So what does this mean and – more importantly – how does this help you to achieve and maintain improved levels of health?

The definition of holistic health is simple and inclusive. It is your overall state of wellness on all levels of your being: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. It covers the health of your entire being and extends to your resources, environment and relationships.

Although we’ve become accustomed to examining and treating each of these areas separately, holistic health or wellness implies the health of the whole. In reality, your body, mind and spirit are completely intertwined and cannot be separated. They are aspects of the whole, not separate entities. To affect one level, either positively or negatively, influences your entire being.

What I’m going to share with you in these pages is my experience and my journey in improving my well-being. Specifically, this will include:

• Fitness tests
• Suggested activities
• Training programs
• Health articles
• Experience of injuries and treatments
• Dietary advice
• Descriptions of therapies that I’ve taken

The beauty of this is that you get to learn from my experiences and can share the journey, applying what you want to yourself!

So first of all, ask yourself the following questions:

1) What is your main fitness goal?

• To lose weight
• To gain strength
• To improve my endurance
• To become more athletic

2) What equipment do you use?

• I go to a gym that has everything I need.
• I only have access to free weights.
• I workout at home and can only do bodyweight exercises.
• I only do cardio (Running, Biking, Swimming, etc.)

3) How many days can you workout?

• 3 days per week.
• 4 days per week.
• 5 days per week.
• 6 days per week.

And here is the current program I am working on:

Warm up:                            5min Jog 8-10km on Treadmill

Intervals:                             6x1min @18km on Treadmill with 10km Jog in between

Sumo Squat:                      3sets x 12 reps  45 Kgs

Leg Press 1 leg:                 3sets x 10 reps  40 Kgs (super set with below – ie no break)

Leg Press 1 leg Calf:         3sets x 10 reps  40 Kgs

Chest Press:                       3sets x 12 reps  35Kgs (super set with below – ie no break)

Pushups:                             3sets x Max reps              20 pushups

Wide Row and Hold:       3sets x 12 reps  35 Kgs (super set with below – ie no break)

Close Row:                          3sets x 12 reps  30 Kgs

Hover:                                  3sets Max reps 2 minutes (super set with below)

Crunch:                                3sets x Max reps              30

Cool Down:                         Stretch

Give it a go! And if you’ve got any comments, let me know.

I think that part of the challenge is coming to terms with our needs. Parents are all too ready to give up themselves for their children. That’s perfectly natural. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do (including taking the proverbial bullet for my kids). So self-sacrifice seems to be built in to a parents psyche. In general, this is an important part of becoming a parent; the understanding that your children become your priority. There is, however, something fundamental that many of us are missing. That is; to ensure our kids are consistently taken care of, we need to take care of ourselves first.

Parents Who Take Care Of Themselves Have Healthier Kids

I know from personal experience that when I give too much of myself I actually end up being less effective in my parenting duties. So, whilst time spent on myself sometimes feels selfish, ironically it helps me be a better parent. Put it this way; being constantly stressed out is not healthy. Stress leads to sickness and a sick parent has a much harder time than those who are well and healthy.

Top 8 Signs That You Are Not Taking Care Of Yourself

1. You find yourself borrowing your partner’s cologne/perfume because you’ve run out of yours (I actually did this the other week and ended up going to work smelling like flowers on a summer’s day!)

2. You haven’t set foot in the gym or done any exercise for longer than you’d care to remember.

3. You haven’t hired a baby sitter for over a year!

5. Your doctor/dentist doesn’t recognize your name and doesn’t have any information on their files about you (they updated their system in the 90s and you probably slipped through the gaps).

6. Your idea of a treat is eating raw cookie dough (which you stash at the back of the fridge… we do this in our household – cookie dough, yum!)

7. You use gift money/vouchers from your last birthday to buy your kids that much needed pair of shoes.

8. Once a worldwide traveler, you are seriously considering cashing in your air miles for a family vacation to Disneyworld.

OK, I confess, I’m writing about myself here. But I’m sure I’m not alone!

To Give Children The Best, Parents Should Be Their Best

It’s well documented that if you exercise, if you are healthy, if you have a well balanced work/life schedule that you will be happier in the home. And happy parents make for happy kids. I’m not saying one size fits all, of course not, so each parent should think first about what makes them happy and what they need to incorporate into their lives to make sure they are caring for themselves appropriately. For one it could mean cutting back on work hours, for another it could mean taking up guitar lessons, and for another it may be to go out for a run or swim a couple of times a week.

Just remember that if parents are feeling content, positive and loving, then it will be an upbeat mood that affects everyone in the home. A manager of a company sets the tone for how the organization will work, and his or her actions or inactions filter down and affect everyone. The same goes for parents in a family.

OK, first I have to say that I’m not a woman so I’m obviously approaching this topic from a very different viewpoint of a breast feeder. That said, I can approach the topic from the point of view of a parent whose child may be breastfed by a wet-nurse. And my thoughts are; what’s the big deal?

If we get right back to basics, then we have to accept that wet-nursing has been around for as long as breast feeding has. Throughout history and across the world, wet-nursing and “cross nursing” (the occasional nursing of another’s infant while the mother continues to nurse her own child) has been in practice. Even as far back as 2000 BC, when the oldest written laws – the Code of Hammurabi – were put into practice, there were rules for wet nursing.

