Loving your Post-Pregnancy Body

You may be surprised by how your body looks and feels after you give birth. If you worried about your size when you were younger, your uneasiness about your body…

Breastfeeding: Controversy in the Media

Breastfeeding is a contentious issue in the media. Photographs of breastfeeding mothers or celebrities on social media, breastfeeding videos that go viral, and breastfeeding-related incidents that hit the news bring…

Mothering – Instinct Or Learnt Skill?

Birth, breastfeeding, and nurturing young ones – are these instinctive behaviours or learnt skills? Before you become a mother, you may wonder whether you have ‘maternal instincts’. Here are some…

Teaching My Kids about Stranger Safety

Tragic happenings out in the world have prompted me to reflect on life, family, and protecting my children. As my growing kids spend more time apart from me, there are…

Water Birth: A Gentler Birth

Birth in water, known as water birth, is one of the gentlest ways for a baby to be born. This ancient practice, which has been revived by birthing mothers today,…

Breastfeeding & Your Fertility

Many mothers wonder about their ability to conceive while still breastfeeding their babies. How is your fertility affected by breastfeeding? How does breastfeeding help mothers space their babies naturally, and…

Are You Pregnant?

Trying to conceive and then waiting to know if you are indeed pregnant are nail-biting experiences for a woman. You may feel butterflies in your stomach, a sense of excitement…

Communicating With Your Doctor About Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding mothers often receive conflicting advice from doctors. As a nursing mum, you may feel intimidated about challenging your doctor’s advice on breastfeeding. Doctors’ knowledge and personal experiences with breastfeeding…

How Breastfeeding Mums Benefit From Mother-to-Mother Support

Connecting with another person is the cornerstone of the human experience. Yet, in the weeks after baby arrives, hormonal fluctuations, intense emotions, feelings of responsibility and differences in opinions on…

Weaning: Let Baby Lead

My daughter was exclusively breast fed from birth. When she turned six months old, I excitedly introduced her to pureed foods to complement the breast milk in her diet. However,…

14 Pumping Tips for Working Mothers who are still Breastfeeding their Baby

Many mothers choose to feed their babies expressed breast milk (EBM) while they, the mums, are at work. This motivation to continue feeding breast milk stems from a desire to…

Midwifery in Singapore: The EMMa Care Programme

The term ‘midwife’ means ‘with woman’. Traditionally, mothers depended on specially-skilled wise women to care for them in pregnancy, labour, birth, and postnatally. Present-day midwifery is a reflection of how…

Breastfeeding & Your Diet: Your Questions Answered

During pregnancy, you begin to watch the foods you eat, ensuring that you consume wholesome foods that benefit your growing baby; your nutrition after birth and while breastfeeding remains important…

HypnoBirthing®: A Calmer Birth

Tranquil. Deeply aware of my body’s work. A gentle arrival for my baby. Imagine a world where every baby is treated with gentleness from the moment he is conceived. Imagine…

Large Singaporean Families (Part 2)

In the second part of our feature on large families in Singapore (read part one here), we speak to a mother who is expecting her sixth baby, and a mother-of-six…

Kids & Technological Gadgets

Mobile phones, MP3 players, iPads, and numerous other technological gadgets have revolutionised the way we interact with our world. While these latest gadgets offer us adults convenience, cost savings, and…

Breastfeeding Your Newborn: Frequent Feeding

New breastfeeding mothers often wonder about the frequency of feedings. Find out why a newborn needs to breastfeed often during the early days after birth, and how your milk supply…

Large Singaporean Families (Part 1)

Many couples in Singapore feel conflicted about having more than one or two children. Concerns about family expenditure, balancing work and family, and issues about the children’s education loom large….

Raising a Larger Family in Singapore

In the past weeks, Singaporean parents have had a lot to think about. For many of us, the biggest thing on our minds has been the kind of future we…

What’s your Relationship with other Parents like?

I recently read an article about a father who locked his three-year-old son in his room at bedtime. The little boy had been waking very frequently every night (up to…

Coping with Separation Anxiety

With the beginning of the school year, I have had to deal with a contentious area for me – separation issues while dropping off my preschooler at kindergarten. At the…

Notes from A Mother’s Journey

As I approach the end of another year, I reflect on my 11 years of motherhood. I am thankful for my beautiful and lively children and the lessons I have…

Help Your Child Learn Responsibility

One of the paradoxes of being a parent is that while we love our children deeply, one of our end goals is to equip our children with the skills they…

Coping with Pregnancy Emotions

For a woman, pregnancy is a time of change. Physically, your body is changing to accommodate your baby’s needs. Emotionally, you are beginning to realise that you are now responsible…

10 Ways To Boost Your Breast Milk Supply

Breastfeeding mothers frequently exchange advice and tips on what works to increase breast milk supply. How can you set yourself up for good milk production, from birth to the end…

Finding my Balance as a Mother

When my children were younger, I stayed home to care for them. As they grew older, I began to study and work on a flexible basis, mostly from home. Nowadays,…

Understanding Your (Breast) Milk Supply

“I have often wondered whether I have enough milk. My son has always been small-built compared to other babies his age. Family members and friends have also commented that I…

Shake That Little Booty!

I recently attended a dance festival in which my eight-year-old daughter was performing. I watched the performances with my young sons and we had a grand time, with the little…

6 Things You Didn’t Know About Labour Pain

When labour is mentioned in tandem with childbirth, the first thought that goes though many women’s minds is pain. Indeed, there is pain in childbirth. However, women’s bodies were made…

Newborn Tests That Your Baby Will Go Through

Immediately after he is born, your baby will undergo several tests and examinations. But you may be engrossed in meeting your baby for the first time (and perhaps too fatigued…

Combining Breast & Bottle

Although many Singaporean mothers begin breastfeeding at birth, exclusive breastfeeding rates generally decrease as newborns get older. This does not happen only in Singapore; it is consistent worldwide. • 22…

Help Your Kids Deal With Anger

Feeling angry is part of being human, as is managing the anger that we feel. As parents, we want our children to learn such skills, which they will need in…

Creating Your Birth Plan

Becoming pregnant and giving birth to a baby are life-changing events in a woman’s life. For many a woman, her baby’s birth becomes one of her most precious memories. It…

Primary Education: Brand Name Or Heartland School?

Many Singaporean parents strategise, often years in advance, to get their children into popular schools at primary one. This sense of competitiveness surrounding primary school registration is fuelled by the…

Breastfeeding Through Pregnancy

Many mothers become pregnant while breastfeeding an older baby. If you are in this scenario, you may face conflicting advice from family and friends about cutting back on breastfeeding or…

Gearing Up For A Natural Birth

Birth conjures up different images for different people. The media and society send messages about how birth is difficult and painful. On the flipside however, more stories are emerging about…

Breastfeeding In Public

There is now growing awareness about breastfeeding, and nursing a baby in public is gaining more acceptance. Even so, many mothers feel torn between meeting their child’s needs outside of…

Breastfeeding Into Toddlerhood & Beyond

Most mothers initiate breastfeeding after their baby’s births; however the number of mother-baby pairs who continue breastfeeding tapers off as the babies get older. Mothers nursing older babies often find…