Blessings come in all shapes and sizes.

Back when I was an Associate Chiropractor I had the chance to see as a patient a retired service man. He presented to our office wanting care but unable to pay. I was asked if I was willing to take him on as a patient under these circumstances. I can say after all these years while I wasn’t rewarded financially I was more than adequately remunerated.

Never was visit to the office passed without him bringing a kind word, a small bunch of flowers, strawberries when in season or a fantastic joke. When he missed a visit due to various reasons he would always send a letter in to explain his absence. What a difference manners make.

But it was to be his death that he bestowed his greatest blessing for me. Never one very comfortable with death and dying, I went to many funerals were I just hid amongst the crowd. Well that was not to be at this funeral. His family invited me as was his request to attend the service. His wife had notified me of his passing and she conveyed her warmest thanks for all my help. Of which I thought was nothing really, I love what I do and it was the least I could do for someone who had defended his country with his life.

As I walked into the funeral parlour I was struck with the awkward sense that I was in the wrong place. There didn’t seem to be anyone here. I first thought I was too early. I went out and checked the notices, no I was on time. Then a young man, who could only have been his son, the resemblance was striking came and walked me back in.

That day I attended the funeral of a wonderful soul, as one of four people to bear witness to his life. I can only say the solace that he brought me was one of the greatest gifts I am yet to receive. And as I wipe the tear off my face while writing this, I know that blessings come in all shapes and sizes.

Do you know the answer

A simple question on a school health test. Do you know the answer?

Runny nose, fever & cough are

a) signs of a cold;

b) signs your body is fighting a cold;

c) signs of a virus. 

B of course! Your body is responding the way it should. It is designed to raise its internal temperature to make it inhospitable for bacterial and viral infections to live. It produces mucus to capture these and remove them from the body via the runny nose, sneezing and coughing.

Your body knows instinctually what to do in these situations. It wants YOU to pay attention and not over ride these functions, but to support these functions. 

REST - allow your body the down time to heal.

FLUIDS - to produce the mucus that removes these from the body and to maintain normal body functions at the same time.

NUTRITION - to support the bodies energy needs in its NORMAL function of fighting a cold.

An ADJUSTMENT - to allow the body to function at its optimal best in its fight to maintain order.

Thanks Dr Kevin

The Chiropractic Paradigm

A Subluxation creates abnormal function in the body. Which in turn creates abnormal physiology and then Dis-ease follows. Ultimately reducing the quality of life.
An Adjustment improves nerve function, improving physiology. Creating less Dis-ease and raising the quality of life.

Chiropractic is PRO active health care, restoring the unique essence of the body to its potential.

What can I eat for lunch today!’.

What’s the in the bag?

Nourishing lunches for children at school

and adults at work and play! This quarter

‘Everyday with Wholefoods’ takes a look at the

humble lunchbox and attempt to answer the ageold

question, ‘What can I eat for lunch today!’.

Lunch is an often overlooked meal and it’s very

easy to be seduced by a quick sandwich. Jude

will give you ideas for wholesome and delicious lunch boxes

including recipes, while also taking a look at what’s in season

during the Autumnal months.

Joining us to look at the nasties that lurk in the common lunchbox and beyond will be

Julie Eady – author of the bestselling book Additive Alert. Julie is a well informed

and inspirational speaker and will give you up to date information on food additives,

their dangers and what you can do to avoid them.

We’ll also have a great range of local producers and retailers on hand for pre and post

seminar shopping!

Event Program
Guest Speakers
Julie Eady – Additive Alert
Additives in food – the alternatives!
Jude Blereau – Whole Food Cooking
Yummy lunches & Autumn menu planning
Booking Details
Saturday 26 February, 2011
Time: 1pm – 4.30pm (Doors open from 12.15pm)
Venue: FJ Clarke Lecture Theatre
P Block, QEII Medical Centre,
Nedlands. Access off Caladenia Ave
(via Monash Ave)
Price: $38.50 incl GST
(seating is unallocated, tiered theatre-style)
Discount available for Thermomix consultants
only – Consultant No. must be supplied with
booking details
Books, local produce and other
merchandise will be on display and sale
from 12.15pm
Enquiries & Bookings
events@wholefoodcooking.com.au
www.wholefoodcooking.

Make the link

NEWSFLASH -Children who consistently eat lots of fruits and vegetables lower their risk of having stiff arteries in young adulthood, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

“These findings suggest that a lifetime pattern of low consumption of fruits and vegetables is related to arterial stiffness in young adulthood,”

Why is it so amazing that these finding should prove what basically we should all know - early prevention is better than looking for a "cure'' later in life. 

