We visited my parents at the weekend. My mother was busy making a fuss of the boys, my husband was chatting to my brother and for the first time in a while my father and I had the chance to catch up.
First of all he told me I was running too soon after having my c section, when he had his appendix out when he was boxing he was told to wait six months before exercising.
'I need to do something though Dad, otherwise I get really down'.
'Oh I know you've been down, I think you've been depressed'.
'No I haven't', I protested.
'Yes you have and do you know how I know?', he asked.
'How?'
'You've been spending, when you're depressed you try and buy yourself out of the depression by going shopping'.
Two things became clear to me then. The first that maybe I have been a bit lonely and down, but I think I am getting on top of it now. The other was that my father knew me more than I ever realised and that was a wonderful thing to know.
Tuesday 20 April 2010
Thursday 15 April 2010
Parent: will do/try anything!
A friend of mine has a little boy with a sleeping problem. He's now 20 months and is up most nights screaming between the hours of 2 and 5am. My poor friend tried everything: controlled crying, establishing a bedtime routine with bath etc, soothing massages, warm milk. You name it she tried it. Eventually she saw a chiropractor who said he could cure her son of his sleeping problem. There was some explanation of pressure on the base of the skull during labour and that because her waters had broken late this increased the pressure and every time he lies down he feels the pressure etc etc. My friend saw this gentleman a few times and she felt he did make a difference. Then they stopped going because he was sleeping better. Recently I heard they are back to sqaure one.
I'm reminded of my friend this week because the British Chiropractor Association have dropped their libel case against Dr Simon Singh. If you're not familiar with the case, Dr Singh wrote a comment piece in the Guardian, saying that he did not believe that there was evidence for the claims that some chiropractors made for being able to treat childhood and infant disorders such as asthma, colic and sleep problems. They felt that he had made defamatory comments and took him to court.
I have my own opinions about the claims that some chiropractors make but that is not why I mention the case. I mention it because as loving parents, like my friend, we will do anything to help our children with any problems they have. I like to think of myself as a rational person but if I had exhausted all possible solutions and then someone told me to help my child I should hop on one leg while tapping my head and drinking a glass of water I might be inclined to give it a go. I suppose some practitioners treating children may not make parents aware of the evidence base (or lack of) behind the treatment but thats not all that matters. Any treatment is a leap of faith and if you feel as a parent its something you feel could help your child, and its safe, then I ask why not?
I'm reminded of my friend this week because the British Chiropractor Association have dropped their libel case against Dr Simon Singh. If you're not familiar with the case, Dr Singh wrote a comment piece in the Guardian, saying that he did not believe that there was evidence for the claims that some chiropractors made for being able to treat childhood and infant disorders such as asthma, colic and sleep problems. They felt that he had made defamatory comments and took him to court.
I have my own opinions about the claims that some chiropractors make but that is not why I mention the case. I mention it because as loving parents, like my friend, we will do anything to help our children with any problems they have. I like to think of myself as a rational person but if I had exhausted all possible solutions and then someone told me to help my child I should hop on one leg while tapping my head and drinking a glass of water I might be inclined to give it a go. I suppose some practitioners treating children may not make parents aware of the evidence base (or lack of) behind the treatment but thats not all that matters. Any treatment is a leap of faith and if you feel as a parent its something you feel could help your child, and its safe, then I ask why not?
Wednesday 14 April 2010
Curse of the Personal Trainer
Reading my weekly mags there are the usual articles on celebs trying to lose their baby weight. Coleen has been doing it since her baby was born in October. Danni and Denise are already stressing about it even though their babies haven't even been born yet! One line in the Coleen article did worry me. Her trainer Elise Lindsay says 'Coleen is most proud of how she looked on the cover of her (2006) fitness DVD....,but I want her to look even better'. So not only is Coleen probably putting pressure on herself she is getting it from external sources as well.
I don't know who these personal trainers are or what their qualifications are but I do think that they have unrealistic expectations of these mums. Pregnancy places a huge demand on a woman's body and it takes 9 months for all the changes to take place to allow the baby to develop and grow and for mum to birth the baby.
Women's health physiotherapists don't recommend anything other than pelvic floor exercises for 6 weeks following a natural birth and to wait 10-12 weeks if you've had a caesarean. The hormones released during pregnancy have a major effect on slackening the ligaments of the spine as well so doing to much too soon can easily result in post-partum back problems. A lot of my own spinal caseload has been women who have had problems with their backs since having children and I'm sometimes seeing these ladies 18 years later.
The other aspect that is concerning is that new mother's look at these celebs and think that they should be embarking on some kind of super trendy exercise regime. The early months when you bring baby home are tiring and emotional and your body is slowly trying to come to terms with having given birth. New mother's should not feel bad about putting exercise on the back burner for a short while and concentrate on watching their baby grow and thrive. These first months pass so quickly and babies change so much. Why exchange time with your beloved newborn for sessions with a personal trainer?
I don't know who these personal trainers are or what their qualifications are but I do think that they have unrealistic expectations of these mums. Pregnancy places a huge demand on a woman's body and it takes 9 months for all the changes to take place to allow the baby to develop and grow and for mum to birth the baby.
Women's health physiotherapists don't recommend anything other than pelvic floor exercises for 6 weeks following a natural birth and to wait 10-12 weeks if you've had a caesarean. The hormones released during pregnancy have a major effect on slackening the ligaments of the spine as well so doing to much too soon can easily result in post-partum back problems. A lot of my own spinal caseload has been women who have had problems with their backs since having children and I'm sometimes seeing these ladies 18 years later.
