Masochistic Mommy

Mother Nature is a hypocritical sod. Check this out: The raison d'etre of your existence is reproduction. So why then, does good ol’ Mother Nature muzzle our fertility while we’re lactating? And is there anything we can do to get pregnant without pulling the plug on breastfeeding? In this post I will answer both questions in turn. What gives me the confidence to speak about this issue? Firstly, I've been there (conceived under 6 month postpartum whilst exclusively breastfeeding), secondly, I've conducted a shed-load of academic research into breastfeeding fertility. A word of warning before we begin: As a result of reading this, you may find yourself up the duff, toot sweet. Want closely-spaced siblings? Dream of tandem-feeding? Read on! Aunt Flo takes a vacation While breastfeeding a lot of mothers notice that ‘shark week’ no longer occurs every month. Yet, as with many physiological happenings that appear idiotic, Mother Nature has a plan. You see, every time you bring yo...

How many children should I have? It’s the question that plagues many of us breeders. Some never fully resolve the budding uncertainty of the “What If…” conundrum. What if I have just one more? What if I stop at the traditional two? What if I don’t give my child any siblings at all? This article will help to alleviate those concerns using leading sociological, economical and even physiological research. 1 CHILD: The pros: The percentage of women having only one child has nearly doubled over a generation ( Kelley 2007 ). In fact, only children are America’s fastest growing family demographic ( Hass 1999 ) so your kid will not be as unusual as they would have been a generation ago. Much of the stigma has been consigned to history ( Blair 2013 ). Only-children tend to have more successes in life. Only-children tend to have a higher proportion of successes in life and that they tend to have higher I.Q.'s than any other family setup ( Goleman 1985 ). Parents outnumber children. Your exis...

Parenthood is universal. All around the world, every minute of the day, men and women are becoming parents. Conception, birth, feeding – this cycle is unanimous. However the experience of parenthood can differ dramatically depending on the culture in which it unfolds. The following story provides a unique insight into how the experiences of getting pregnant, being pregnant, giving birth and breastfeeding unfold in the Middle East. Perhaps the West has a lot to learn from the Arab Emirates… “The Arabic phrase “shway, shway” means something like “slowly, slowly” and is used in many different contexts, one being “take it easy” or “relax.” This seems to be the underlying lesson of the past few years of my life. GETTING PREGNANT… My husband and I decided to move to the Middle East two years ago when we were both hired as teachers in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. One of the biggest challenges for people in our situation is understanding the Arabic way of life , which is very laid back and...