Feel Better Despite Fibromyalgia

Making it through the Holidays with Fibromyalgia can seem to be a daunting task. Try to follow this easy list of helpful points, you will also find related articles on each of these topics in the archives. 

• Try to get between seven and eight hours of good, restful sleep each night.
• Exercise regularly. Walking and other non-strenuous activities are a good way to begin.
• Adjust your hours at work if your schedule is too demanding.
• Get a chair that's comfortable at work, and talk to your boss about avoiding activities -- including lifting -- that are too challenging.
• Have your spine checked and aligned by your Chiropractor.
• Eat a healthy, balanced and nutritious diet.

Food additives – uncovering what’s really in our food.

Any basic dictionary will tell you that a food additive is something that is added to our food as part of the processing of the food, for the preservation of that food, to colour that food or to stabilize that particular food. In essence it becomes part of that food directly or indirectly. The original food additives were in fact spices, salt and even smoke.

When you really look at the foods that we are consuming every day, it’s alarming at just how much extra we are getting in our diets in the way of food additives. Are they really that necessary? Are they in fact that safe?

Local Author Julie Eady started out wanting to do what was best for her family in the way of health and nutrition. With a history of allergies and asthma she began a personal project to look into foods that she was putting on the table for her family and realised that they contained many food additives that held some real health concerns. This personal project turned into a fabulous book –

The Essential Information about what’s really in the food you eat, which additives to avoid and why. This book explains clearly and simply which food additives are linked to health problems or banned because of safety concerns, and also shows you how easy it is to avoid them in your shopping.. A must have book and a great gift for anyone who cares about their health and especially anyone responsible for feeding children. Comes with handy Additives to Avoid card to make your shopping simple.

When I found out about this it really hit home. As a mum myself with two young daughters at home, a history of allergies on both sides of the family and asthma, it couldn’t have come at a better time. In fact we were already looking at our diets very closely. We already had the experience of a child with reactions to food colourings and dyes, but didn’t realise just how many foods had the same additives. It was time to clean up our act and FAST.

We invited Julie to our office in Hillarys to speak to our patients and what a wealth of information she did bring to us. I highly recommend if you ever have the chance to hear either Julie or another member of her team speak make the effort – you will not be disappointed. You will be shocked at just how insidious some of these additives are in our diet. Julie can be booked from February next year to speak to school communities, parent groups or work groups, please contact her directly on 94032245 or alternatively additivealert@bigpondcom.

Visit Julies website for more valuable information www.additivealert.com.au

Healthy teens part 2

In a study looking into the health and well being of teenagers it was found that teens who smoked, exercised less than twice a week and were overweight or obese were over three times more likely to have recurrent headaches.

By simplying having two of the factors most teens would double their chance of having recurrent headache or migrains.

All of these facotrs are avoidable if not able to be managed so that healthly habits are established before long term side affects are pernanently etched into the childs life.

Source :Health Day

Is your teenager doing exams?

The season for exams is fast approaching. Our year 12 students will soon sit their last exams and parents nation wide will be left wondering and agonising over their children's health and well being.

Are they getting enough sleep?

Are they getting enough exercise, what about their diet.
Could they change their study posture?

A word of gentle advise – don’t try anything too drastic at this time. Definitely support them in their efforts, but if its not something they are already used to, doing it now might be more harmful. Cover the basics of sleep, exercise, nutrition and good spinal health.

If their normal out of exam node sleep pattern is maintained or closely followed that should help to carry them through. Forcing them to get more sleep may just prove to be a waste of time. Sure they need their sleep, but just like when they were toddlers if they didn’t want to go for a nap, they won’t. Encourage them to take breaks from their studying. Eating smaller meals more often might help with maintaining their energy levels and certainly encourage their intake of water. Maintain their regular spinal adjustments.


For their nerves and stress levels - I have to quote my own Mum here. She would see me getting all bent out of shape about something and it would detract me from my task of studying so she would say " Ok sit and worry for 10 minutes, then get back to work".

Get it out of your system and then move on.


Good luck to all those in exams.

Blood pressure drops when overweight children lose small amounts of weight.

The strains of being overweight on the body mentally and physically are numerous.  Blood pressure is but one of the factors that can change with an increasing waistline and in children it sets them on a rollercoaster of long term health issues.