The other aspect that is concerning is that new mother's look at these celebs and think that they should be embarking on some kind of super trendy exercise regime. The early months when you bring baby home are tiring and emotional and your body is slowly trying to come to terms with having given birth. New mother's should not feel bad about putting exercise on the back burner for a short while and concentrate on watching their baby grow and thrive. These first months pass so quickly and babies change so much. Why exchange time with your beloved newborn for sessions with a personal trainer?
Tuesday 13 April 2010
What does the research mean??
The papers always have a knack of sensationalising the results of research. The hot topics are usually incidence of cancer in different groups, effects of diet and exercise on health, breastfeeding and immunisations.
Probably the most famous study in relation to children in recent years and which caused a storm in the media was the MMR research which claimed to have established a link between the jab and the incidence of autism. The doctor which carried out the study has been prevented from doing any further research as he was found to have been paid by parents of children with autism to carry out the research, providing significant bias. The ethics of the study were also found to be questionable along with other flaws in the study which mean that the results cannot be reliable. However the media grasped this study and caused panic and worry amongst hundreds of parents.
I used to gasp at the headlines and be drawn into articles reporting the research. However since studying a Research Module (yawn) for my Masters I look at all research with a far more critical eye. There are a few useful things to consider before deciding whether the results from a study are worth their weight in gold:
Who conducted the study and what was their vested interest? e.g a pharmaceutical company testing its own drug may always find favourable results for their product. This affects validity and reliability of the study.
How many participants? If there are only 100 people in a study this cannot be generalised to the whole population. 7000 participants goes more of a way to finding trends.
Was ethics approved?
Was it a double blinded randomised controlled trial? This is where participants and testers don't know which intervention they are receiving/giving. This means any reponses and results are more reliable.
Breast cancer studies often find that it occurs more often in the Northern Hemisphere but a doctor on the radio raised an interesting point. Do tights therefore cause breast cancer because women in the Northern Hemisphere are more likely to wear tights? Ridiculous yes but there are too many variables in our lives that it is not possible to control or exclude while conducting research.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that we should not be spooked by the way research is reported in the media, instead we should look a bit closer at the studies ourselves to make a more informed decision.
Probably the most famous study in relation to children in recent years and which caused a storm in the media was the MMR research which claimed to have established a link between the jab and the incidence of autism. The doctor which carried out the study has been prevented from doing any further research as he was found to have been paid by parents of children with autism to carry out the research, providing significant bias. The ethics of the study were also found to be questionable along with other flaws in the study which mean that the results cannot be reliable. However the media grasped this study and caused panic and worry amongst hundreds of parents.
I used to gasp at the headlines and be drawn into articles reporting the research. However since studying a Research Module (yawn) for my Masters I look at all research with a far more critical eye. There are a few useful things to consider before deciding whether the results from a study are worth their weight in gold:
Who conducted the study and what was their vested interest? e.g a pharmaceutical company testing its own drug may always find favourable results for their product. This affects validity and reliability of the study.
How many participants? If there are only 100 people in a study this cannot be generalised to the whole population. 7000 participants goes more of a way to finding trends.
Was ethics approved?
Was it a double blinded randomised controlled trial? This is where participants and testers don't know which intervention they are receiving/giving. This means any reponses and results are more reliable.
Breast cancer studies often find that it occurs more often in the Northern Hemisphere but a doctor on the radio raised an interesting point. Do tights therefore cause breast cancer because women in the Northern Hemisphere are more likely to wear tights? Ridiculous yes but there are too many variables in our lives that it is not possible to control or exclude while conducting research.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that we should not be spooked by the way research is reported in the media, instead we should look a bit closer at the studies ourselves to make a more informed decision.
Monday 12 April 2010
Blogstart
I regard myself as somewhat of a cyber novice and at times a bit of an internet snob. All this networking and sharing. I have been slightly scathing at times. However I now find myself a Facebook addict and a Twitter lover. Moreso now that I am on maternity leave with my second child. When baby finally settles for a nap, sometimes I just don't have the energy to rush round the house doing the things I should. So instead I have a good old surf.
Facebook was my first love, collecting friends and perusing their lives since we'd lost contact, looking at pictures of friend's and their children who now live at all ends of the earth. I then discovered Twitter and became an avid updater. Both have an element of the popularity contest, gaining and losing 'friends' and 'followers', leaving you feeling uplifted or a bit put out. Both have an attention seeking element, 'Kathleen is flying to the moon on the next space shuttle'. You end up checking your profile on the off chance there may be comments, replies or 'likes'.
Despite my mocking of my Facetwit obsession, there is a common theme on these sites that bond people and bring out goodwill in friends/followers: babies. Your friends and followers want to know how your pregnancy develops and request you to upload pictures of your newborn and your family. Babies seem to bring out the best in the people using these sites, even if you haven't seen them since primary school as I have found. That is partly why I have decided to start a blog, it seems the natural progression from Facetwitting and a another good way to spend my brief Mummy teabreak.
Facebook was my first love, collecting friends and perusing their lives since we'd lost contact, looking at pictures of friend's and their children who now live at all ends of the earth. I then discovered Twitter and became an avid updater. Both have an element of the popularity contest, gaining and losing 'friends' and 'followers', leaving you feeling uplifted or a bit put out. Both have an attention seeking element, 'Kathleen is flying to the moon on the next space shuttle'. You end up checking your profile on the off chance there may be comments, replies or 'likes'.
Despite my mocking of my Facetwit obsession, there is a common theme on these sites that bond people and bring out goodwill in friends/followers: babies. Your friends and followers want to know how your pregnancy develops and request you to upload pictures of your newborn and your family. Babies seem to bring out the best in the people using these sites, even if you haven't seen them since primary school as I have found. That is partly why I have decided to start a blog, it seems the natural progression from Facetwitting and a another good way to spend my brief Mummy teabreak.
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