Emotional Health · Pregnancy

Intimate partner violence during pregnancy

What makes a healthy relationship?  Do words like respect, love, equality come to mind?  Well, this may not be the case for some people. Pregnancy can be a vulnerable time for intimate partner violence due to changes in physical, emotional, social and financial demands. Intimate partner violence (IPV) refers to physical, sexual, or emotional harm… Continue reading Intimate partner violence during pregnancy

Baby's First Year · Emotional Health · Nutrition · Parenting · Pregnancy

Healthy holiday tips: It’s more than the foods we eat

The "most wonderful time of the year" often comes with the most wonderful foods to eat. One of my favourite foods to eat during the holidays is my mother's pepperpot. It's a traditional beef stew cooked with spices like cinnamon, thyme and hot pepper. My grandmother taught my mother how to make this dish. This… Continue reading Healthy holiday tips: It’s more than the foods we eat

Baby's First Year · Emotional Health · Parenting

Postpartum Depression – it’s not your fault!

Most of us think that having a baby will be the happiest time in our lives; however not everyone feels joy or that "love at first sight" feeling. Feelings of guilt, sadness, stress, or anxiety can affect the early weeks and months of parenthood which can make it hard to enjoy a new baby. I've… Continue reading Postpartum Depression – it’s not your fault!

Baby's First Year · Emotional Health · Parenting

Surviving the first year: Self-care tips for new parents

Most of us are quite busy in our day to day lives - we have our routines, our interests, and our responsibilities. While parenting is an exciting, challenging and rewarding adventure, it can be easy for new parents' own needs to take a backseat as life with a little one begins. With the popularity of… Continue reading Surviving the first year: Self-care tips for new parents

Emotional Health · Parenting · Pregnancy

Tips to help beat the Autumn blues

Are you already missing the warm sunlight of summer?  Have you felt stressed with trying to juggle with back to school routine with older children?    Is it difficult to go out in the darker evenings? Autumn can bring a feeling of change, or a feeling of the need to prepare for our long winters. We… Continue reading Tips to help beat the Autumn blues

Emotional Health · Parenting

Postpartum Depression in Fathers and Partners

It's common for new fathers to experience joy, excitement, stress and fear while adjusting to parenthood. Did you know that 10% of new fathers suffer from Postpartum Depression (PPD) and 50% when mom is depressed too? Most people are not aware, including the fathers experiencing it. To make change happen, we would like to bring… Continue reading Postpartum Depression in Fathers and Partners

Emotional Health · Parenting

Postpartum psychosis – A treatable illness

As a Public Health Nurse supporting new parents after the birth of their baby, I'm worried when I hear phrases like "I think someone is trying to take my baby; I just can't settle down; I haven't slept in 48 hours; my mother shakes my baby when she's holding her; I'm a bad mother and… Continue reading Postpartum psychosis – A treatable illness

Baby's First Year · Emotional Health · Parenting

Are you ready to start exercising after having your baby?

Do you think of exercise and immediately picture a fitness centre with complicated machines and impossibly hard, high tempo exercise classes?   This can be scary for anyone, let alone a new parent who is isn’t sleeping well and adjusting to life with a new baby. Exercise doesn't have to be difficult, it can be built… Continue reading Are you ready to start exercising after having your baby?

Emotional Health · Pregnancy

How to manage stress in pregnancy

Pregnancy is a time of change and feeling stressed is very common. Sometimes when stress builds over a long period of time and you start to feel like you have little control over these feelings, you may be experiencing chronic stress.  Learning how to deal with everyday stressors can help. Chronic stress may cause immediate… Continue reading How to manage stress in pregnancy

Baby's First Year · Emotional Health · Parenting · Pregnancy

Express yourself: Better communication after baby

After a baby, everything seems to be different; from sleeping patterns, to eating habits, and especially how communication happens. As a nurse who works with parents adjusting to life after baby, I've seen countless times how things can keep changing- the good and the not so good. Understanding yourself and getting the support that you… Continue reading Express yourself: Better communication after baby