Our blood pressure is a measure of the force at which blood courses through our system. 120/80 has been set as the normal reading for blood pressure and is taken in measurements of millimetres of Mercury. The reading 120/80 is in fact two measurements. You would read this as 120 over 80 mm of Hg(Mercury). This is a measure of amount of force pushing against your artery walls when the heart is contracting and when the heart is at rest. The first figure corresponds to when your heart is contracted – the Systolic pressure. The second figure is the Diastolic pressure- when the heart is at rest.

Reading taken above the norm are given the term Hypertension – hyper meaning raised, therefore high blood pressure and readings lower than the norm are classified as Hypo-tension – hypo meaning low or decreased.

For anyone either of the two extremes have serious health outcomes. But for a child to experience hypertension – High blood pressure describes a condition that places their heart at risk, in fact their whole cardiovascular system. Literally their whole system is always operating under stress, being forced to work above the level that it can tolerate.

A Canadian study has also shown that obese children have the arteries of an elderly person.The aorta in particular is seen to be severely under stress in these children.When the aorta is placed under constant pressure it loses its elasticity and stiffness occurs, this then is associated with complications of the cardiovascular system and even early death

Reducing the Childs weight through effective healthy lifestyle changes promotes a responsible long term solution for that child. Small weight changes have been shown to decrease blood pressure in the severely overweight child. Education is the key here, BEFORE the use of medication. 

Prevention, being proactive and setting long term goals is vital in this situation.

Breast Feeding protects your child

"Exclusive breast-feeding helps protect infants against common infections and lessens the frequency and severity of infectious episodes not only in developing countries but also in communities with adequate vaccination coverage and health care standards," 

SOURCE: Archives of Disease in Childhood

Straighten Up Australia

If you're looking for a daily stretching program that enables you to get that overall stretch happening - then Straighten Up is for you. Designed by Ron Kirk of Life University, this program is being used to promote spinal health throughout the USA.

During my studies at Life Uni, Ron was a keen advocate of daily spinal health. We as students all took his spinal health care classes as part of our curriculum. This routine takes 3 minutes to complete, does not need fancy special equipment and can and should be done easily at home.

Done routinely, these Straighten Up exercises focus on getting your body ready for the day ahead. They can be done before your day even commences or even in a break during the day. Theses exercises form a great platform for an active healthy lifestyle.

For how to do these exercises click on this link. Straighten Up


Please note : Check with your Chiropractor or other healthcare professional before starting "Straighten Up" to make sure these exercises are appropriate for your specific needs.

Routine is not a dirty word.

Whether we are talking about a new born, toddler or teenager, routines make sense. Babies respond to the cues we give them about what’s going to happen next.  They might have a bath to start their night time routine progressing towards going to bed. Toddlers can take on responsibility knowing that part of the day requires different things of them, like getting out of bed and dressing themselves. And teenagers know routines in the form of what to pack in the school bags for after school commitments.

Now how well they complete these tasks is totally up to the individual, but it’s only with practice that the child is able to learn and grow. 

Chiropractic works when traditional methods fail.

Dr Esteb writes a Monday motivational email that many Chiropractors subscribe to. I would like to share with you one of his Monday motivational emails and expand on this topic in my own words. Hopefully this will give you an insight into some of the principles of Chiropractic.

"Chiropractic works when traditional methods fail." William D. Esteb

1.    Is the original stress still present? If subluxation is the body's attempt at accommodating physical, chemical or emotional stress, and the stressor is still present in the patient's life, the likelihood of chiropractic working is less assured. 

Teaching patients to work smarter not harder has to be part of their treatment. It’s like a mechanic performing a wheel alignment and balancing the tyres, then teaching you not to hit the potholes on the way home. If you continue to do what you’ve always done – you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten. Looking at the small daily things that you do is a great place to start. It could be how you are sleeping at night, how you sit at your desk at work, how you exercise or don’t. Otherwise you’re only putting a bandaid over the whole issue and not getting to the cause.

2.    Limitation of matter. In the same way we can't regrow lost fingers and toes, there are limitations to what is possible based on a patient's age, conditioning and their willingness to follow recommendations and make lifestyle changes.

Getting the best outcome for our patients needs to be taken into perspective, we just aren’t able to make you into your younger self (lets think about it – Do you really want to be) But what we are able to help you with is being the best you can be at this stage of your life. That is, progressing towards your true health potential with you, not as many patients seem to think that we do this for you. Your healing is your body’s responsibility; we merely give it the adjustment and allow it to heal itself.