So why do so many people get in such a hullabaloo over it? Maybe it has something to do with the intense bond that develops between mother and child, when breastfeeding. In that case, I can understand why some mothers would not want to share that experience with anyone else.

Rhonda Shaw, a sociologist who studies shared nursing in New Zealand, thinks that for some people the idea of physically breast-feeding a child not your own evokes even deeper taboos. She says that many confuse “adult meanings of eroticism with breast feeding … Sometimes people associate a woman breast-feeding another woman’s baby with pedophilia.” Though I’m not sure I would agree with her, I do think she makes an interesting point.

But women who share milk say it’s good for babies and mums. One advocate of cross-nursing, who stayed home after the birth of her child, also nursed the infant of her working sister for a year. She said it created a unique bond with her niece, and brought the family even closer. Another cross-nurser (who also wishes to stay anonymous) says that cross-nursing brought her closer to her friend. “It takes female friendship to another level. You’re trusting another person to nurture your child,” she says. However, the overwhelming feeling from those I spoke to was distinctly negative. I must confess; that surprised me!

One of the ladies had actually cut off relations with a friend of many years because that friend had breast fed her child without her permission. I’m certainly sympathetic, because breast feeding someone else’s child without the parent’s permission does seem a little out of order, but I still couldn’t help thinking that she was blowing things out of proportion. When I asked her why she was so incensed she cited the risks of transmitting viruses through breast milk. That seemed fair enough, but on closer examination, research shows that breast milk contains many factors to protect the infant from such occurrences (although I accept that these may not offer complete protection).

So what about all the milk banks that are popping up around us? I mean, here are organizations that are going to make a considerable profit out of wet-nursing. What do they have to say about it? Well, not surprisingly, their first concern is around the safety of delivering milk to infants. To that end most milk banks will screen donors in a very similar fashion to blood banks.

Dr Ben Hartmann, manager of the PREM Bank, Australia’s first human milk bank says “I would suggest that although breast milk is an amazing and complex fluid that provides so many benefits – beyond just nutrition – to babies, the consequences of some of these risks are severe. One could only counsel parents considering the sharing of breast milk in the knowledge that they fully understood and accepted these risks. For this reason our current policy (and that of most other countries and organizations such as WHO) is that ‘donor’ breast milk should only be sourced from an appropriately managed human milk bank.”

I appreciate the service that many milk banks provide; giving breast milk to the most needy (which is always better than formula milk), but he’s bound to say that though! He wants to ensure his business doesn’t go out of business because people are sharing breast milk openly! I don’t know, personally I can’t see a problem with wet nursing or cross nursing. Sure, there may be slight risk of transmitting a virus (but any type of basic screening can rule out that risk). There is also the sharing of a unique bond that is created between mother and child when breast feeding, which since I’ll never be able to breast feed doesn’t mean much to me either. What I can say is that in communities in which I have witnessed cross nursing and wet nursing as a regularity, the sense of community and the bonds between friends, families, and children have been noticeably greater than in those where it doesn’t occur.

What do you think?

A number of you have written in suggesting topics for our articles and what seems to be a common theme amongst some of our readers is that of “fussy eaters”. You probably know exactly what I’m talking about; kids who just don’t like the good, healthy food you are putting in front of them. Funnily enough, I think I can write quite competently on this challenging subject as I’ve experienced a fussy eater first hand! 

Do any of you recognise this parental struggle?

“My child has been a fussy eater for a while now and it appears that the list of “acceptable” foods is growing shorter by the week. The daily battles over food and meal times is really starting to get me down and sometimes a just want to give in… but I do want her to eat more than fries and chicken. What can I do?”

First things first 

If you have a fussy eater in the house, the chances are that the problem isn’t with the food(s) they are refusing to eat, per se. It sounds strange, I know, but the truth is the problem is in the child’s attitude to food in general. Our 6 year old – thankfully – has a broad palate and finds food interesting. She is at ease around food and enjoys eating. Mealtimes are great, because in general she’ll approach the table with a view that anything will be fine.

A fussy eater simply doesn’t have that kind of ease around food. Instead, food will ignite strong feelings for him or her. And it doesn’t matter what is happening with the food – it can be too salty, too sweet, too creamy, too thick, too gooey, it can be that two foods are touching on the plate, or that there is too much of a particular colour – the feelings are intense and emotionally charged.

So, if you’re expecting a fussy eater to think rationally about eating food, you can forget it! Insisting that food has to be eaten, trying to hide greens, and telling them they won’t get dessert are conventional parenting tactics that just don’t work in the long term.

Understanding child psychology

When a child exhibits a “bad” attitude towards food, this normally stems from a deep negative feeling that occurred early in childhood. In reality, that “bad” attitude is actually just a response that is borne out of fear or frustration, which can usually be traced to some sort of earlier trauma. Sometimes that trauma isn’t even food related. It sounds strange, I know, but let me explain.

Research has shown that kids who scream when a jumper is pulled over their heads are very often the same kids whose births were long and difficult. A simple everyday occurrence (taking off a jumper) triggers what seems like an abnormal response for the situation. What is actually happening is that a highly charged emotional memory is being activated.

