Weston Communications is working with Daddynatal and Bump, Birth and Beyond to provide the full mix of Marketing, PR and Communications services. So far in 2011, Daddynatal and Bump, Birth and Beyond have become finalists in the What’s on 4 Awards, appeared on Baby Talk, Star 107.9, the Vanessa Show, the Daily Mail and several national radio stations. They are also now undertaking a pilot project for Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Their portfolio of pregnancy classes & services and baby classes and services allow expectant parents and new parents and families to receive continuity of care from a company who treats clients as individuals and as a family, not just a customer. From maternity photography to birth doulas, daisy birthing classes to infant massage, daddynatal to toddler yoga; they enable families to get enjoyment from every stage of pregnancy and parenthood.

Daddynatal and Bump, Birth and Beyond currently provide classes in venues across Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire to support families in having a confident, empowered and enjoyable experience into parenthood. To interview Dean, Steph or clients who have used Daddynatal and Bump, Birth and Beyond services, please contact Liz Weston and the Weston Communications Team on 01223 501520 / 07515 910231 or liz@westoncommunications.org.uk

We’ve had so many enquiries regarding Daddynatal and Bump, Birth and Beyond in the last two weeks that we are putting a list together of their recent media coverage for people looking to find out more about them.

We’ve got a guest blog from one of our own clients today, Dean & Steph from Daddynatal and Bump, Birth & Beyond. They’ve had a brilliant week, going from teaching local classes, to national coverage via a TV appearance. I thought it would be really helpful for other people who have small businesses to hear that opportunities for national coverage are out there, if you’re prepared to work hard and make the most of the opportunities available….. 

While everyone else seems to be winding down for Easter things have never been busier at Bump Birth and Beyond Ltd. It has been a hectic week, but a very positive hectic week!

Our busy week kicked off on Saturday, listening to the first interview Dean had recorded for The Baby Show broadcast on Star Radio. The interview was focused on the role of the dad in pregnancy, and very exciting for us, as it was the first ‘official’ interview Dean had done, and it definitely was a great learning experience.

Then, Sunday saw us officially announce our partnership with Peterborough City Hospital at Peterborough Baby Show. Bump, Birth and Beyond are now running DaddyNatal and Active Birth Classes, on behalf of the hospital, free to parents. How fantastic to have a Head of Midwifery who is so forward thinking, she really is one of the first in the country to recognise that fathers/birth partners have huge antenatal education needs which have never (until now!) been met.

There was an excellent response to the news of the classes, with signups both on the day and since. Both courses are already 10% full, and we are still awaiting the formal press release and for the community midwifery team to start promotion yet!

Sunday also marked the completion of the first part of training for our new Daisy Birthing teacher, Alison. Courses have been so successful that Steph cannot keep up with demand on her own, so we are extremely excited about Alison’s arrival. She will commence teaching in June which will allow us to offer more courses in even more locations.

On Monday and Tuesday evenings, Steph was out teaching her regular Daisy Birthing classes in Peterborough and St Ives. Steph teaches classes to around 40 pregnant ladies a week, as well as managing all the bookings and day-to-day admin of the company. And she looks after our two toddlers full time as well!

Little did we realise what more the week still held in store… At 10pm Wednesday evening, Steph arrived home from yet another Daisy Birthing class to the news that Dean had been invited down the next day onto The Vanessa Show on Channel 5 to talk about fathers at birth. Turns out a producer had heard his interview on The Baby Show website and wanted him there for a discussion segment about birth! How could we refuse…?!

So scrapping all previous arrangements for Thursday, Dean travelled to London to record the show. To say he was nervous would be a major understatement! He was petrified to be doing his first TV appearance only a few days after his very first ever live media interview! But, of course, he was also really excited. The people were brilliant and he had the pleasure of meeting and talking to Pearl Lowe and Christina Hopkinson, as part of the segment on the discussion of fathers at birth. They were lovely and certainly put Dean at ease (although nerves kicked back in once the cameras started rolling!). You can see his appearance here and judge for yourselves how Dean got on at The Vanessa Show.

Feel free to comment as we would love to hear your feedback. It was a long day though – Dean left home at 11.30am, and didn’t get home again until 8.30pm (luckily Thursdays are Steph’s evening off!)