3.    Is the patient invested in their recovery? Some may enjoy secondary gains from their poor health and aren't fully committed to healing. Harnessing the mind/body connection is essential and one reason to employ effective chiropractic patient education.

 It’s an often unspoken subject that someone could be gaining from their ill health, but it is more common than you think. We receive attention; we receive sympathy and empathy from often even strangers. Helping ourselves is the first step to healing and it’s fraught with the unknown for many people. So while there is still a benefit from being ill, stepping into the unknown may not be something we are willing to do and this paradox holds people in limbo for years.

In light of this, William has rephrased the original statement to be “Chiropractic often works when traditional methods fail”.

Of mice and men.

Testing on animals is always going to be controversial. A recent study into the effects of supplementing our diet with Omega 3 fatty acid, found that in mice, it had a positive effect. However when it came to the effects in humans, many of these animal studies miss the mark. Mice are chosen in these tests for their close link to us genetically - strange but true. So to test on mice, it would seem reasonable to assume that we would be seeing similar results in us too.

This study in particular, while understanding the downfall in this assumptive link, still sites that supplementing our diets with Omega 3 fatty acid can have a positive effect, especially to reduce the inflammation response in our bodies. This is the case with Diabetes in particular. While it is still in the individuals best interest to manage their weight and include a level of exercise in their daily activity it can have no known ill effect to also supplement with Omega 3 fatty acids to reduce the effect of inflammation.

On the positive side of things, the study did find that Omega 3 fatty acid worked by blocking the inflammatory process in the cells. Since chronic inflammation can lead to insulin resistance this could help in reducing the onset of type 2 diabetes.

A new Diabetes link.

"Diet and exercise are widely known to impact the risk of type 2 diabetes, but few people realize that breast-feeding also reduces mothers' risk of developing the disease later in life by decreasing maternal belly fat," said Dr. Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, an assistant professor of medicine, epidemiology, and obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, in a news release from the university.

So what is Diabetes?

Diabetes refers to two conditions centred on your blood glucose levels. Your body is fuelled by glucose, all the food that you digest is broken down in vitamins and mineral and fuel – glucose. Managing how much glucose is in your blood stream is your Pancreas job.

Having too high levels of blood sugar levels or too low levels causes the body stress. Normally your pancreas responds to these altered levels and controls the level of glucose in the blood by releasing insulin. Insulin is a hormone; it helps to move glucose out of the blood stream and into your cells to give them energy to carry out their normal functions.

Type 1 Diabetes stems from a problem with the pancreas that does not produce insulin or very little at all. Leaving the body to cope with rising levels of blood sugar that go unchecked. In the long term this can produced devastating results and damage, especially to your heart eyes, kidney, nerves and gums and teeth. This type of diabetes is often developed in childhood or in young adults. However other ages can be affected
.

The typical symptoms may include

• Being very thirsty
• Urinating often
• Feeling very hungry or tired
• Losing weight without trying
• Having sores that heal slowly
• Having dry, itchy skin
• Losing the feeling in your feet or having tingling in your feet
• Having blurry eyesight

Type 2 Diabetes is a different issue. The insulin that your pancreas produces to move sugar out of your blood stream and into your cells in this case becomes ineffective – the body is resistant to the effects of insulin. Unlike type 1 where the solution would be to provide an external source of insulin for the body, type 2 is not as easily helped. A far better solution would be to prevent this from even occurring.

Management of weight and regular exercise is at the core of type 2 diabetes prevention. Now with the new study it looks like mothers that breast feed their babies can also reduce their chances of developing this type of diabetes.The symptoms of type 2 diabetes can develop slowly over a long period of time
:

§  Increased thirst and frequent urination. As excess sugar builds up in your bloodstream, fluid is pulled from the tissues. This may leave you thirsty. As a result, you may drink — and urinate — more than usual.

§  Increased hunger. Without enough insulin to move sugar into your cells, your muscles and organs become depleted for energy. This triggers intense hunger.

§  Weight loss. Despite eating more than usual to relieve hunger, you may lose weight. Without the ability to use glucose, the body uses alternative fuels stored in muscle and fat. Calories are lost as excess glucose is released in the urine.

§  Fatigue. If your cells are deprived of sugar, you may become tired and irritable.

§  Blurred vision. If your blood sugar is too high, fluid may be pulled from the lenses of your eyes. This may affect your ability to focus clearly.

§  Slow-healing sores or frequent infections. Type 2 diabetes affects your ability to heal and resist infections.

