support Archives – Emma Reed

55 Things a Preemie Parent Doesn’t Want to Hear (and tips on what to say and do)

Posted on March 3, 2018November 15, 2024 by Emma Reed

When you become a preemie parent your entire newborn journey alters. You are thrown into a world that is scary, upsetting, unnerving and completely unpredictable. You lose all those firsts that should experience and you return home without your baby.

Even after your baby does come home, times can be tough and not all stories are straightforward. Whatever the situation is, those parents require support both emotional and physical. They need people to understand what they are going through and, most importantly, they need these people to be saying and asking the right things. Unfortunately, there are a lot of (ahem)

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How Can You Support A Family With A Baby In NICU?

Posted on January 3, 2018November 14, 2024 by Emma Reed

It can be difficult for people to know what the right things to say or do when a family welcome a baby prematurely. I must admit that before we had William I was pretty clueless about the ins and outs of NICU life and even though I have known of couples who have had a baby pre-term it felt as though if I asked lots of questions I may have seemed as though I was prying and I didn’t want to offend by asking the wrong thing. Now I have been in those shoes I know what a scary, lonely time it can be and for me, I found talking helped. I think we can all be a little too polite at times and perhaps if we spoke about situations a little more we could all offer and receive more help and support.

So, what does a family with a baby in NICU need and how can you provide that support?

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mental health awareness week- tips to achieve good mental well-being

Mental Health Awareness Week- Tips to help achieve good mental well-being

Posted on May 10, 2017January 22, 2025 by Emma Reed

When you have suffered with your own mental health for a number of years you begin to learn what can trigger a bad mood, what can bring on anxiety, what can make you angry and the patterns that often emerge. I personally find that spending a long time alone can make me miserable and low, one bad event will outweigh several good ones and upsets from friends/family/husband can linger for far too long. By recognising slight changes occurring in my moods, I have started to acknowledge what can help or even prevent these issues from escalating. As I stated in my last post, counselling has been one the best ways of coping with my innermost thoughts and I can highly recommend finding somebody with expertise to speak to yourself. In fact, I’ve recently come across online professional support from BetterHelp which offers helpful resources and the option to connect with a counsellor. If this isn’t for you, do try and be open with your closest family and friends. Communication is definitely key in helping mental health problems.

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Be You, Try Something New and Unite On International Women’s Day

Posted on March 8, 2017November 11, 2024 by Emma Reed

Every 8th March is marked by International Women’s Day. A day for women to stand up and unite, a day for them to remind themselves that they do count and that they can do or be anything they want, a day to remind ourselves of everything women have done before us to achieve rights and equality. On this day I want to talk about and celebrate all of the amazing women I know or have recently met. Women who are inspiring,

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Endometriosis: Looking in from the Outside

Posted on May 1, 2016November 10, 2024 by Emma Reed

When my sister began to have abdominal pain four years ago my immediate thoughts were actually the same as the doctors in a+e; possible urine infection, miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, kidney stones, appendicitis amongst a few others. After ruling out all on the first list she was eventually (finally – it takes a while) left with a diagnosis

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