But there was still work to be done… Friday saw us at a meeting at Peterborough Hospital to discuss some of the logistics of our partnership, and then followed by an agreement that we would produce contact and reference packs for the community midwives, so that became our focus on Saturday!

However, the support and excitement of what we are doing, coming direct from the midwives is so refreshing. It really is a pleasure to be working with them all.

And finally, we finished the week on Sunday with one of our Couples Antenatal Workshops in Kettering. Our classes are jointly run between the both of us, to make sure that we cover all the essential points from both the mum and birth partner perspective. It was a really great class – we thoroughly enjoyed it, and then arrived home in time to spend the remainder of the afternoon in the garden with our two children.

So a busy week made busier by some unforeseen media appearances! A great experience though and we look forward to seeing what the next few weeks brings us.

So that was our hectic week how was yours?

What? I know. I’m nuts, telling you how to get more for your money when I sell advertising myself. But there’s a method in my madness, I promise, so stick with me. Advertising calls. How annoying are they? Very!! I know they are because I’m on the phone so much, selling it. I’m in such a tricky position because I sell advertising in the New Baby Guides and the Young Families Bump, Baby and Toddler Show programmes and know that I’m one of maybe five calls you’ll get each day, selling you something.

But sitting on the other side of the fence, I advise clients as to how to make the most of any advertising opportunity they are thinking of participating in. So here are my top tips to ask when you are thinking of booking an advert in something:

1. Ask them to send you a sample of the publication. If it’s new to the market be wary. Be very wary. Of course, I can only say this now my publications are up and running, but I’d be uber cautious about something where’s there’s no proof of concept.
2. Check them out with other people locally. Is this their real business? Their proper job? Or something they’ve latched on to as an idea? Or that they are copying from someone else? Ask them how they came to be doing the publication. What are their credentials?
3. Ask for an explanation of how they know their circulation (even more so if it’s new) and if they can provide evidence of it. As an example, we have a letter from our Heads of Midwifery for each New Baby Guide we do and it has in it, that we are working in partnership with them and what the circulation will be.
4. Check out the small print – do they charge you for amends to your existing advert? How much? We charge for this, depending on the size of the advert and how much work is involved. When it’s a bigger advert, we do it for free, because it’s important to us to show our clients that we want them for the long term.
5. Ask for recommendations. We put them on our Facebook pages and on our website. It’s good to do that sort of thing, to show people you are legitimate and proud of what you do.
6. Negotiate. Ask for either a) a discount if you pay now in full and with print ready artwork or b) for a small change to be made to your advert for free or c) some editorial for free if you are booking a big advert.
7. Ask about exclusivity. We offer it, but our clients pay extra for it. Don’t expect to be the only doula in a New Baby Guide as that’s not reasonable, unless you are prepared to pay for the cost of the other adverts that would be there from them as well as your own.
8. Join up with other advertisers who you are not in direct competition with. As an example, if a half page costs £545 and a full page costs £895 why not find someone else to do it with you, so you both pay £447.50 – and tell the advertising sales person that you want a discount for being organized!
9. Ask what page number you will be on and what’s going to be advertising/featured next to it. You want to aim to not be next to your competitors as it’s info overload for the reader. (with thanks to @iamcharlieross for thinking of this one for us)

Anyway, that’s just my initial thoughts on what to do when you are thinking about advertising. If you’re ever looking at advertising in something and want me to take a look over it, I’m happy to help, at no cost.  Email me at liz@westoncommunications.org.uk or call me on 01223 501520.Why? Because there’s nothing worse than people spending money on advertising for a publication that won’t go ahead, or looks naff, or has a poor distribution as you too, by association, will suffer. And it reflects badly on the whole industry. Believe me, I’ve seen some pretty lame examples…

And here’s my sales pitch: If you have a business, service or product in the pregnancy, parenting, birth or family market, please get in touch with us and see how we can help you reach more than 104,000 families each year in NHS branded publications. The New Baby Guides are the only publication that goes out via our NHS Maternity Units other than Bounty. Anything else that says it does is not representing themselves accurately.

We can send you samples of our NHS Maternity Unit publications – the New Baby Guides, references, referrals, letters from Heads of Midwifery stating that we are working with them and have a wealth of contacts who could help you cross promote your business at no extra cost to yourself.

What are your top tips to consider when thinking about booking an advert? Would really appreciate your input on this one…..