If that emotional memory isn’t addressed, the fear or frustration can stay parked inside the child and his or her emotional makeup becomes saturated with triggers that can tip those feelings into play. And those triggers can migrate from having to take a jumper off, to being a fussy eater, for example.

Very often, children who are fussy eaters also have other emotional triggers; they don’t like getting dressed, they wake several times at night, they can’t sit at the dinner table for any length of time, or they don’t like having their hair washed. These are the tell tale signs that there is a deeper emotional memory that hasn’t been addressed yet.

What approach should you take with a fussy eater?

The good news is that, once you know what you are dealing with, tackling these seemingly irrational imbalances isn’t difficult. Pestering your child, holding your child to ransom, and forcing your child to eat certain foods are not – I repeat NOT – the actions that will help in the long term.

One of the most important things in this situation, so I’ll say it again: DO NOT FORCE FEED YOUR KIDS.

Whilst some of these short term tactics may deliver immediate results, they do not ease the child’s attitude about food. If anything, they will actually do more harm in the long term because they will perpetuate tension for the child (and parent) thereby affirming the negative emotional memory.

Instead, you should listen to your child and allow him or her to offload their feelings. By venting and releasing, the overall emotional charge from his/her fear will lessen. With the right approach, your child will gradually become better at sampling foods, and eventually even enjoy trying new foods (shock horror!).

Making food fun

No matter where the emotional memory has started, the first thing to do to start changing their attitude is to make things fun. When children are caught in a behavioural pattern that pits them against a certain activity (like eating), pushing them to do that one simple thing only increases the underlying tension and becomes a highly charged emotional event. In these situations, forcing the matter won’t do anything other than intensify the opposition against it. (Does this sound all too familiar? I know it does to me!)

So the first thing to do is play along with them. Make light of their behaviours. Perhaps even imitate your child’s attitudes toward food. Of course you have to do this playfully; you are not meant to be mocking them or making fun of them. In a light-hearted manner, try joining in with their disgust at the vegetables on the dinner table. Make funny faces at the brussel sprouts, stick out your tongue at the broccoli, say “eeww” at the mash potato and (maybe even) flick a carrot off your plate!

Your purpose here is to engender a light-hearted, fun, and playful approach to food. The aim is to get your kid laughing at the good-humour and having a fun time around meal time. In the long run, this type of laughter will have a healing affect and cancel out the negative connotations and aversions that are currently in place.

Once you start playing and having fun around food, your kid won’t feel singled out as the one with the problem. Instead, you will both be spending good humoured and light hearted time during meals. The food loses the focus, and that focus turns to the relationship between the two of you. Once that happens, your child will be left feeling uplifted that eating has become less serious, and you should see him or her become much more relaxed when it comes to eating.

Give the child a choice and get them involved

One really good way of tackling the fear a child may have around food is to get them child involved with choosing the meal and then making it. The best way I have found to do this involves taking a couple (2 or 3) paper plates, drawing lines across them and then writing down the parts of the meal in the separate quarters. You create a different meal for each plate and let the child decide which one they will have. For example, one plate may have chicken, peas, mash, sweet corn… another plate could have broccoli, fish fingers, carrots, couscous… the options are endless. A little tip: when you draw the different parts of the meal in the quarters of the paper plate, make it colourful and interesting (kids will find it much more appealing). That way you can ensure that your child has all the right components in their food (vegetables, nutrients, protein etc) and your kid has control over which plate they decide.

Once they have decided on their meal, you can now get them involved in the cooking. Kids love mashing potatoes, stirring pots, rolling out dough, and making cookies. Remember that anything that gets them involved with food will release any of the negative emotional triggers that they used to harbour. Baking a cake together is great way to involve a child in cooking. Personally, I remember there was nothing better than being able to lick the mixing bowl clean after making cookie dough!

Teach your child about the origins of food

Finally, I find by educating children about where food has come from, they lose some of the irrational fear surrounding it. Explain and show how fruit and veggies are grown in the earth… tell them that, just like people, they start off as a little seed and with the right care and love they grow into these beautiful plants bearing gorgeous fruits and vegetables. How amazing!

Once you start demystifying the world of food, children tend to be a lot more open to trying new things.

Keep things simple

Last, but not least, one of the common mistakes when encouraging children to try new foods is to make too big a deal of the whole thing. If a child feels under pressure or is the focus of attention during a stressful situation, they will naturally clam up (just like adults do). So the key is to keep things light-hearted and not make a scene. Even if they do start trying new foods, don’t start jumping up and down, hollering, and calling in the neighbours to witness the event! Just give them a gentle “well done” and then go on as normal… make them feel it is a perfectly natural thing to enjoy good food.

