Fertility, Pregnancy and Childbirth

Denise Tiran on Using Natural Remedies in Pregnancy and Childbirth

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Denise Tiran HonDUniv FRCM MSc is an internationally renowned authority on maternity complementary medicine, having pioneered the subject as a midwifery specialism since the early 1980s. She is Chief Executive Officer and Education Director for Expectancy, an independent education company providing complementary therapies courses for midwives, doulas and other maternity workers. Denise was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Greenwich in October 2020 and a Fellowship of the Royal College of Midwives in 2018 in recognition of her work in this field.

Here, she introduces her new book, Using Natural Remedies Safely in Pregnancy and Childbirth: A Reference Guide for Maternity and Healthcare Professionals.

I’ve been publishing on maternity complementary therapies for many years but the huge increase in popularity of natural remedies, including aromatherapy oils, herbs and homeopathic remedies led me to write this latest book. Expectant parents frequently ask midwives, doctors, doulas and antenatal teachers about the use of remedies such as raspberry leaf tea, and for remedies such as castor oil and evening primrose to start labour. The massive rise in popularity of aromatherapy in pregnancy and birth also means that parents often ask about essential oils, or want to bring them into the birth centre for use in labour. This can sometimes put the midwife or doctor in a difficult position because they may know very little about the oils and which are safe or not. Continue reading →

Supporting Survivors Of Sexual Abuse – The Story Behind the Book

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Kicki Hansard is a certified birth and postnatal doula with experience in all aspects of pregnancy, childbirth and early parenting. Since 2002, she has been preparing couples for the arrival of their baby and supported many of them through the birth and postnatal period. Kicki is also a doula course facilitator and has trained over 850 aspiring doulas. Her new book, Supporting Survivors of Sexual Abuse Through Pregnancy and Childbirth: A Guide for Midwives, Doulas and Other Healthcare Professionals is published by Singing Dragon, and is out now.

How was the book born?

I guess the reason why I wanted to write this book was because I wanted to make a difference to survivors and to give them a way of putting into words what the maternity experience can be like for them.  It all happened quite by chance when Claire Wilson called me from Singing Dragon, asking if I knew anyone who would write a book about supporting survivors. She’d come across my name though a social media post following a talk I had given at a recent study day. I tried to think of a few midwives that I knew were focusing on this very topic and then Claire asked me if I would be interested in writing the book myself.  I came off the phone, having promised Claire I’d send her a proposal and that is how this book was born. Continue reading →

Meet The Singing Dragon Author: Pam Conrad

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As part of our Meet The Singing Dragon Author series, we speak to authors to discuss their motivation for entering their respective industries, inspiration for writing their books, what challenges they faced, and who they would recommend their books to. Is there a specific Singing Dragon author you would like to hear from? Let us know in the comments or join the conversation using #MeetTheSDAuthor.

Pam Conrad, author of Women’s Health Aromatherapy

How did you become interested in aromatherapy?
As a nurse, I’ve always been interested in complementary therapies that enhance health and wellbeing and offer support for the side effects of medical conditions and treatments. Prior to aromatherapy, I studied herbal medicine and nutritional therapies so it was a natural addition for holistic care.

I’ve also always loved pleasant scents and flowers so the idea of a clinical therapeutic modality with beautiful scents was very appealing to me. Continue reading →

Denise Tiran: Making the decision to work for yourself

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Denise Tiran is a midwife, lecturer, complementary practitioner and an international authority on maternity complementary medicine. In her new book, The Business of Maternity Care, she offers advice and guidance for midwives and doulas who want to establish a maternity-related business, offering services such as pregnancy complementary therapies, antenatal classes, lactation support or full doula care. Read an extract below in which Denise discusses why more people are looking to set up their own businesses in this field.

Midwives working in the NHS are increasingly disillusioned with the care they are able to provide for women (discussions with numerous midwives on courses, at conferences, by telephone and on social media). Many feel that the demands of midwifery practice today do not meet the ideals that caused them to enter the profession in the first place. The workload is phenomenal, with a risk-averse dependence on physio-pathological monitoring and the prevention or management of complications. Midwives have little time or energy to provide the psycho-emotional and social support that is so much a part of holistic maternity care. Continue reading →

Endometriosis and Chinese Medicine

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Chinese Medical Gynaecology offers a holistic and level-headed Chinese medicine approach to common problems in women’s health, and the book offers women the opportunity to take control of their health by providing recipes for self-treatment, along with other treatment options.

Endometriosis is a common condition in women that can have a significant impact on women’s lives. Eddie Dowd, in this extract, examines endometriosis from a Chinese Medicine perspective, discusses dietary considerations and provides therapeutic recipes for women who have endometriosis.

Click here to read the extract

Read more about the book, or buy a copy here.

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Homeopathy and Herbal Medicine in Maternity Care

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Complementary Therapies in Maternity Care by Denise Tiran is one of our new books from January for midwives, doulas and maternity care professionals who are working with new and expectant mothers. We have an extract from the book, in which you can read how herbal medicine and homeopathy can be implemented into maternity care, both during and after pregnancy. 

