Today we are talking about packing your hospital bag when you are pregnant. 

It can be overwhelming packing for something and someone you have never had to pack for before so we are going to talk you through it step by step. We start with what you will need in your bag for labour, then on to some things to pack for your partner. Thirdly your packing list for your stay in the hospital and lastly what you will need for your new baby in hospital. 

We have made it really easy for you and capture the whole list in a pdf that you can download here.

There is space on there for you to add more things if you need to, so print that out, hopefully it will be a big help for you. 

We think its a great discussion about how you would use each item - please get in touch and let us know what you think.

Our baby milestone stickers are great to use on the first days as your baby arrives and all throughout their first year. Shop here. (Currently only available for shipping within Australia due to limited postage availability during COVID-19 pandemic)

If you would like to connect with us, we are on Instagram, How to Mum 101 Facebook group, or our Vanrowe website. We love to hear from you so we know who's listening!

Today we continue our chat with midwife, Ros McDonough, from last week. Last week we spoke about choosing your care options when you first find out you are pregnant. Today we expand into what you can expect for some of the routine tests during pregnancy at your care appointments.

Things like: gestational diabetes screening, first trimester screening, group B strep, general blood tests and more.

*** Any advice you hear in today's episode is of a general nature and does not take the place of personalised medical care***

Ros McDonough offers pregnancy and newborn care through her private midwifery practice Hello Baby! Midwifery and comes with a wealth of experience and knowledge. She is generous with her time and is devoted to making sure her patients are confident, calm, and armed with all the relevant information they need.

If you would like to connect with us, we are on Instagram, How to Mum 101 Facebook group, or our Vanrowe website. We love to hear from you so we know who's listening!

When you first find out that you are pregnant, you know you need to book in for your pregnancy care but it is often not clear exactly how to do that, what your options are, and how to pick one.

In today's episode with midwife Ros McDonough, we explore the pregnancy, birth and post-natal care options available in South Australia. There will be a lot of similarities with options in other states in Australia, but each state and even each hospital has nuances.

We explore, after your initial GP appointment, what your options are in both the private and public streams; Care available in public hospitals vs private hospitals; Public and Private midwives; Obstetrician selection; Midwife clinic vs Group midwifery practice; and so much more.

*** Any advice you hear in today's episode is of a general nature and does not take the place of personalised medical care***

Ros McDonough offers pregnancy and newborn care through her private midwifery practice Hello Baby! Midwifery and comes with a wealth of experience and knowledge. She is generous with her time and is devoted to making sure her patients are confident, calm, and armed with all the relevant information they need. 

If you would like to connect with us, we are on Instagram, How to Mum 101 Facebook group, or our Vanrowe website. We love to hear from you so we know who's listening!

Useful links and info:

Pregnancy referral line for SA: call this number to book into a public hospital when you find out you are pregnant: 1300 368 820

SA Perinatal Practice Guidelines - very useful info on how medical care providers are guided to care for various aspects of pregnancy

Hiding a pregnancy in the first 12 weeks is hard at the best of times, but during December, it's even harder. Christmas functions, fun in the sun, catching up with friends and family, lots of celebrating, eating, drinking and more.

During this bite-sized episode, we whizz you through some handy tips and tricks to keep your secret under wraps for a bit longer while avoiding the prying questions about whether you're not drinking because you're pregnant and keeping you and your baby bump safe through the festive season.

We talk about avoiding alcoholic drinks, not-suitable-for-pregnancy foods and some general tips.

We mention non-alcoholic drinks in the episode and if you would like some more detail on what's available, Dan Murphys has some great options here (not sponsored): danmurphys.com.au/discover/low-and-non-alcoholic

Come and talk to us at our links below!

Private Facebook group 

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Website

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Have you ever wondered what happens to your body during pregnancy?  Well there are the obvious things, like growing a set of arms and legs inside your tummy, and the miracle of childbirth, but what about the ailments, the symptoms and the side effects? 

Before our pregnancies, we were pretty clueless about what our bodies were about to experience! 

Today we share our own stories from our pregnancies and talk you through some of the known, and not so known, weird and wonderful things that you might experience too.

Being a new parent can be isolating, but there are a number of support groups available to help you connect with others just like you.

In this episode, we discuss some of the support group options which are available to new and expecting parents in Australia. Some of them are virtual/online, and others are face to face (covid permitting).

Useful links:

The How to Mum 101 Pregnancy and Parenting Podcast is here to arm you with the practical information you need to navigate your way through the first years of being a mum - from pregnancy to newborns and then on to the toddler years.  

There's no instruction booklet when you become pregnant or when you have a baby and you find yourself asking questions that you hadn't anticipated. How do you know what to do when you first get pregnant? How do you prepare for labour? And what do you even need to buy for a new baby?  

Our episodes will help you through some of those tricky decisions by providing you with options, information and expert advice. We want you to be confident that whichever path you choose along the way is the right one for you.  

We are two Aussie mums who have done it before and we will chat about these topics: what we did, what our opinion is, advice from experts, and where you can find more information you need to be comfortable with your decisions. It's not just about the big, tough decisions like your birthing options, but also the small ones like what to pack in your hospital bag.  

The How to Mum 101 Pregnancy and Parenting Podcast is hosted by Karen van Beek and Felicity Rowe and brought to you by our business, VANROWE.

Find us: www.vanrowe.com.au 

IG: @van.rowe 

Facebook group: How to Mum 101: Pregnancy and baby support Australia 

Tiktok: vanrowebaby