Take your time

Like most things, re-educating a child and changing a behavioural pattern can take time. Don’t expect that you’ll see your child make a U-Turn in their eating habits within a week! However, if you follow the guidelines above, with the right approach, patience, and light-hearted fun, I’m sure you will see a significant improvement in your child attitude towards food in the long run.

apart from the time I accidently stepped on one of the school gerbils during playtime and my mate Tommy – thinking I had killed the creature and trying to save me from accusations of murder – decided to hide the body by flushing it down the toilet. It was a bad experience; the gerbil hadn’t actually died, but just been knocked out and the cold water obviously revived him just at the point where his life was precariously being flushed away. The poor thing started swimming for his life and recognising Tommy’s mistake I lunged for the toilet in a bid to save said gerbil from a watery demise. All would have been well if the story had ended there, but unfortunately our shenanigans had been heard by the Head Teacher who was passing by and now enters the toilets to see me, down on my knees, elbow in the bog, pulling a sodden and spluttering rodent from the u-bend. I can only assume he thought I had some perverse gerbil drowning fixation, because I got detention and I never had the courage (or wherewithal) to try and explain what had actually happened.

Anyway, where were we? Ah yes, “control”!

As we have seen from the above story, there are some things we will never be able to control. Parenting, however, ISN’T one of them. Of course I’m not saying that as parents we are always going to be in control. That would be nonsense and/or wishful thinking. What I am saying is that we can behave in certain ways that will ensure those times of “flow” (when life is like clockwork; everything is going well and your actions are working like a charm) far outweigh times of “wolf” (the reverse of flow).

Knowing what we can’t control

Let’s start with stating the obvious: we don’t have full control over our lives. That being the case, we have to acknowledge that on occasions things can happen to us and to our children which we would prevent if we could, but we can’t. There are things we can do to try to keep our families healthy, but we don’t have full control there. We and our children are vulnerable to hurt and unforeseen difficulties. To blame ourselves for lack of that control makes no sense. The influence we can have when we face these oppression-based or health-based hard times lies in our ability to organize with others to do what’s necessary.

Also, we don’t have absolute control over our children’s behaviour. It’s hard to admit, but it’s true. Sure, we do have deep influence on them. How we love, cherish, and treat our children affects them moment by moment, and for the rest of their lives. But our influence doesn’t mean that we can exert control over how they behave and feel. Nor does it necessarily follow that a child whose behaviour is difficult comes from a parent who is not trying hard enough, or is not doing the right things (though that can be the cause sometimes). And unless we bring our children up in a vacuum, they are always going to be subject to difficulties because of circumstances beyond our control; their health, accidents, unforeseen encounters with other people, frightening incidents… the list goes on.

On occasion (and I hope this is the exception to the rule), we sometimes don’t even have control over our own behaviour. Terrible isn’t it? It’s one of the great shocks of parenting to find ourselves yelling at or hurting our beloved children, when we never ever intended to do so. There are things they do that drive us nuts–whining, making messes, fighting with each other, using street language, “talking back” when we’re trying to gain control. We each have our personal thresholds, past which lose power over our own behaviour. That’s just life.

Understanding what control we should have

I think goals that we parents can reasonably set for ourselves are to a) enjoy our children, to b) recognise you and your children are on a journey together and therefore to c) keep learning throughout that journey. These are things that we can control and that will ensure we are on the right track. If we are learning, then we know how to be in charge of some things, and we are figuring all the rest of it out in a sometimes messy, haphazard way. As parents, some “I’m learning, not controlling” strategies can be immensely helpful.

For example, actively notice what’s fun, what’s good, and what is working well. Our minds get so fixed on the tasks at hand that we lose sight of who we like, what goes well, and the little things we learn. It may help to put a list on the refrigerator or the bathroom mirror, where a few words of what was good each day can be written down for all to see. Some families start dinner with a round of “what was good today?” so that the children get to join in, and have the chance to have the whole family listen to their experience.

Welcome your children’s feelings. Feelings are a big part of children’s lives, and expressing these feelings is how children recover from the hard things, big and small, that happen to them. Crying, tantrums, and laughter all are deeply healing for children. Expressing these emotions at length gets rid of children’s feelings that their lives aren’t good enough. When they’re finished, they regain their sense of loving and being loved. It helps if you can get close and listen to them through the stormy upsets, but if you can’t, see if it’s possible to keep from criticizing, shaming, hurting, or blaming them while they get the sad or the mad feelings out.

If you find that you are losing control more often than you would like, try and find a listener for your own feelings. Parents have feelings, too, which unfortunately we often tuck away as if they didn’t exist. Indeed, some people equate the “tucking away” of feelings to being “in control” of our lives! Rubbish! The problem is that feelings don’t tuck well forever. If our worries, frustrations, and anger doesn’t get released, at some point something will finally give, and that’s worse. Much better to find a supportive ear (your partner, your parents, your friends) and use them to talk to. A good laugh, a good cry, a good rant about how many expectations we’re trying to meet can do a lot to lighten our step and help us remember that we are only human and probably – in the bigger scheme of things – doing a pretty good job, no matter how many mistakes we make or how many answers we don’t have at the moment.

When there are things you can’t control, make a mental note and spend some time (whenever is convenient) trying to figure it out. Talk to others about it. There are many things that happen during my day that I don’t understand. Why won’t my child willingly brush her teeth? Why is she scared of the dark? Why does my tween sister suddenly think I’m the dorkiest person she’s ever known? Hey, I don’t have the answers to these questions right now, but when the time is right I’ll do some research into them. Being open about what we don’t know is an excellent learning strategy. It makes us active seekers of information and understanding. And I’ve found it’s totally fine to be open with children when we don’t know what to do. “I don’t know what to do about you refusing to keep your room clean. I’m thinking about it and we’ll talk about it tomorrow” is a fine approach to a problem with a child. And now that you’ve bought some time, you can ask some other people to see if they have any good ideas (or call your mum and ask what she did when you didn’t clean your room).