You know how everyone tells you their birth story on their child’s birthday? Not me, I’m going tell you something different, I’m going to tell you about the things that I’m grateful for surrounding the birth of my first son…

Overnight, four years ago today, I was being induced for the arrival of our first child. At 12 days over, and having requested inducement at 38 weeks, and the pessaries having not worked and having my waters broken not working either, I was *keen* to have my baby, however it happened. In my mind, that meant that I’d forgoe  the hypnobirthing birth I’d practised hard for, and have an epidural if needed.

Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be, as Elliott was breech. That means he was bottom first, rather than head first. The shift manager at the Rosie Maternity Unit in Cambridge was nice enough, when she was brought in by the midwife, and said “Yes. I’ll bet next months salary on that being a bum”…

Four years later, I can thank several people and organisations for  helping my husband and I to keep calm, whilst  people started flapping around us.

1. Selina, my midwife  and Gillian Pett – another local  midwife.
Selina was a smart, savvy midwife whose practical approach made me realise that although I thought I was unique, lots of people actually have babies all the time, and it’s a normal process.

Gillian Pett taught the NHS Antental Classes that we attended. She also took us on our tour of the Maternity Unit. She’s a no nonsense woman, but one who encouraged us to get the births we wanted. If the birthing pools were in use, don’t worry, go and run the bath, and use one of them. Just like you would at home. I loved her. And so did Richard. And when we were in the position of having people rushing  around us, we took  time to  remember what Gillian had said about caesarean sections, and how to make the most of the situation we found ourselves in… To not feel like we needed to make decisions to comply, but to take time to work out what we wanted. And to  make use of the facilities available – water and drugs….

2. Alison Marcus, my NCT Teacher.

I cannot put into words the impact that Alison had on my pregnancy and our early months as parents. If only we’d paid more attention when we covered c sections! Mind you none of us did, because we were all working towards a natural birth. Moving on… Alison taught us an acronym that I can’t remember now but it was all about asking what the options, alternatives, specifically what was happening, questions, time lines available and to ask with a smile. I can’t believe I can’t remember it, I’ll email her and ask. At the time, in labour due to the drip, with people rushing around us, we kept calm. Richard even asked everyone to go out and leave us alone to have  some thinking  time – another thing that Alison told us we could do.  They didn’t like it, but we took that time, and got ourselves together for the upcoming change in plan.

Postnatally, we  found that Alison’s experiences as a mum of four, meant that she’d taught us some important stuff. Like the fact that  it would be normal for Richard to come home and say “Really, you didn’t manage to go and buy milk today?” and that our baby would not be sleeping through the night by three months of age. And that you can do whatever you can to get through the nights and days without thinking that you are failing parents because you don’t do it the same as other people. I don’t know how she actually did that, but they are the things Richard and I remember.  Feeling more confident about becoming parents, that we weren’t on our own and that  the support was there for us. When Alison gave us her phone number at the end of the course, it went straight on our fridge as soon as we got home. Apparently it went on the fridge for the  rest of  our course  mates as well…..

So there we have it. I loved and still do love my NHS Midwives and my NCT antenatal teacher. We are eternally grateful  to them for the care and support they have given us. People are so quick to complain about NHS Midwives, but I can tell you that they do an amazing job with the resources they have. And that I’m privileged to have the opportunity to work with them on the New Baby Guides  and so  chuffed to  be  able to donate money to support staff training and  birthing aids for women in labour….  And as for people who join the NCT being tree hugging hippies, well I can tell you that I don’t know anyone who is a hippy, or hugs trees!! The people we’ve met have been smart, successful, non cliquey and we’re grateful to know them.

If you want to know more about the NCT, find classes in your area or local groups, check out the NCT website. You don’t have to be a member to attend the antenatal classes, or postnatal groups,  so just check them out and have a go. And if you get the chance to go to NHS Antenatal Classes, go to them and make the most of the opportunity….

We always hear of technology being used to make money, which people complain about, or to gain a competitive edge. So I thought you would like to see technology being used for something good!

Lt. Michael Palomo, serving in the Army, in Iraq, saw his baby daughter arrive via the miracle of Skype.

I think it’s brilliant that technology can be used for something that keeps families together, even when they can’t be together physically.

