Hey Mamas!!
So excited that Nicole Chikwe is back with Mummy Summit Digital 2021!
I was a panelist last year, and it was awesome! I cannot miss this for anything in the world- trust me, it is that good!
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Please register today by going to http://www.themummysummit.com
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Pregnancy for me was hard, really hard. I was diagnosed of preeclampsia at 25 weeks, I was vomiting profusely and was always sick……. The hospital became my second home as I was closely monitored by my doctor. I attended my antenatal regularly and also took my antenatal drugs religiously.
On a Sunday night, the sleeplessness started, a little walk and I would be short of breath. After 3 days of observing, I called my gynecologist to explain what I noticed, she immediately told me to report to the hospital for my Blood pressure to be checked. The result was shocking as I was always taking it easy and not stressing myself in anyway, I was baffled as to how it got to 160/120. I was immediately admitted and was in the hospital for 1 whole month, it was really tough …..Really really tough, I was growing big at a rapid rate, crazy headache coupled with dizziness, nausea coupled with vomiting…….. I was just not myself and every day I begged God to just do something about my situation, it was that bad……..
I left the hospital only to be back there 2 weeks later due to excessive vomiting and swollen legs. A scan was conducted and I was diagnosed to have an internal organ issue. At that point, my doctor suggested that I be operated on. I was scared so was my mum but for the sake of my baby, I just had to stay strong.
Series of test was conducted, my Blood pressure kept going up rapidly and everyone kept praying for me and for my unborn child. My blood count was a bit on the low side but I was given some medication that returned my platelet count to normal. My baby boy was delivered at 31 weeks 3 days, he was weighing 1.8kg. He was so tiny and somewhere in my mind I was skeptical about him surviving because he looked so fragile and weak and his breathing was so fast. I wanted to be with him 24/7, I wanted to hold him without letting go, and I was scared of losing him. He was my first fruit and would give anything just for him to be alive.
The hospital kept giving him drugs to help develop his lungs rapidly and after spending about a month, my baby was ready for home.
I can’t thank God enough because I can’t imagine going through preeclampsia and also having a still birth.
To my preggy moms out there please do not ignore any pregnancy symptom because that headache could be more than just headache and that stomach pain could be more than that. Always go to the hospital and don’t assume that it is something you can handle. For the sake of your unborn child visit the nearest hospital or your hospital because it might just be more than that. To my mamas who have been diagnosed with preeclampsia, please rest as much as you can, pray, eat fruits, take your medication and all will be well…….
I know as parents, we all try our best to ensure that our kids are polite, but they need to always be reminded because they are in the training stage of their life and it is possible for them to forget once in a while. Social manners are those polite gestures that serves as the foundation of respect for each other.
This social manners are simple enough for their vocabulary level and they are the very minute gestures that can make a whole lot of difference.
Every morning, I tell my kids “don’t forget your thank you, please and excuse me” my older son will then add ” dont forget to greet too” .
How often do you enforce these manners mamas?
Which of these words can your little cutie say?
Pregnancy and childbirth is both an exciting and scary time for soon to be moms and new moms. You look forward to holding your baby, playing with them, taking care of them and nurturing them. But you are also scared and worried that you do not have all the required information to take care of your bump or your newborn baby.
With lots of conflicting information from your aunty in the village, your workmates, friends from church and the internet, who do you trust?
What if I told you that there is a friendly nurse who can check on you and give you advice for every stage of your pregnancy and the first year of your baby’s life?
What if this knowledgeable nurse could be found on your phone, easily accessible and ready to help you at any time, be it day or night?
Well, there is such a nurse, the HelloMama bot!
Meet HelloMamaBot, a Telegram based chatbot that will be your guide and confidant during this exciting period of your life. HelloMama provides weekly stage-based messages to pregnant mums and new mothers to help them take care of their bumps and their little ones.
So why should you use HelloMama? Why should you advice your pregnant or new mommy friends to make HelloMama their friend? Or why should you ask your local health center to recommend HelloMama to their new and pregnant moms?
The short answer is that the chatbot provides accurate information that is specially tailored for each user thus reducing anxiety, increasing uptake of vaccines, promoting health center visits and improving the overall health of babies and moms.
HelloMama Provides Accurate Information
HelloMama provides stage-based messages that are thoroughly researched, are scientifically
accurate and have been verified by NGOs such as Jhiego (an international non-profit health
organization affiliated with John Hopkins University.) and Pathfinder International so as to give
your baby and your bump the highest quality of care and protection.
Every mom knows that their bump or their newborn are very precious and they deserve only the best healthcare that is scientifically tested and proven. HelloMama provides this support during all the trimesters of pregnancy and the first crucial baby milestones.
You will be reminded of the supplements that you should take, the meals that you should eat, the type of activities that you should do and when to visit your nearest health center.
For new moms, HelloMama provides information on when to take the baby for vaccination, how to take care of the baby and how to deal with common baby illnesses. This support helps mums relax because they know that they have a friendly personal nurse who checks on them and guides them.
What’s more, if you have any questions about your health or that of your baby, you are free to ask HelloMama by typing help at any time and you will receive a scientifically accurate answer in no time!
