Tips from a Bump and Baby Guru

Meet Hannah: Your motherhood navigator. With a passion for empowering mums, she's here to help them thrive, not just survive. Hannah loves sharing her wisdom on intuitively guiding mums and partners through pregnancy. Get ready to journey with confidence by her side.

As The Bump and Baby Guru, she intuitively guide parents during pregnancy, birth and beyond with a multifaceted approach that involves providing emotional support, practical advice.

Having a Bump and Baby Guru can help reduce overwhelm through knowledge sharing about pregnancy, birth, and the first year of motherhood, in a way that is responsive, reassuring and realistic for modern-day motherhood.

Here are some of her tips on how to navigate your pregnancy.

Preparation is Key

1-1 support, workshops and birth natal course will equip you with knowledge about the various stages of pregnancy, an understanding of the physiology of birth, what to expect during the postpartum period and how to navigate the fourth trimester with a newborn. Practicioners, like a Bump and Baby guru, can work together with you as a team to empower and educate you so you feel informed, calm, in control and prepared for motherhood.

Discuss your Emotional Needs

Pregnancy can evoke a range of emotions, including excitement, anxiety, and fear. After all, hormones are at an all-time high, you are about to navigate something you cannot practice for and you might have a mixture of fear, excitement and overwhelm to contend with, not to mention the unsolicited advice. Having access to emotional support and reassurance during moments of uncertainty or anxiety, and resources for coping with stress and managing emotional well-being as well as guidance on the particular moment you’re navigating will help you feel more at ease.

Build your village.

Expectant parents should consider their village - who and what can they rely on to prepare for and navigate parenthood. It’s important to involve partners and lean on your support networks in your pregnancy journey. Your birth partner will be your biggest advocate, so encourage them to actively participate in decision-making processes. Building your village is key to success; whether that’s booking a postnatal doula, or a dog walker, asking family to bring over meals or roping in a friend to help with laundry. We no longer live in communities as our ancestors did, and we need to find a way to build a tribe in the modern-day world. We aren’t meant to navigate this time alone. A new mother requires nurture, rest, peace and a chance to bond with her baby.

Plan for the fourth trimester.

It is really important to plan for the fourth trimester – a phrase used to describe the first 12 weeks after the baby is born. The concept of the fourth trimester recognizes that the first few months of a baby's life outside the womb are a unique and challenging time for both the baby and the parents.

During the fourth trimester, newborns are adjusting to their new environment and continue to develop rapidly. They may experience various physical and emotional challenges as they adapt to life outside the womb. This period is marked by significant growth and development in areas such as feeding, sleep and the development of the infant's nervous system. Babies are often more fussy, sleep is broken and in general, they need almost constant comfort and care during this time.

For parents, the fourth trimester can be a demanding period, with the emotional adjustment they’re making as new parents, as well as navigating the needs of their newborn; even going to the loo or making a hot cup of tea might seem like a task. It’s a time when bonding with the baby, providing skin-to-skin contact, and offering soothing techniques become essential in helping the infant transition to the world. 

Motherhood isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, you can read as many books as you want but ultimately you will need to do you, trust your mama instinct and be kind to yourself. Be gentle on yourself, you might not know what you’re doing but you are all your baby needs and you’ve got this!