 

Click here to read the extract

 

Read more about Complementary Therapies in Maternity Care, or buy a copy here.

 

If you would like to read more articles like this and hear the latest news and offers on our books, why not join our mailing list? We can send information by email or post as you prefer, and please also tell us about your areas of interest so we can send the most relevant information. You can unsubscribe at any time.

More Books by Denise Tiran

Aromatherapy in Midwifery Practice

Denise Tiran shares her extensive knowledge to provide midwives and other professionals with complete information on how to use aromatherapy during pregnancy, birth, and for new mothers. Covering all the necessary scientific, legal, ethical, and health issues, it gives you the knowledge and confidence to use aromatherapy safely and effectively.

Click here to read more about the book.

Using Chinese Medicine in Women’s Health

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Eddie Dowd, author of Chinese Medical Gynaecology, has written an article for us on how ancient medicine can complement modern biomedicine to improve outcomes in women’s health.

In this article, Dowd details how Chinese Medicine can be used in conditions relating to female and reproductive health to alleviate symptoms and treat the person as a whole. Chinese Medicine has been used to treat female patients for centuries, and the popularity of such treatments has never been higher.

With proven success in increasing fertility, reducing menopause symptoms and improving women’s overall health, Chinese Medicine is a low-tech solution that utilises simple remedies with a very low risk of side effects, such as nutritional remedies, which are easy for women to employ in self-treatment, empowering them to take control of their health.

Read the article here

Chinese Medical Gynaecology, a new release from December, offers a holistic and level-headed Chinese medicine approach to common problems in women’s health, with accompanying recipes for treatment that can be used in practice or at home.

Read more about the book here

 

 

If you would like to read more articles like this and hear the latest news and offers on our books, why not join our mailing list? We can send information by email or post as you prefer, and please also tell us about your areas of interest so we can send the most relevant information. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Weaving the Cradle: Raising Awareness of Infant Mental Health

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By Monika Celebi

Over the last year I have spent many hours editing and writing ‘Weaving the Cradle’, a book on facilitating groups to promote attunement and bonding between parents, their babies and toddlers. The book, whilst celebrating best practice, is a response to the harsh cuts in the social and health budgets in this country and abroad.  It aims to raise awareness of the importance of infant mental health and to the great contribution parent-baby groups can make. It is my opinion that these groups should be available to all families who need and want them.

 

Research of the economic benefits of early intervention to support the mental and physical health of parents and babies is overwhelming (WAVE Trust with Department for Education 2013). Babies’ brain-architecture is formed in the crucial period of the 1001 Critical Days (Leadsom et al. 2014, Cross Parliamentary Manifesto). There are strong links between the babies’ environment, their relationship with the primary care taker (in most cases the mother), and their mental well-being. If the mother suffers, so usually does the baby (UNICEF, 2014).  A stressful situation, such as moving house or a traumatic birth, can contribute to the development of depression. A depressed mother, who is also isolated, will struggle to fully engage with her baby. This parent may interact less, or be less friendly to her baby, or feel terribly guilty for having ‘bad’ thoughts. Studies put the percentage of women with mild to moderate postnatal depression or emotional difficulty within the first year at 20 – 30 % of mothers. Fathers, by the way, can get depressed too.  There are also clear links between babies’ early experiences and later educational achievements (WAVE Trust, 2015).

Continue reading →

What is the effect of maternal stress in pregnancy?

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To celebrate the release of An Integrative Approach to Treating Babies and Children, edited by John Wilks, we have released an extract from the book.

Click here to read the extract

 

The extract is taken from chapter one, which discusses pregnancy and fetal-placental development in light of new research on maternal stress.

 

Click here to read more about the book, or to purchase a copy.

Discover more titles by John Wilks here.

If you would like to read more articles like this and hear the latest news and offers on our books, why not join our mailing list? We can send information by email or post as you prefer, and please also tell us about your areas of interest so we can send the most relevant information. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Why is the advice for treatment of the menopause so confusing?

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menopause

In the midst of conflicting information surrounding HRT and the best ways to treat the symptoms of the menopause, author of The Menopause Maze, Liz Efiong – inspired by recent media inspection of the issue – weighs in.

Last year, Dr Megan Arroll and I published a book for women approaching and experiencing menopause entitled The Menopause Maze: The Complete Guide to Conventional, Complementary and Self-Help Options. We set out to write a book which would inform and empower women to visit their GPs and seek the help they needed. Our book was published after the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) new guidelines at the end of 2015 and presents the very latest advice from menopause experts.

On the 23rd of February 2017, an hour long documentary called The Insiders’ Guide to the Menopause, became available on BBC iPlayer*. The programme was presented by Kirsty Wark, who herself went through the menopause following a hysterectomy and took HRT for 3 years until stopping abruptly in 2002, when the health scares surrounding the study called the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) were published. The results showed an increased risk of breast cancer for women taking HRT, which caused many women to stop taking HRT suddenly, often going cold-turkey without even consulting a medical professional. Women stopped asking their GPs for HRT, whilst GPs were also caught up in the safety issues and became less familiar with HRT.

Continue reading →