you will be asked questions asking you to recall your overall health and wellness during this time, as well as questions about your relationships and household members.

All data will be collected and kept completely anonymous. This survey will not be asking any specific questions regarding your personal choices during the pandemic, and aims to create a space for participants to answer honestly without fear of judgment.

To participate in the study, you must have given birth between April 2019 and April 2020 and be over the age of 18. Taking part in the study will take about 15 to 30 minutes.

Thank you! Please feel free to reach out with any questions! I look forward to your participation and appreciate your time and consideration.

This survey was approved by the moderators to be posted in this subreddit.

Link to Survey:

https://fullerton.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4Pzqa5xFEbThbcW

So a little quick context, I've been at my workplace almost 3 years. Always worked really hard and gained good recognition for my work performance. I'd say while I'm not best friends with my work team (50+ people) in comparison to other jobs I'd formally had where I had really close connections with, I do get on well with everyone.

Out of the blue and a random missed period later I found out I was pregnant. Very unplanned and I was formally told a few years prior by a doctor that the likelihood of me being able to have children was extremely low due to a genetic disorder I have I was pretty shocked - but a happy shocked.

I followed all proceedings and seemingly went on maternity leave. Everyone at my workplace was pretty supportive and helpful originally - especially when I was heavily pregnant. However, when I had my baby and announced it at work only 2 people said congrats. I probably shouldn't be too bothered by this, but since those 2 said congratulations I've had radio silence from my workplace. Not even the managers said anything.

It's my first baby so i’m not sure how common this is? I've seen others announce births and there’s been a frensy of people asking after the person or staying in touch.

Maybe I'm just being too sensitive.. I just feel a little sad about it.

Hey everyone! 👋

I hope you're all doing well. My name is Olivia Pike and I am a PhD student in the field of psychology. We are conducting a study on the association between anxiety and infant health and illness in the first year of motherhood, and I was wondering if any of you would be interested in participating. To take part, you are required to have an infant under the age of 12 months and your infant must be currently suffering or recently have suffered from a mild illness in the previous 4 weeks. 

Example illnesses: jaundice, hypoglycaemia, dehydration, sickness and diarrhoea, respiratory difficulties (e.g., bronchitis, croup, whooping cough), ear infection, other infections, cough/cold/sore throat, rashes, conjunctivitis, urine Infection or any other mild illness that did not require admission to hospital for more than one week.

It would involve taking a short online survey that will help me gather valuable insights. Your participation would be incredibly valuable and greatly appreciated.
If you're interested, please follow the survey link and this will provide any additional information you may need. Feel free to ask any questions you might have as well. All responses are anonymous and you will have the chance to enter into £25 prize drawer upon completion. You will also have the chance to take part in a future interview paying £25 per interview.

https://livpsych.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8u0zpZPOrdIZW1U
Thank you so much for considering being a part of our study. Your contribution would make a real difference in advancing our understanding of this important topic!

Hey guys, I'm currently on my second year of mat leave and am due back at work I'm August. I'm an afterhours hospital coordinator and my shifts are 2pm-1am on weekdays and 10am-1030pm weekends. My contract is 0.8 however when I return, I'm able to negotiate reduced hours. Considering my kids will be 1 and 2yr old when I go back, I'm thinking the hours are going to be a nightmare!! The kids will be at childcare 3 days a week but I can't fathom finishing work at 1am and getting home even later only to be up early to say hello then goodbye to them for another day! 😢

Has anyone experienced working late with small children? Does it work? Should I consider something more business hours?

Any help welcome!! Thanks in advance 🙏