New baby arrives on skype*

The full story is here

*Image courtesy of The Sundusky Register.

Don’t you think it’s lovely to see technology being used for something so lovely? Have you seen anything similar recently? Please leave a comment below, would be nice to see more of it.

Help me with this one please. Who has time to video the arrival of their baby? Which bloke out there is not being subjected to having the pain ‘shared’ with him, at the most special (and painful) moment of the birthing process?

Someone is, because some doctors overseas have started objecting to births being videoed.

Why? To encourage maternal bonding with new babies? To involve men in the birthing process more? Nope. So that the footage can’t be used should anything go wrong with the birth. I know.

For the file, if you are a bloke and reading this, I do not think that your Mrs will want you to be holding anything other than her hand, mopping her brow or doing whatever she damm well tells you to at the point of birth.

I haven’t seen a baby marketing campaign yet where the photo is required to be the moment of birth, or videos of babies arriving. I suppose someone will go and do it now. Yuk.

Did you have photos of yourself giving birth? Literally giving birth? Who wants to see your lady bits at that point? Did you have someone video it? Who? Show me how it’s a good thing, I like being proved wrong….

You heard it here first. There’s something new starting up in antenatal classes. It’s men, teaching men, about antenatal and postnatal stuff. And it’s usually taught out of a pub. Here’s Dean, from Daddynatal, to tell us more…DaddyNatal is a course run by men for men.
So what do we do?

We look at pregnancy and birth from a male perspective.

• We discuss common male concerns and take them through the pregnancy road map plotting the development of their unborn child. We  also explain the changes likely to be occurring in their partner.
• We explain the fears their partner may have and how this can affect their behaviour.
• For labour we look at what their partner wants from them, what their possible roles are during labour and the effect they can have on birth outcomes.
• We look at the early days as a family and discuss how they can support their partner, and, the effect they can have on successful breastfeeding through correct support.

Fathers to be are able to gain a better understanding of both what they are going through and what their partner is experiencing. This knowledge means they are able to to be more active and supportive antenatally, in labour and postnatally. Our exercises help men visualise their unborn child and encourage antenatal bonding.

Giving expectant fathers this information in an environment that they can relax and bond with other expectant fathers has a multitude of benefits.

They don’t have to feel they are in it alone!

We provide men with knowledge. This helps them manage their emotions. In realising that their feelings are normal, we help to reduce their apprehension and fear. Antenatal bonding is crucial for effective support in those early days, without it there can be a time delay before dads bond with their new child. This can impact on the effectiveness of their support for mum which in turn can have a detrimental effect on successfully establishing breast feeding.

A partner that is calm and relaxed will instil confidence into their partner. This can only have a positive effect on the likely outcome of the birth.

For more info on daddynatal follow them @daddynatal on twitter or www.DaddyNatal.co.uk

When you are pregnant, your mind is usually filled with thoughts of how to save money and do things at as little cost as possible. The one thing I recommend, as a mum of two myself, is to go to antenatal classes. To make this blog a bit less biased, I asked Laura Hackett, an experienced antenatal teacher, to tell us a bit more as to why they are such a good thing.

 1)      The classes are usually fun and informative.
I use humour to help learning and make classes enjoyable. Attendees can have concerns or worries that they don’t feel able to bring up in class, so it’s my job to lighten the atmosphere and make people feel relaxed and comfortable.

2)      Dads learn loads.
My classes focus on the role of the Dad as the birth supporter  - why are they at the birth?, what is expected of them?, what can they do to help?, and will they be a good Dad?  This is the sort of thing that men tell me they want to learn and women want their men to know too!

3)      Mums make new friends. 
I find that mums who attend my classes forge good friendships no matter what the course format, whether it is 2 whole days or a series of evenings. Whichever the format, there will be opportunities to get to know the others on the course. These friendships are very useful postnatally.

4)      Practical Skills for labour.
You’ll learn coping skills including breathing techniques, massage, positions and simple comfort measures for labour. 

5)      Practical Babycare skills.
Want to know how to change a nappy, how to bath a baby and how to put  baby down for sleeping? All of these practical skills and more are covered

6)      Manageable labour.
Women who attend my classes very often report back that the labour wasn’t as bad as they thought it would be. With an increasing number who birth at home or who are 7-8cm when arriving at hospital, they truly use the skills learned in classes on how to “manage” their labour.7)      Using water for labour.
My classes always include a session with a birthing pool so women and their partners can get into the pool, experiment with positions and learn about the benefits of labouring and birthing in water. It’s always good to practise.