Never be afraid to ask for help. Building bridges, operating a supermarket, providing intensive care nursing, and raising children are just some of the kinds of work that are always done better when you have a team of people working towards a common purpose. Any experienced parent will tell you that every parent needs time away from their children, every parent needs others to care about their children, every parent needs people to think and talk with about the details of life with children. Every parent needs help!

Don’t forget to have fun

When it really comes down to it, you’re probably better off throwing expectations overboard. It’s great when you feel you are in control, but when you’re working too hard to appreciate yourself or anyone else, sometimes it’s better to let control take a back seat. Hey, it’s OK if the house is messy for a few weeks… you know what, your child (and partner) isn’t going to die if they miss a hot meal or two… and you can always make up with in-laws or friends you slighted because you missed a birthday or luncheon. You get to decide what’s really necessary and what’s not, and keeping up appearances while parenting is often a joy-killer. You have permission to let things get ragged, and still be proud of yourself, your family, and your decisions.

The most important thing is that you enjoy parenting (for the most part). Set up play that includes laughter. Children love to laugh, and when we are willing to play with them so they can laugh (without tickling them!), they become buoyant and hopeful. It’s infectious. We see them wriggling with enjoyment, coming toward us for fun and lots of contact, and we can’t help but be pleased. We have lots to learn from children about how a really good life has time for play, wrestling, chasing, where the grownups may “lose,” but everyone wins back their sense that it’s good to be alive. Without the effort to stay in control, it’s often easier to find the joy in things again and then the control will come. Remember, people, it’s all about balance.

Fears about the capacity of the health system to cope with a surge in cases of children struck down with swine flu have been raised time and time again as figures show that the pandemic doesn’t appear to be losing pace.

Given that it’s been all over the news, Practicing Parents felt a duty of care to gather the facts and present them in a “no nonsense” and easy to understand format. We hope you find this helpful.

What’s the difference between swine flu and “normal” flu?

Practically speaking, swine flu is not all that different from seasonal flu in symptoms and treatment. In reality, there are many different strains of influenza (the flu). The problem is that the hype surrounding swine flu has caused a lot of panic, although it’s still the flu – a term that doesn’t cause much alarm on its own, even though each year seasonal influenza kills and hospitalizes many victims.

“Swine flu” refers to any flu virus endemic in pigs, but the strain behind this year’s international outbreak is a mutation which allows animal to human, and human to human, transmission – and that is the most worrying point. If the virus is able to mutate faster than doctors and scientists can keep up with, then there is serious cause for concern. We are not at that stage yet.

What are the symptoms of swine flu?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Influenza Division, says that the symptoms of swine flu in people are similar to the symptoms of regular human flu and include:

• fever
• cough
• sore throat
• body aches
• headache
• chills
• fatigue

Like seasonal flu, swine flu infection can be fatal and it’s best to be on the lookout for these and other symptoms in young children. According to the CDC, warning signs that young children in particular need urgent medical attention include:

• Fast breathing or trouble breathing
• Bluish skin color
• Not waking up or not interacting

• Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough

• Fever with a rash

Who is at risk from swine flu?

What is known is that children between the ages of 5 and 14 are so far proving particularly susceptible to contracting swine flu. Nobody knows why this is specifically the case and the effects are the same no matter what the age of the patient. However, in babies and children parents should keep a careful look out for symptoms such as lethargy, tiredness or difficulty waking up. If these occur then you should consult your doctor immediately.

How can parents protect children from swine flu?

Similar to seasonal flu, swine flu is thought to be spread mainly person-to-person through coughing or sneezing of infected people. That means that exercising common sense and practicing good hygiene are the best ways to help keep your child safe. Here are three common sense guidelines:

• Minimize exposure. If your child is sick, take him or her out of school and keep them home. If in doubt, consult with your pediatrician before sending your child off to school.
• Wash up. Families with children should be extra fastidious with hand-washing. By keeping clean and promoting a sterile environment, you are doing the best you can to keep the bug at bay. Make sure you wash with a sterilizing fluid or a good soap.
• Cover mouths when coughing or sneezing. Using your hands is common practice, but you are better off with a tissue or handkerchief. If you (or your kids) do use your hands, make sure to wash them thoroughly as quickly as possible.

In summary

Although new mutations of the influenza virus are alarming, there isn’t a lot of evidence that shows children are currently at high risk. Parents shouldn’t be particularly worried, but should focus on hygiene and keep an eye out for some of the tell-tale symptoms. If you do see flu symptoms such as sore throat, headache, fever, or body aches and pains, go and see your doctor.

