The LushTums Blog

Evidence-informed writing about pregnancy, birth, postnatal recovery and women's wellness ~ from the team behind LushTums.
Founder Clare Maddalena, Senior Yoga Teacher, Doula and FEDANT-accredited Antenatal Educator with nearly 25 years of experience, shares honest insights, the latest research and the conversations that matter most to women at every stage of their journey.
With special Guest Blogs included along the way, to help you have a most positive and informed experience as possible.

Clare Maddalena 10/05/2018 Clare Maddalena 10/05/2018

Placenta Encapsulation- what’s it all about?

Ok, so you may have heard the term ‘placenta encapsulation’, but still be confused about how it works, what the benefits are and what it costs (or even what it ACTUALLY is). Well, you’ve come to the right place! Our Lushtums Bristol teacher Nicole has specialised in the preparation of placenta remedies for over 7 years, and is here to explain....

Clare Maddalena 03/12/2017 Clare Maddalena 03/12/2017

Postnatal Exercise

Pregnancy is the most incredible journey, but I’ve had 3 kids and I know first-hand how vulnerable women can feel afterwards. The pressure to now suddenly feel happy and ‘complete’, to be the perfect mum, and to have the perfect baby. And added to that, we often put pressure on ourselves to regain our pre-pregnancy figure in the blink of an eye, all the while functioning on little to no sleep.

Clare Maddalena 27/10/2017 Clare Maddalena 27/10/2017

What They Won't Tell You.

What they won’t tell you.

I’ll start off by saying that I absolutely love being a mum. Despite the broken sleep, the dirty nappies, the tea-time battles over the kitchen table, the sometimes mind-numbing monotony of being stuck at home on a rainy day with small children-not to mention the complete emotional rollercoaster these little people put you through (such highs! such lows!), I am incredibly aware of just how lucky I am to be a mum to two gorgeous children. I’ll stop short of using #blessed, but you get the picture; they are everything to me and I am very, very grateful.

But a snapshot of my early days of parenthood still sticks with me...

Clare Maddalena 02/07/2017 Clare Maddalena 02/07/2017

5 ways to be a great friend to a new mama…

My daughter was about 3 weeks old and we were at home alone. After the initial flurry of excitement and outpouring of love that comes from everyone when you welcome a brand new life into the world- the visitors, the cuddles, the gifts, cards, flowers and warm wishes, life had settled back into its familiar patterns and we were working out our new ‘normal’. Of course friends and family still checked in, thought of you, sent supportive texts and cooed over Instagram pictures and Facebook updates. But, inevitably, they go back to their own families, jobs and commitments. And so after 2 weeks paternity leave my husband was back at work, commuting to London each day and away from the house for about 14 hours a day, and my 2 year old son was at nursery. And I was, essentially, alone.

A knock at the door....