§  Areas of darkened skin. Some people with type 2 diabetes have patches of dark, velvety skin in the folds and creases of their bodies — usually in the armpits and neck. This condition, called acanthosis nigricans, may be a sign of insulin resistance.

For further information visit Diabetes WA

Helping new mums

Two recent studies with new mums in mind give us valuable information in regards to how we can help our new mums.

Researchers have found a common link between those that experience depression and their brain chemistry and Mums that experience postpartum depression. Both groups showed an elevated level of an enzyme that breaks down two common brain substances – serotonin and melatonin. Therefore this would lead to low levels of the two in the system.

Serotonin –is a neurotransmitter, involved in the transmission of nerve impulses. It is manufactured in your body using the amino acid tryptophan. Release of serotonin or other drugs (depending on the type of nerve) causes the other nerves to fire and continue the message along the "cable”. It is also a chemical that helps maintain a "happy feeling," and seems to help keep our moods under control by helping with sleep, calming anxiety, and relieving depression.

Melatonin –is a hormone secreted by the pineal gland in the brain. It helps regulate other hormones and maintains the body's circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm is an internal 24-hour “clock” that plays a critical role in when we fall asleep and when we wake up. When it is dark, your body produces more melatonin; when it is light, the production of melatonin drops. Being exposed to bright lights in the evening or too little light during the day can disrupt the body’s normal melatonin cycles.

When low levels of serotonin are found it may increase the intensity of depression and anxiety. While low levels of melatonin, decrease the quality of sleep.

Helping a new mum in the first few weeks after the birth of her child might mean looking at her diet to boost the production of these important brain chemicals. Two such compounds that are needed in the diet to help form serotonin and melatonin are Tyrosine and Tryptophan.

Tyrosine is an amino acid which may be good for those who have prolonged and intense stress. A dietary source of Tyrosine is found in soy products, chicken, turkey, fish, peanuts, almonds, avocados, bananas, milk, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, lima beans, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds.

Tryptophan is an amino acid needed for normal growth in infants and for nitrogen balance in adults. It is an essential amino acid, which means your body cannot produce it -- you must get it from your diet. In order for tryptophan in the diet to be changed into niacin, the body needs to have enough: iron, riboflavin and Vit B6.
Tryptophan can be found in: cheese, chicken, eggs, fish, milk, nuts, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, soy, tofu and turkey.
To help with increasing the levels of serotonin having up to five servings a day of each tryptophan and tyrosine could help to moderate the effects of depression in a new mum.

Another study also reported that it isn’t about the amount of sleep new mums are getting its more about the quality of sleep. They might be accumulating the hours but because the circadian sleep cycles are being interrupted the quality of sleep is poor. Sleep cycles last about 90 minutes to 2 hours. And when a new mother’s sleep is interrupted it is often difficult to maintain the correct cycles for a healthy sleep pattern. That also explains why cat napping during the day may not “top up “the sleep that she misses out on. A better solution would be to “sleep when the baby sleeps”, especially in the first few weeks. This would help to maintain a healthy sleep routine and provide the mother with enough quality sleep. Or we need to find other opportunities for the mother to gain more quality sleep, maybe express milk for a night feed so that someone else could feed the child.

Illness or a healthy body?

If a child runs a temperature are they sick? Or is their body doing what is should be doing?

If you throw up, are you ill or is your body doing what it should be doing to get rid of the issue.

Illness is often described as being in a state of poor health. So if a child runs a temperature generally, does that make them ill or can we see it from the point of view that the body in its infinite wisdom will raise its core body temperature to make it inhospitable for that pathogen, therefore changing the state of balance. If the pathogen cannot survive in this new environment it dies, the body takes care of things. Is that ill health?

Maybe we need to reassess how we look at the bodies actions. Let’s take the case of you having eaten a meal that didn’t make you feel all that well. A good case of food poisoning. What does your body do – it makes you throw up to get rid of the offending meal. Is that considered an illness? To right the balance – homeostasis,

Human homeostasis refers to the body's ability to physiologically regulate its inner environment to ensure its stability in response to fluctuations in the outside environment and the weather. An inability to maintain homeostasis may lead to death or a disease, a condition known as homeostatic imbalance

The body has several techniques up its sleeve to correct the state of play internally. Raising the core temp, throwing up and what even about sneezing, all natural for the body to do.

Maybe helping the body along the way would be good instead of stopping its natural mechanism of sorting things out. Of course there will be times when intervention is necessary. But I’m saying work with the body when you can; make it stronger by helping it, not making it reliant on the outside.