More Information about swine flu

• World Health Organisation
• Video on Understanding Swine Flu from Georgetown University
• Centre for Disease Control & Prevention
• Swine Flu in Australia

Although the stereotypical image of pregnancy is of a serene, happy, glowing mum-to-be, in reality it is actually a very stressful time not least as it is a very major life changing event. Many women experience anxiety over the health of their developing baby, feel overwhelmed at how their body is changing without their control, are tired from working hard yet concerned about what will happen to their career after maternity leave, worried whether they’ll be able to juggle motherhood with work and even anxious about whether they will still be able to relate to their friends once they become a mother. All in all there are a lot of things going on and these feelings can lead to depression especially if friends, a partner or family are unsupportive.

Until recently it was thought that during pregnancy women were almost immune from depression both mentally (overwhelming joy at being an expectant mother was thought to cancel out the risk of developing depression) and physically (pregnancy hormones were thought to be protective against depression). However, contrary to these beliefs new research has found that women are potentially more susceptible to depression while they are pregnant than at any other time in their lives.

Unlike postnatal depression, which is widely publicised and for which there is a great deal of support, antenatal or prenatal depression is often brushed over as women are lead to believe that pregnancy should be happy time or that those “unseemly feelings” are just part of the normal pregnancy moodiness. In this article we look at what causes antenatal depression, what are the symptoms, what the effects are, what you can do about it, and where to go to get further support.

What Causes Antenatal Depression?

No one knows for definite why some women get it and others don’t. It goes without saying that most women do experience mood swings during their nine months, but some are more affected by these than others. Hormones certainly play their part, but others also contribute.

The root cause of antenatal depression is thought to be centred on a pregnancy related hormone imbalance however it’s this combined with any number of life stressors that are likely to be responsible for determining the development of depression in pregnancy.

Any major event has lasting effects on you and pregnancy is not different. It is a significant and life changing experience and that can bring its own set of stress and uncertainty with it. If other traumatic things happen during your pregnancy (death of a loved one, losing your job, moving house, etc) then you are more likely to suffer from antenatal depression.

Your history and that of your family can also be a cause. For example, if you have suffered abuse (whether that be physical, verbal, emotional, or sexual) then it is quite possible that pregnancy can prove a very upsetting time.

Similarly, your family history can be a tell-tale sign. If depression is something that has affected you or a close family member previously, then you may be more likely to suffer from it during pregnancy.

And finally, pregnancy complications can also trigger depressive feelings. Women who have experienced difficulties conceiving, or who have had a miscarriage in the past will often worry for the safety of the baby and this often takes an emotional toll.

Signs Of Depression

Most women will have mood swings during pregnancy, so by no means should you think you are depressed just because you shout or cry at your partner. That is perfectly normal! However, if you are constantly feeling down, angry, anxious, or that you just can’t cope then this may be more than a temporary mood swing.

As a general rule of thumb you should apply the same standards as when you are looking for signs of “normal depression”, because essentially the symptoms are exactly the same. They include:

• Anxiety
• Extreme irritability with others and yourself
• Obsessive compulsive tendencies – eg washing your hands over and over again.
• Persistent sadness
• Inability to enjoy anything anymore
• Extreme fatigue
• Feelings of isolation or loneliness
• Inability to concentrate
• Difficulty making decisions
• Severe feelings of guilt
• Inability to have fun
• Sleep problems – either too much or too little
• Overeating or lack of desire to eat
• Agoraphobia – scared to leave the house or be in social situations

It’s worth noting that many of these symptoms will surface at some point during pregnancy and in isolation are not necessarily an indicator of depression.

Does Antenatal Depression Mean Postnatal Depression?

Opinions are divided on this point. Let me start by saying that if you experience antenatal depression it doesn’t necessarily follow that you will develop post natal depression. Research shows that many women recover completely as soon as their baby arrives. Similarly, if you experience depression during one pregnancy, it doesn’t necessarily follow that you will suffer from it in your next. However, when all is said and done, it appears that around 50% of women who experience depression in pregnancy go on the have postnatal depression.

So, the advice is to seek help if you suffer from antenatal depression because if you do go on to experience postnatal depression then the support and help structures should already be in place once the baby is born (and, remember, postnatal depression is quite common, so you’ve nothing to be worried about it).

Treating The Blues

Treatment ranges from simple measures such as increasing your level of self-care to medications in the case of severe depression, so in the case of continued depression you should seek professional advice. There are also a number of actions you can take to help you stay on top of things and here are some tips to assist you in feeling well again:

• Eating small regular meals can stabilise blood sugar levels and increase your energy
• Avoid foods that contain aspartame, like diet foods and diet soft drinks
• Avoid high-fat foods and caffeine
• Try acupuncture and acupressure
• Increase your relaxation activities such as yoga, baths and time for yourself
• Try to fit in plenty of pregnancy friendly exercise such as walking and swimming
• Get as much rest as possible
• Look for support people, such as family and friends, and ask them for help
• Attend face to face, or group support sessions with support people, psychologists or psychiatrists
• Learn anxiety-modifying and relaxation techniques such as meditation
• Talk to your Doctor or Midwife

Admitting you are feeling depressed is not a sign of weakness but a sign you are a good mother, putting yours and your baby’s health first. At the end of the day, you are not alone and the doctors have seen it all before and will be able to help you.

