It must be 'bash a breastsfeeding mum' month or something, as yet another woman is publicly humiliated.

Anisa Baker was in a charity shop changing room in South East London when her baby began to cry. Realising her baby was probably hungry she decided to take a few minutes to breastfeed, seeing as she was already somewhere quite private and discreet. 

What she didn't expect was to see the shop manager looking through the side of the curtain and then declaring loudly "changing rooms aren't for breastfeeding".  

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I know there seem to be ribbons for all sorts of charities and causes, but this one is a great one! Celebrities and pop stars rubbed shoulders tonight at an event promoting safe motherhood.

BBC presenter Tess Daly, Prime Minister's wife Sarah Brown and singer Annie Lennox were among the celebrity guests attending the White Ribbon Alliance's Global Dinner Party Campaign.

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I find it hard to believe that in this day and age we still hear stories about  women receiving complaints when they breastfeed in public.

 Thank goodness it's not the norm to hear stories such as this, but a bus company in Bristol has apologised for asking a young mother to get off a bus in the rain because she was breastfeeding.

 Amy Wootten, 25, was travelling home from the city centre on the busy bus and was feeding her six-week-old daughter Emily.

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New research has suggested that babies given solid foods before they are four months old are more likely to be overweight at the age of three than other infants.

More than one in four (26%) babies given solids before four months were overweight aged three compared with 22% of those fed solids later on.

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It is important that you as parents are informed about the possible risks of any course of treatment for your baby and that you are able to discuss and properly assess the clinical options presented to you. So with this in mind, I wanted to share with you some information that doctors and nurses have been warned to take care when giving babies antibiotics (normally gentamicin) after the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) issued new guidance after 507 reports of harm or potential harm to babies caused by staff errors in the 12 months to March.

Of the reports, 483 resulted in no or low harm to the baby, while 23 resulted in moderate harm.

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Let's face it, drinking milk is pretty healthy at the best of times, but new research has discovered that Mothers-to-be can reduce their babies' risk of developing multiple sclerosis in later life by drinking it.

Around 100,000 people in the UK suffer from MS, an auto-immune disease which destroys the fatty insulating sheath of myelin that coats nerve fibres in the brain and spinal cord.

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This is obviously a senstive subject, but one that is emmotive and of interest for all new parents and is probably worth a read..

New research has shown that cot death babies lack a key brain chemical that regulates breathing, heart rate and sleep.

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On the surface, new proposals by the government about new rights for fathers to take up to six months' paternity leave - three paid - seems all nice and rosy as currently, Dads are only entitled to two weeks paid leave.

Coming into force from April 2011, the time off can be taken during the second half of a baby's first year if the mother returns to the workplace.

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For many women, myself included, maternity leave is something to look forward to and enjoy.

However for some women, getting back to work as soon as possible is the order of the day.  Of course for many women this will be a case of necessity rather than absolute choice but for a small minority taking maternity leave is seen as a sign of weakness....

Er, hello?? Even putting aside the fact that physically you will probably feel like you've been hit by a bus (repeatedly) what about spending some time with your gorgeous new bubba?

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Scientists now believe that there is no such thing as 'baby brain'.  Boooooooooooo to the white coat brigade! I know that when I was pregnant, my short term memory was, well a distant memory!

But if Australian researchers are correct, then pregnant women will need to find something else to blame their forgetfulness on. 

The study, which compared the memory function of 1,241 women both before and after having babies, concluded that neither pregnancy nor motherhood, addled a woman's brain.

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In a survey just published by SurveyMonkey, it has discovered that almost 50% of babies due this year were conceived outside the bedroom and that nearly 1 in 5 pregancies were not planned. (in this day and age, I ask you!)

While 46% of babies were conceived in the bedroom, 9.5% were conceived on holiday and less than 1% were conceived in a car.

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Now I don't have my own iPhone as yet, though my husband is glued permanantly to his so I am well aware of the plethora of iPhone apps that exist!

A recent story in the Sun showed a couple who believes she conceived due to her iPhone app of the free menstrual calendar that you can download. To me, the story seems a little contrived and probably sold in by the PR company representing iPhone - call me cynical! But nevertheless, it could be an app worth knowing about this if you are trying to conceive, as whether be via your iPhone or just google it on your PC, the calendar can certainly help make you aware of your fertile days, that is if your periods are fairly regular.

As an ex-smoker myself I know how hard it can be to give up.

However I believe that being pregnant is perhaps the biggest incentive there is to ditch the cigs.

We all know that smoking whilst pregnant can put your baby at greater risk of being born prematurely, being of low birth weight and being more at risk of Sudden Infant Death (maternal smoking remains one of the biggest risk factors for cot death).

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There has been a recent spate of research and press articles which suggest breastfeeding may not be all it's cracked up to be.

From my perspective, doing blogs on all things baby and pregnancy related, it certainly makes a nice change to write about something different other than how breastmilk is some kind of miracle and magical tonic for your baby, and it's always nice to read both sides of the argument so that you can make an informed choice with regards to your feeding preferences, although of course there is no denying the health benefits gained from breastfeeding.

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Although the majority of midwives will encourage you to eat and drink in the early stages of labour whilst you are home, when you get to the hopsital you may find that you are entering a 'nil by mouth' zone.

 Indeed a very good friend of mine had her husband sneak her mini cheddars when her midwife wasn't looking!

Eating and drinking during labour was (and sometimes still is) considered a no-no due to concerns about choking or regurgitating food that might cause fatal damage to the lungs.

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There has been a lot of tit for tat cross party arguing over a new 10 page official guide on 'how to be a good father' to be launched by children's Secretary Ed Balls later this week.

A total of 600,000 copies of the guide will be distributed across the UK and its core message will be that men can be just as good at caring for children as women as well as the benefits gained by breast-fed babies will also be outlined.

Call me old fashioned, but the jury is still out for me whether the majority of men can be equal to caring for children as women - but regardless of the politics, the guide sounds like a great idea which I'm sure a lot of men will welcome.

With UK birth rates rising, a new report has expressed concerns that many areas of the country are facing midwife shortages.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) have called on local health authorities to act promptly on its findings.

 The report has cited the rising number of births, plus the added strain of complex births, including substance abuse and obesity as putting an additional strain on exisitng midwifery services.

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A study is underway by psychologists  at Durham University, who are trying to gain a better understanding of how the brain develops.

It is hoped that this research could provide a greater insight into conditions such as autism.

Children aged up to 2 are needed to take part in the research and all the tests will be harmless and non-invasive (and of course, mum or dad can be present too!).

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The World Health Organistation (WHO) researchers have given a warning as a survey of births found women who underwent a surgical delivery were more likely to suffer health problems than those who gave birth naturally.

The findings, published in the Lancet medical journal, have revealed that women who had a caesarean section without a medical need (a term known as 'too posh to push') were at least ten times more likely to be admitted to intensive care than those who gave birth normally.

Rates of caesarean births have been rising in Britain to reach almost one in four and in some hospitals almost one third of babies are delivered surgically. Although most caesarean sections are emergency operations which are carried out because labour is not progressing or the baby is in difficulty, there has been growing concern about women opting for the procedure because it is seen as safe and desirable, leading to accusations they are 'too posh to push'.

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