Beth Owen - Antenatal, Postnatal and Baby Services

15/11/2025

Making decisions about your maternity care or birth? Make sure you use your BRAIN!

When I teach about birth one thing I often say is that the person in labour really needs to be able to shut off the thinking part of their brain and relax into it. It has been said that you need to fall into labour just as you would fall asleep. You can’t make it happen, you need to switch off and...

14/11/2025

13/11/2025

If you are starting out with food for your baby you might weighing up the different approaches you have heard about.

When it comes to baby feeding themselves with finger food lots of parents are a bit unsure. You might be totally on board with the developmental and experimenting side of finger foods but is it a safe option? For a baby who has never chewed food before and has no teeth?

Parents worry that their baby will break off a chunk of food and choke as they don't know how to chew it yet.

Actually self feeding finger food is a really safe way to give your baby food. Serving sticks or chunks of foods they can pick up themselves allows them to control what goes in their mouth. It also allows them to start learning to chew and move food around their mouth right from the start when they are ready, rather than trying to learn after a few months of purees or mashed foods.

Match food their skills - initially they need sticks of food or big pieces to suck on (chop grapes, cherry tomatoes and sausages lenthways). At 6 months they won't have the skill to pick up a raisin, pea or blueberry so they can wait until that skill comes. By then they will be better able to manage those foods in their mouth too.

Finger food allows your baby to learn what each food looks and tastes like, helps them develop control with their hands and learn how to pick up and hold different textures and lets them feel lots of different textures of foods. All of these things are fantastic for their development at a time when they are ready to handle different things and can put things to their mouth.

They might not eat much initially and that is fine, but they will be learning how eating works and even with no teeth, will do a good job of chewing and swallowing.

You might feel more comfortable with a mix of purees and finger foods but don't miss out on this important stage of your baby's development so keep the finger foods available for your baby to try. They might just surprise you!

Beth x

13/11/2025

If your baby is due this winter you need to be quick with your antenatal classes!

Make sure you are booked on to your class to get the right birth and baby preparation for you.

Feeling like you might have left it a bit late? Send me a message and let's see what we can fit in for you.

Beth x

12/11/2025

It isn't always easy to find your own way with parenting. There is so much noise around you and so many opinions on what is best that it can be tricky to find your own path if it looks a little different.

It's hard to step away from the crowd & not conform with the current parenting paradigm. Let me show you how to make it easier.

12/11/2025

⚠️ Urgent recall: M&S baby sleepbag

M&S is recalling its Stripe 2.5 Tog Baby Sleepbag due to a strangulation risk. The neck opening is too wide and does not meet UK safety standards.

The product was sold online and in M&S Clothing and Home stores.

11/11/2025

When I talk about feeding in antenatal classes almost everyone says

I want to try to breastfeed
I hope to breastfeed
I will breastfeed if I can
I would like to breastfeed

and then BUT......

It's ok if it doesn't work for us
I know some people can't
I know it can be really hard

I can't remember the last time someone said 'I am going to breastfeed'. We know so many people who have had tough journeys that expectations are low. Women no longer expect to breastfeed, they want to try but they expect it be hard and not work out for them.

I also meet plenty of people (sometimes the same ones I spoke to antenatally) who discovered that once baby was in their arms it really did matter, it wasn't ok if it didn't work for them. The emotions around feeding your baby can be huge and it is a whole new skill for you and your baby to learn.

Getting ahead of the game and doing some learning before they arrive can make a huge difference. Immediately after birth you are not at your best for taking in information and learning something new! Learn now before baby arrives, it might not all make sense but you will have the information ready for when you need it.

You can now access my Infant Feeding Workshop online, whenever you want to. Watch before baby arrives and watch again when they are here and you want a recap.

It covers so much;
Why breastfeeding is recommended
What to expect with a newborn
How breastmilk production works
Positions for you and baby, and getting the latch right
Expressing and bottle feeding
Troubleshooting common challenges

All in 11 bite sized videos so you can easily watch the bits you want to again. That is more than 2 hours of content to help you feed your baby in the way that is right for you.

And because I really want everyone to have this information (stats tell us 80% stop breastfeeding before they want to) it is only £29 and you can access and watch as many times are you need to, and if baby is here already and you are struggling it is still worth buying (and message me to get in touch with your local support groups)
https://payhip.com/b/cLoMX

Beth x

10/11/2025

https://www.facebook.com/mymothertruths/posts/pfbid035tqe3K33ufs3bzadyBfDeR2AZRXh9x8zzz425CEGT2TbnZiV7JHNzgNKtAZrJaPtl

I met an earlier version of myself at a toddler group once. A mum of a nine-month-old.

She had a certain look in her eye that felt familiar. She sat in her tiredness the way I used to, and so I gravitated toward her.

I introduced myself and we engaged in small talk. She soon revealed that her daughter wakes every hour and has since birth.

I talked about Casey's wakefulness and she looked visibly surprised, relieved even. She said she'd only met one other mum with a similarly wakeful baby.

Boy did I know that feeling. The isolation of being the one with the non-sleeping baby. The one that felt like other mums only liked to talk to me because it made them feel like they were winning. The one who clearly didn't get the memo on day one at the hospital. The one who came to doubt every decision she ever made or didn't make.

I remembered myself nine months in. Casey growing stronger and more vibrant by the day. And me, depleted in body and soul and feeling detached. Stuck inside a cloud.

I told her she was doing an amazing job and that it's bloody hard.

They say you forget the sleep deprivation, just as you forget your pregnancy symptoms and labour pains.

I don't think I ever truly will and I'm now forever attuned to other mums who are currently "in it" and want them to know that they are seen, that their child's sleep is not reflective of them as a mother and that they will sleep again.

Well, in four-hour blocks at least.

Art: https://www.instagram.com/spiritysol?igsh=cmZ0ZWZuZ2dnb3E0

Words: Mother Truths

Taken from the book "Lessons: Reflections on Early Motherhood"
Available to buy worldwide: https://linktr.ee/mother_truths

10/11/2025

Pregnancy ✅
Birth ✅
Parenting ✅

09/11/2025

Skin to skin has many benefits after birth and you will be encouraged to spend at least an hour with your baby straight from birth. If you or baby aren't able to do skin to skin immediately you will be helped to spend time snuggled together as soon as you are both able to.

But skin to skin has no expiry! This is not a birth room only thing, it is something that has benefits when you go home as well.

Skin to skin is great for bonding and connecting, can help with feeding and milk production and is good regulating your baby's breathing, heart rate, and temperature.

It is also amazing for calming an unhappy baby. When your little one just doesn't seem to settle and your can't figure out what is going on some skin to skin cuddles can work magic.

And don't forget partners. Skin to skin can be a lovely way for them to bond and connect and they can help with calming baby in this way too.

Definitely one to file away in your parenting toolkit!

Beth x