HelloMama Improves the Overall Health of Babies and Moms
All mommies want to have healthy pregnancies and healthy, happy babies. However, the lack of accurate information and even forgetfulness can prevent this. By providing stage-based information on when you should go for checkups, when you should take supplements, when you should vaccinate your baby and when you should visit the health center, HelloMama improves your health and that of your baby.
Setting up HelloMamaBot
Screenshot of hellomama bot
hellomama bot
At any point in time after a successful registration, type “help” to trigger any of HelloMamaBot’s menu. See instructions below and steps.
Learn more about http://hellomama.africa
See video demo of hellomamabot registration in use here http://bit.ly/HelloMamaBotVideo
Share this article with your friends and family so that they can also install HelloMama and be happy mamas!
It has been over 18 months since the loss of zara. I now have a little strength in me to talk about her without breaking down. Yes, I still cry when I look at the beautiful items I already got for her. I’m only writing this story because I feel I need to let it out and also to create awareness for mums like me, who have lost a child.
I didn’t start trying for another baby until my first child was 4 yrs old and it didn’t happen until a year and 2 months later. I was ecstatic, joyous and over the moon. I called my husband immediately I received the news and he was overjoyed. We both decided not to tell anyone about it until I was in my 2nd trimester but trust we women now…lol… especially when it’s something everyone has been looking forward to. So, I secretly called my mum, my only sister and my mum-in-law and told them with strict warning not to mention it to anyone as my husband had instructed.
I must tell you it felt like a first time pregnancy for me, as my first trimester was no stroll in the park. I started wondering if it was because it’s been over 5 years since I last went on this journey. I was absolutely very careful like a first time mum, adhering to every rule and google became my best friend. When on break at work, I am either eating fruits, drinking water or “googling” preggy do’s and don’ts …lol.
I started feeling a lot better in the second month of my 2nd trimester (I think around my 20th/21st week… not very sure) . So I went for my first scan hoping to see if I can get the sex of the baby (I really wanted a girl), I opted for the 3D Scan and voila! the sonographer was able to get the sex… A girl!. My Sister!, I was over the moon, I was already thinking of baby clothes, shoes, hair bands. I didn’t wait to get home before “googling” baby girl fashion and styles ( I was ready to spend it all to make her look good). I called my husband and told him Somto is getting Zara (because we already picked out names ….. don’t mind us abeg )
Then things took an unbelievable direction and my world was filled with fear,sadness,worry and tears . I woke up one morning feeling tired and heavy. I told my husband that I didn’t feel up to work and he advised that I called in sick which I did. I was feeling uneasy and started having this crazy abdominal pain. I called a friend to drive me straight to the hospital after about an hour of trying to sleep it off. The hospital wasn’t too far from the house but before I got there , I was already bleeding with an unbearable pain. the doctor asked if I had been stressing myself lately and I just screamed “NO”. Then, I was stabilised , the pain and the bleeding stopped and it was time to check Zara’s heartbeat….. that was when I started panicking… there was no heartbeat.
The doctor called my husband out and whispered somethings to him, I wanted to hear it all. I gathered all the strength in me, stood up and shouted ” If there’s anything wrong … I beg you please, don’t hide it from me…. what is wrong with my baby?” . My husband and the doctor came back and told me the unbelievable (still finding it hard to believe) . I was shocked, speechless and numb that I didn’t know when my mum came in. I begged them to check every hour… I begged God to turn this mystery around and prove the doctors wrong but God knows best .
The baby was evacuated and it was time to go home…. to go home to the items I already bought for Zara. Why and how is still a puzzle to me but I know the God I serve, he is an amazing God and you can’t question Him.
I wanted to share my story so that other mums who go through something similar know that they are not alone and God remains the same God…. He knows best. Yes, my entire world did stop for a while and yes,i still think about her every single day!. I was depressed and sad for the longest part, but I have been trying for another baby again and that is a good sign that I am not ready to give up, so mums who have been here, don’t give up!
Somto’s mama from Bradford
A turkish mum who read lecture notes to her daughter in law school for 4 years has been awarded an honorary degree.
Eve havva Kul read all of her legal texts to her 22 year old daughter Berru Merve Kul who is visually impaired. She was given this award alongside her daughter at the convocation ceremony.
Havva Kul accompanied her daughter to university every day, and after four years of determined effort Berru graduated from the Department of Law with honors.
The university showed appreciation and recognition to Berru’s mother for reading her daughter’s lecture notes during her four-year course.
“We wanted to thank the mother and the daughter who have shown a great deal of effort,” said the Dean of Faculty of Law at Sakarya University, Professor Mahmut Bilen.
According to the dean, what Berru achieved — graduating with honors from a faculty with heavy curriculum despite her condition — required great sacrifice and that they felt the student’s achievement should also be shared with her mother.
**Warning: Contains images some may find distressing.**
Gabriella Morley, 24, from UK, was 39 weeks pregnant when she noticed her baby was not moving.
Doctors told the mother-to-be and her boyfriend Matthew Dalton, 25, that their baby had died after being poisoned by high acidity levels in her mother’s body caused by the rare pregnancy-related condition, intrahepatic cholestasis (ICP).