Where To Get Help & Support

If you think that you may be experiencing antenatal depression it’s important that you seek help from your healthcare provider, your doctor, and/or your midwife. It is equally important that you speak to someone as soon as possible. Unfortunately, depression does have a stigma attached to it which is why people are reluctant to talk to others about their experience. Yet depression is an illness that has symptoms and treatments like many others and talking will help you to work through any anxieties you have and help your loved ones better understand what you’re going through.

Professional Support Providers

The Black Dog Institute is an educational, research and clinical group with expertise in depression. It is attached to the Prince of Wales Hospital and affiliated with the University of New South Wales in Sydney.

Beyondblue is a national, independent, not-for-profit organisation that specialises in depression and anxiety.

PANDSI is the Post and Antenatal Depression Support and Information Incorporated.

Black Dog and Beyond blue both have depression self-test resources available on their websites. The Black Dog’s test is specific to antenatal depression. The Black Dog Institute also lists antenatal depression contacts around the country.

Please remember that this is just a guide. The important thing here is to be active and engaged with your toddler; interacting with them in a variety of interesting ways. At the end of the day, you are the best example when it comes to getting your child moving. Even just talking to your toddler about activities plants a seed. It’s positive reinforcement every time a toddler hears you talk about exercise (both physical and mental). If you’re not very active then chances are your toddler won’t be either. Lead by example and let your toddler see you engaged in activity.

You can also enter your email address to receive a FREE copy of the much acclaimed eBook “Diet & Nutrition For Kids”. The retail value of this eBook is $29 and it is a fantastic, hands-on reference tool, which covers the following topics:

• A Balanced Diet
• 20 Nutritional Tips for Children
• The Food Pyramid
• Dealing with “Fussy Eaters”
• Improving Children’s Eating Habits
• Children and Dieting
• The Main Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Snacks and Food for School
• Sandwich Fillers
• Healthy Deserts

…and much more.

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OK, so on to today’s post! A balanced diet is essential for growth and good health and today we are going to discuss some great strategies parents can use to promote a sensible approach to food. In my experience, they key here is to make sure that children understand how their bodies work and why it’s so important for them to eat healthy foods 

Make Food Fun And Healthy

I know it’s easy to say “no junk”, but that’s not the fway to engage with your kids. Sure, you should cut down on junk and convenience foods and aim to sit down to eat as a family and stock the larder with plenty of healthy snacks (like fruit, raw vegetables, whole grain bread, crackers and cereals). But don’t impose a complete ban on sweet or fatty foods. Being too restrictive will probably backfire and the occasional treat won’t do any harm.

By staying light-hearted and enjoying food, you will encourage children to be experimental with their foods; trying new things and not being afraid of what’s on their plate.

I make a note of enjoy eating together as a family and keeping the focus on fun and conversation. We don’t insist that the kids eat everything on their plates, but we also don’t offer alternatives. And of course, they don’t get desert if they don’t eat their mains! By being good role models – by eating healthily and showing that we’re happy with the way we are – we encourage our children to be relaxed and realistic about food and how it will affect their bodies and overall fitness.

Fortunately, our kids are active and well developed, but if you do have children who are overweight, remember that it is common for them to go through a stage of being a bit chubby and they will slim down when they have a growth spurt. If, however, you are still concerned, a ‘whole family’ approach with healthy eating and an active lifestyle at its heart should sort things out, but do get help if the problem persists. In particular, watch out for binge and comfort eating, which could be the signs of a developing eating disorder.

The 10 Tips For Healthy Eating

Breakfast is a very important meal

Our bodies always need energy, and after a night’s sleep, energy levels are low. Cars, buses and trains cannot run without fuel. So, whether you are off to school, or out and about at the weekend, start the day with breakfast. Plenty of carbohydrates is just the ticket: try cereal with semi-skimmed milk, fruit or yoghurt, toast or bread, perhaps with lean meats.

Eat lots of different foods every day, variety is the recipe for health

You need over 40 different kinds of vitamins and minerals every day for good health. Since there is no single food that contains them all, it is important to balance your daily choices. In fact there are no good or bad foods, so you do not need to miss out on the foods you enjoy. The best way to make sure you get the right balance is to eat a wide variety of foods each day.

Which group would you tip for the top? Base your food on carbohydrates

Many people don’t eat enough carbohydrate foods, such as cereals, rice, pasta, potatoes and bread. At least half the calories in your diet should come from these foods, so it is a good idea to include at least one of these at every meal. Try whole-grain bread, pasta and other cereals to give you extra fibre. Have you tried baking your own bread? It’s good fun and smells wonderful!

Gimme five! Eat fruits and vegetables with each meal and as tasty snacks!

Fruits and vegetables are among the most important foods for giving us enough vitamins, minerals and fibre. We should all try to eat 5 servings a day. For example, a glass of fruit juice at breakfast, perhaps an apple and banana as snacks and two vegetables at meal times then you have already reached your total. How many different kinds can you spot in the supermarket? Why not try some new ones?

Food is Fun… Enjoy your food

Sharing a meal with family and friends at home or at school is a great way to enjoy food. It is fun to see other people’s choice of food – what sandwich fillings do others have? Have you tried having a different filling every day? Check out your lunch box or dinner plate. How many different kinds of fruit and vegetables can you spot?