Soothing a child with an elevated temperature, keep an eye on things. Rehydrate the body after it has purged the meal from its system, give the body what it needs to make it stronger in the way of nutrients first before you jump in and take over from its natural ability.

Consider the ABCs.

Adjust your attitude to health and well being.

Modify your behaviour so that you work with the body by being proactive not solely reactive.

Try Chiropractic; allow the body to experience its full health potential.

Sleep Apnea

I come from a long line of Sleep Apnea sufferers. This isn’t a getting to sleep type of problem but more of a disorder of the breathing mechanism- either the breath is paused or there is a reduction in airflow. And an apnea is referred to as the period of time that the breath stops or is reduced.

My dealings with it occurred whilst I was pregnant with my second daughter. Then soon after her birth my symptoms disappeared. The rest of my family are not so lucky. Mine was more of the obstructive type – where the brain sends the signal to the muscles involved with breathing and then the muscles respond as best they can but they are unsuccessful because of some type of obstruction. Therefore the airflow is not adequate for the bodies needs and waking occurs. The obstruction was caused by my increased weight gain during pregnancy and the awkwardness that some pregnant mother experience whist sleeping. Being a stomach sleeper just makes being pregnant and sleeping very challenging.

For the rest of the family, they deal with Central Sleep Apnea or a combination of both. Central sleep apnea occurs when the brain does not initially send the signal to sleep; therefore the muscles don’t get any signal at all.

Diagnosis after years of struggling was a much welcomed relief. They all attended a sleep lab to correctly diagnose which type that they were dealing with and then what level of intervention was required. It was a long road of changing habits of a life time, but when a good night’s sleep and feeling rested resulted from their hard work and effort there was no going back. The use of a mask to deliver oxygen was used initially to reset the central sleep apnea and other devises to help with the obstructive portion were then used.

The long term effects of sleep apnea are debilitating. High blood pressure, history of stroke, congestive heart failure, insomnia, mood and mental disorders can all be worsened by any of the forms of sleep apnea.

I can’t recommend enough after seeing patient after patient struggle with sleep, and watching loved ones go through the pain of caused by sleep apnea, to go and investigate the possibility of sleep apnea as a cause of their troubled sleep. After looking after their spinal health through Chiropractic and making recommendations of changing their sleep posture and bed, sometimes other measures are required

A quarter of all our mothers either during or after their pregnancies experience an episode of depression

Beyond Blue Australia quotes that “Around 10 per cent of pregnant women in Australia experience antenatal depression” That is depression during pregnancy. Combined with the 16 percent that experience post natal depression – over a quarter of all our mothers either during or after their pregnancies experience an episode of depression. Those figures are staggering.

Like most life changing moments in our lives becoming a mother for the first or third time can and does make a great impact. Experiencing postnatal depression myself after the birth of my first child caused me to re-evaluate how I saw depression overall. Trying to keep it to myself only made it harder for me to function. Juggling life and keeping all the balls in the air (so to speak) made for a life that wasn’t stable. The balls did fall and the aftermath was that the world didn’t crumble as I thought it would, it actually opened avenues of help.

Now in practice I’m seeing the increase in antenatal depression. Harder to detect I suppose due to the fact that we often just dismiss a mother that is struggling with her pregnancy as she is just learning to cope. But we see her sometimes not developing a bond with her unborn child, a detachment to the pregnancy as if it were happening to someone else. She might also experience some of these symptoms;

• Inability to concentrate and difficulty remembering

• Difficulty making decisions

• Anxiety about the pregnancy or becoming parents

• Feeling emotionally numb

• Extreme irritability

• Sleep problems not related to the pregnancy

• Extreme or unending fatigue

• A desire to eat all the time or not wanting to eat at all

• Weight loss or weight gain not related to pregnancy

• Loss of interest in sex

• A sense that nothing feels enjoyable or fun anymore, including the pregnancy

• Feeling like a failure, feelings of guilt

• Persistent sadness

• Thoughts of death or suicide

Giving a mother the support she needs to venture out and discuss her feelings is one of the greatest gifts that we can offer her. Encourage her gently to open up about these issues or letting her know that should she need it your door is always open. Hopefully the mothers that we see in practice here at Hillarys Chiropractic know that the practice stands behind them during and after their pregnancies. Looking after their spinal health is an important link in the mothers and child’s overall health and well being.

For more information please see

Beyond Blue

Panda