8)      Increased satisfaction after the birth.
From speaking to many parents after the birth of their babies a large number are very satisfied with their birth experience and transition to parenthood. This is true  even when the birth did not go to plan. My no-nonsense approach in classes to what the early days may be like and strategies to cope are found to be useful.

9)      Ongoing support.
Most teachers offer ongoing support. For example, after the set of classes is completed those attending know I am only an email or phone call away. I have attended women in early labour while their partners travelled home, I have helped Dads at the hospital with asking about potential options in care and frequently visit new mums on the postnatal ward or at home if asked. I feel very privileged to be part of the couple’s life at this important transition point and this shines through in my commitment to anyone who attends a class with me.

10)  Because you don’t know what you are missing out on if you don’t.
First time parents tell me that they only realise the value of their classes after they’ve attended and gone on to become parents.  Those who don’t attend do not know what they missed and those that do attend find them invaluable.

Laura Hackett has taught almost 1,000 pregnant couples about pregnancy, childbirth and beyond. To see why people like Laura’s classes so much, visit www.bumpsandmore.co.uk . The site also has details of courses, events and services available from Laura at Bumps and More.

I’ve been thinking about this recently. I worry that my DH (Darling Husband, it’s mumsnet speak) has never been as “into me” as I was him, in the early days. And it’s always bothered me. I  thought that there wasn’t much by way of fireworks or all night conversations or.. well, I don’t know. But I knew that I wanted to be with him. That I found him physically attractive, a nice person, a smart guy and someone who I laughed a lot with. So when I saw this quote on www.mumsnet.com this morning, it’s made something fall into place for me… I thought you may like to see it.

“Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being in love which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two.”

I don’t know wrote this, so I can’t attribute it to anyone,  sorry about that. But it was too powerful to not post about it.
I’m going to eat breakfast with the hard working husband and dedicated dad who is downstairs with our little boys, the other half of my tree.

Colic. I don’t want to get into whether it exists or not, because I believe it does. And that some babies suffer with it more than others. Looking at images of babies crying to put into this post, I got choked up just thinking about the nights we had with both our boys where they were inconsolable…

Fox news has reported today on research in the Journal of Pediatrics which suggests that “that infants who took a daily drop of probiotic supplement cried one third less than babies who didn’t. Probiotics are healthy bacteria that help keep the intestines working properly. Dr. Joseph Levy says, ‘If there are less spasms and the muscles don’t contract so strong, the baby won’t feel pain. ‘Colic affects up to 28 percent of infants but doctors aren’t sure what causes it. When diagnosing the condition doctors refer to the rule of threes–crying for more than 3 hours .. At least three days a week .. For at least three weeks. Probiotic products for babies are already on the market but parents should check with their pediatrician before adding any to their child’s diet. Dr. Levy says, ‘not every probiotic is the same and not every baby that cries has colic.’

More studies need to be done before probiotics can be used to treat colic. And I’m not suggesting parents should put yakult into their babies by any means, but this sounds basically like common sense. And these days, with two toddlers under my belt, I’m all for the simplest approach to helping our babies, toddlers and children through whatever ailments they are suffering from.

At any rate, I’m pleased to hear that colic is being thought about by professionals, rather than suggesting it doesn’t exist. When Elliott was a baby I remember a midwife with 25 years experience telling me that infacol and other “remedies” have no scientific backing. I was disappointed to hear this as it came well recommended by others. She then went on to add that it is entirely possible that it’s having a positive effect because babies and parents feel like they are doing something to help themselves and each other through the misery of colic filled evenings. And that to me, is common sense again – the placebo effect yes, but if it’s making mummies, daddies and babies a little more able to cope together, I’m up for it.

What do you think of this research? Did your little people experience colic? How did you cope with it? What worked? What didn’t? Am sure there are people out there who would appreciate anything if they’re in the midst of dealing with it at the moment…..

Here’s a couple of links to other sites with suggestions for helping babies with colic:
Bupa suggestions for colic in babies
NHS Choices suggestions for colic in babies
Netdoctor suggestions for treating colic in babies