Fat facts. Too much saturated fat is not good for your health

Eating too many of those tasty, fatty foods (such as butter, spreads, fried meats and sausages, pies and pastries) might not always be so good for your body. So remember, a big helping of potatoes, but go easy on the butter. Although we need some fats to get all the nutrients we need, it is better for our health if we don’t eat too much of these foods and get knocked off balance. So, if you have a high-fat lunch, choose a low-fat dinner.

Snack attack! Eat regularly and choose a variety of snacks

Even if you eat regular meals during the day, there will still be times in between that you feel hungry, especially if you have been very physically active. Snacks can fill the gap, but should not be eaten in place of meals, only as an extra. There are lots of different snacks available. Your choice may be crisps, nuts and other packet snacks, chocolate bars, cakes and biscuits. On other occassions, you may prefer a sandwich, some fresh or dried fruits, or perhaps sticks of vegetables like carrots and celery. Whichever snack you enjoy, remember it is always good to include a variety of different types to keep things in balance.

Quench your thirst. Drink plenty of liquids

Did you know that more than half of your weight is just water? So as well as giving your body all the food it needs each day to keep healthy, you need at least 5 glasses of liquids a day. It is particulary important if the weather is very hot or if you have done lots of exercise, to have plenty to drink to prevent dehydration. Usually – but not always – your body will tell you this, by making you feel thirsty. Plain tap water is great of course, but bottled water, fruit juices, tea, soft drinks, milk and so on, can all be okay too.

Care for those teeth! Brush your teeth at least twice a day

Brush your teeth at least twice a day. Eating foods high in sugar or starches too often during the day can play a part in tooth decay. So don’t nibble foods and sip drinks all day long! However, the best way to keep a nice smile is to brush your teeth twice a day with a fluoride toothepaste. Also, after brushing your teeth at bedtime, don’t eat any food, or drink anything but water!

Get moving! Be active every day

Just like a bike may become rusty if it is not used for some time, our muscles and bones need to be kept moving too. Activity is needed to keep your heart healthy and your bones strong. It can also be good fun. Try to include some form of activity every day: it may be just walking to school and running up the stairs. However, games like skipping and football at break times are good fot giving the body a workout. Swimming is a particularly good sport for keeping you healthy.

More Food Advice

Finally, make sure you read the labels. Nutrition labels can be a great source of information helping you to make wise choices. Learn to read them and understand the different categories. If you didn’t already know, then remember that the healthiest fats are unsaturated (olive, canola or soy oils, for example) and when choosing your proteins, go for lean or low fat meats like chicken, turkey and fish. Also, make sure you get some of your protein from non-animal sources such as nuts, chick peas, kidney beans and soy products.

The other thing to be aware of is ensuring you get sufficient calcium for your bones. You can get these through dairy products like milk cheese and yoghurt. Combine these with grains, fruits and vegetables and you will feel the difference in no time at all.

Nutritional guidelines will vary a bit for the different members of the family. Adult bodies have different needs than those of teenagers, tween, school aged children, toddlers and babies. For more information, download our FREE eBook on food and nutrition for children. In it you will find recipes, food facts, cooking activities you can do with children and lots more. From there, you will be able to formulate a plan that maximises everyone’s capacity for robust health and optimum energy.

Here’s to the health of you and your family!

Ovulation; the ins and outs:

When ovulation takes place, a female’s ovaries release an egg for fertilization. This is the most important part of a woman’s menstrual cycle and takes place once a month and two weeks before the woman’s period. For most women ovulation occurs on the 14th day of their 28 day cycle. Of course, the cycles may vary from 20 to 32 days.

Hormones:

A female body has certain hormones which are released by various parts of the body. These hormones influence the ovulation. The brain releases hormones which stimulate the development of eggs in the ovaries. Estrogen and progesterone are two hormones which can be found in the ovaries. These hormones help release eggs during ovulation. The interaction of these hormones causes ovulation and menstruation.

Ovaries (Eggs):

The ovaries of a woman store eggs. These eggs are present at birth and can range from 900.000 to 1 million eggs. However, the number of these eggs declines to about 400.000 eggs by the time a woman starts menstruating. When women hit menopause in their mid to late fifties, they will stop ovulating and menstruating, thus being unable to conceive children.

The process of ovulating:

The ovulation cycle of a woman is determined by her hormone levels. These hormone levels send messages to the body. The hypothalamus, the pituitary gland and the ovaries are responsible for triggering ovulation. Ovulation, however, can skip a month if the messages sent from and to your body are intercepted.

How to know if you’re ovulating:

If you are trying to conceive knowing when you are ovulating may come in handy. By recognizing the symptoms of ovulation you will be able to predict the best time for you and your partner to have intercourse. The list of symptoms are as follows:

• Cramps in the abdominal region
• Rise in body temperature between 0.4 and 0.6 degrees
• Sensitive breasts
• change in firmness of cervix

How to control your ovulation:

Women wishing to conceive who have an irregular ovulation may find it difficult to conceive. To help regulate your ovulation you could consider changing a few things in your life.

• Avoid stress
• Eat proper meals
• Try to regulate your weight
• Exercise, but not too much

Ovulation and menstruation are beautiful processes of nature. If you are having a hard time conceiving try watching your ovulation to recognize the right time to have intercourse. If need be, consult a doctor.