The grieving mother gave birth to her newborn daughter, Poppy, on May 9 and the couple spent three days with their little girl in a hospital cold room before laying her to rest.
Now Gabriella and Matthew have shared photographs of Poppy in a bid to raise awareness about ICP, shares Daily Mail.
‘It is a rare condition but I think more mums need to know about it,’ Gabriella said. ‘I don’t want anyone to ever have to go through what we did.
‘Losing Poppy has been the most devastating thing ever. No mother should have to experience what it is like to go through nine months of pregnancy and leave hospital with no baby. But it does happen and people need to talk about it more.’
Gabriella explains, ‘Giving birth was the saddest thing I have ever gone through. She was born to the song Pachelbel’s Canon in D which is just the most beautiful and emotional piece of music.’
‘I remember Matty looking up and saying “it’s a girl” and the sound I made was just awful, I have never heard anything like it. It was the most horrible surprise ever. We had always wanted a girl.’
‘They laid her on me but I couldn’t even look at her. I just couldn’t understand how the baby I had grown inside me for nine months was here but she wasn’t moving or crying. There was just silence.’
Throughout her pregnancy Gabriella experienced an itchiness on her baby bump that she put down to a typical side-effect of stretched skin.
But the itchiness was actually a symptom of ICP which hinders the flow of bile acids, which are toxic to foetuses, from the liver to the gut.
Gabriella is now sharing her story to raise awareness of the illness that killed Poppy and to encourage more mums to speak about the tragic loss of their babies.
What is it?
Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy is a rare liver condition which causes an itchy skin. There is no rash but the skin may show scratch marks (excoriations) or become yellow (jaundiced). This condition typically develops late in pregnancy and resolves within days after the baby is born. Closer monitoring of the pregnancy is recommended as this condition can have serious effects on the unborn baby.
Read more
Helena Lee, inserted the syringe of medicine through the drinking hole of a bottle lid and shared a snap of her baby boy happily drinking it.
Helena explained: ‘For all the mummies! So for the last 24hours I’ve struggled to get Alfie to take Calpol, he has ended up covered in half of it where he spits it at me. Then I remembered seeing this trick.”
‘Not one bit got wasted – and no tears.
Please feel free to share with any baby mummies you know.
What other clever tips have you used to get bub to take their syrup.
What other tips have you used to make your LO take medicine without spitting it out.
Please share below for the benefit of other mamas……..
Emily was born exactly on time, in the most normal of condition, and was perfect in every way. The first week of Emily’s life was marked with a seemingly happy baby. However, by the second week, Emily was unsettled and crying, nothing unusual for a new born, but then she started growing at exceptional rates. In her 4th week of life, Emily grew 4 cm in a week. Little did the parent or her physicians know that Emily had underlying conditions that are rarely seen.
By 4 months of age, Emily was the size of a 1 year old, and her growth continued as did her constant health issues. Bouts of sickness, and infections that Doctors put down to being in daycare as both her Dad and mum are full time employees. By 2 years of age, Emily had breast buds and body odour, and a rash on her skin since birth that was now being diagnosed as cystic acne and by 4 years old, she started her menstrual period. She is now faced with menopause at 5.
This little girl has been diagnosed with central precocious puberty and Addison’s disease, which means her adrenal glands do not produce enough steroid hormones.
Her mother tam dover is really sad that her daughter hasn’t had a chance to enjoy her toddler journey. She has been forced to learn how to use a panty liner for menstruating at such young age.
Her body is ageing faster than other kids in her age group and she is nearly 4 years above her real age.
The mum finds it difficult to explain what is happening to her, even though little Emily has now become fully aware that she is different.
Recalling the moment Emily started her menstrual period, Tam told Mirror Online: “Because she has trouble toileting, she thought she had done a poo in her undies.
“We used panty liners and it didn’t last more than a day.”
“There are so many aspects of her life, that thankfully, she is too young to be completely aware of that are going to impact her.
Her parent set up a go fund me to raise money for her high cost treatment.
This is so sad,imagine dealing with menstrual periods at such a tender age……
Kindly drop your comments below
Morning sickness does not only affect pregnant women, but can also make expectant dads more anxious and depressed.
A survey of 300 expectant dads showed anxiety levels were significantly higher among those whose partners battled moderate morning sickness, or the more severe hyperemesis gravidarum, reports 9 news.
Researchers have found that expectant dads bother about work, family responsibilities and the health state of their unborn child.
The lead researcher said the findings suggested many expectant dads should get support from health professionals during pregnancy, particularly those expecting their first baby.
“Professionals would normally focus on the wellbeing of pregnant women, however, engaging the father as well may help relieve reported anxiety and improve outcomes in the long term,” she said on Tuesday as the study was published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology.
The men who took part in the study were asked about how aware they were of their partner’s morning sickness and how depressed and anxious the condition made the dads feel.
Many of the anxious dads reported that their work had been disrupted by their partner’s morning sickness, with some being forced to take time off to care for their partner.
Did you have morning sickness, if yes, how did it affect your partner?
Share your comments below
found here