Still feeling that I should alert pregnant women to easyJet’s timing requirement for the fitness to fly confirmation I ‘googled’ the topic, and found this from October 2008.  The summary is that a woman who was 31 weeks pregnant, who had boarded an easyJet flight from Rome, was removed due to not having a fitness to fly letter which had been written within the previous 5 days, she “had flown to Rome from Bristol with the airline six days earlier with no questions asked... Read Full Story

All the airlines seem to have different ideas about pregnant women and flying. If one of my women tells me that she is about to depart for foreign climes via an airline, and she is 28 – 34 weeks pregnant, I make sure that she has a letter from me informing ‘whom it may concern’ that, at the time I examined her, I could see no reason to doubt her fitness to be transported by airplane. The G.Ps charge £15 for the same letter, I just do it, I don’t think that I can make a... Read Full Story

Two days ago I received a Google alert regarding Independent Midwives, the link provided was to the Nursing Times, and the precis supplied indicated that a recent study had found that there were increased risks of stillbirth or neonatal death in pregnancies and births booked with Independent Midwives. I started reading the article ‘ Stillbirth more likely with independent midwives, says study’ and immediately realised that either the study was intrinsically flawed, or that the aut... Read Full Story

Are any other employees who blog, particularly public sector ones, quaking in their shoes and ‘pulling the blanket over their head’? There I was battling with my laptop’s wi-fi connection when Hubby started reading me an article from The Telegraph and as he read I stopped checking my connections and started veering between feeling indignant and considering [...] Read Full Story

Friday morning was a full clinic, plus one extra. It would have been an excellent clinic for a student to be involved in as it covered many different aspects of a midwife’s role in antenatal care. There were early pregnancies, where the women who have been pregnant before were laid back but those who are in [...] Read Full Story

10am – civil wedding at Registry Office (15 miles away) just daughter, her partner, me, Hubby and son, he gatecrashed as it was only supposed to be the 4 of us. The bride wore a fetching ensemble of distressed jeans and cream sweatshirt, whilst the groom wore the male equivalent. It was pouring with rain but the extremely basic ceremony was anything but dull as all involved, including the registrar and the superintendent, laughed their way through it all. The two officials were lovely, ... Read Full Story

 Organising a wedding is traumatic, throw uncertain weather forecasts into the cauldron and you can picture the schizophrenic state daughter, future SIL and I are in at the moment. Relatives staying with us for the weekend has added just a dash of manic housewifery to the mix. Amy’s and the Boys Mummy being unwell has embellished the whirlwind that is me, as I am so concerned about her that I have stolen Amy, and she is now accompanying me through my organisational maze.   It’s a ... Read Full Story

Cripes, I could be missing out on money and freebies, that is if any company would like to sponsor me. I’ve just read this article from The Times. Apparently ‘Companies are rushing to sponsor the increasingly popular blogs that offer tips on parenting’. Well, I’m full of tips but I haven’t experienced companies beating down my door to offer me sponsorship. Just think of the commodities I could plug – pregnancy accoutrements, TEN’s machines, birthing p... Read Full Story

A lady called Lucy who works for immediate future, a company involved in Kinder’s latest publicity campaign, thought I may be interested in highlighting their search to find ‘6 funny kids’ to be the new faces and personalities of Kinder Chocolate Mini Treats. I shall post any more info about how to apply when I receive it. I might just keep it to myself though, I mean, I have 6 little grandchildren who I think are the cutest, cleverest and the biggest personalities…... Read Full Story

Yesterday was the final shop. Shoes, pashmina (excellent bargain in Debenhams, reduced by 75% at the till), accessories, underwear and garter, the bride is ready now, but first comes the Hen Night. I have been invited, and was tempted, but 4 of the participants, not including my daughters and DIL have had me as their midwife, and I rather feel that me imbibing, and then cavorting on the dance floor, may not do much for their opinion of midwives. Shame really as I would love to dance the night... Read Full Story