Flourishing Families
For unge lyttereThoughts, tips and advice from professionals about family health and wellness. Dorte Bladt from Family Chiropractic Centre Charlestown talks to our local professionals to help you make the best choices for you and your family.
Siste episoder av Flourishing Families podcast
- Sick child - is this serious or not? (00:24:36)
Your little one is sick. Oh no!! Is this bad? Is it dangerous? Do we need to go to emergency?Ilana Lawrence from Sick Sense talks with us about her education program for parents, designed to help us recognise when we can handle the situation till the morning and when we need to go to hospital now. Illy is very generous with her tips and advice and this episode will make you feel much more comfortable about your children's health expressions.
- Pelvic challenges during pregnancy and postnatally with physio Erin Cuskelly (00:22:51)
Erin Cuskelly is a physiotherapist at Female Focus in New Lambton. We talk about pelvic floor stability, abdominal diastasis and incontinence challenges after childbirth (both vaginal and caesarean!). Erin explains her approach as a physio and gives some great advice on what mums can do at home to optimise function of their pelvis and core during pregnancy and after bub is born.
- Post Partum Doula (00:22:09)
Tara from Empowering Mothers talks to us about the importance of providing support to new families. Support can come from many sources in many different ways: partners, family and friends helping with meals, laundry and holding bubba while mum takes a shower. Sometimes though it is awesome to have someone not too close, who can be asked to do anything - and that someone could be a post-partum doula. Tara's goal as a post-partum doula is to help a new mum enjoy the fourth trimester by providing emotional, physical, informative, and practical support. This is to ensure that mama feels supported, cared about, rested, fed and empowered.
- Post-natal depression with Kaz Amos (00:29:43)
Rochelle is a Certified Infant Massage Instructor (CIMI) in Newcastle. She sees massage as the perfect way facilitate the loving relationship between infant and parent. Bonding is enhanced through massage as it includes the sense of soothing touch, hearing the parent's gentle voice, the loving eye connection and even the beautiful smell of baby. Rochelle believes that all new parents have an innate wisdom when it comes to meeting the needs of their new baby and when supported by their community, secure attachment can be nurtured.
- Infant massage with Rochelle Dorman (00:27:06)
Rochelle is a Certified Infant Massage Instructor (CIMI) in Newcastle. She sees massage as the perfect way facilitate the loving relationship between infant and parent. Bonding is enhanced through massage as it includes the sense of soothing touch, hearing the parent's gentle voice, the loving eye connection and even the beautiful smell of baby. Rochelle believes that all new parents have an innate wisdom when it comes to meeting the needs of their new baby and when supported by their community, secure attachment can be nurtured.
- Prenatal yoga with Sarah Newling (00:30:49)
Sarah is a specialised yoga teacher and experienced birth doula. She offers weekly prenatal and postnatal yoga classes at Family Chiropractic Charlestown. Sarah speaks about how pregnancy yoga can be a form of birth preparation as well as a foundation for building your postpartum village. She holds quarterly mamas circles in our garden and provides postnatal yoga as an extension of community and support founded in pregnancy. Follow Sarah on instagram @sarah.yogimama or enquires through website www.yogimama.com.au
- 'Homebirths' with midwife Helen Young (00:30:05)
Helen has years and years experience with childbirth. She has worked as a nurse and midwife in a hospital setting and more recently as a private midwife supporting families who want to have their baby at home. In this podcast she shares with us important insights into the essential elements of birthing and how to support women to achieve their best experience. Helen can be found at 'Homebirth with Helen'.
- Pelvic floor health with Core Restore Co (00:27:37)
Heather Foord is passionate about educating women about the health of their pelvic floor. There is an important dynamic relationship between the abdominal muscles, our breath and the pelvic floor. She shares with us some valuable pointers on how we can strengthen these at home. Heather also explains the science behind some amazing equipment she has in her studio which can help improve incontinence and diastasis recti in just a few weeks.
- Doula support for the complicated birth with Jess Hastings (00:26:51)
Jess Hastings is an actuary risk analyst, and has been juggling and assessing risks for a living for many years. Since having a challenging pregnancy and birth with her first child, she has been passionate about helping pregnant couples making sense of the information provided at this time, and making the most best decisions for their situation. Jess can be found at www.motherlybirthservices.com.au and Motherly Birth Services on social media.
- Pregnancy massage with Joanne Macintosh (00:25:27)
Joanne Macintosh is a pregnancy and post-partum massage therapist, doula and yoga instructor. She shares with us about the healing that happens at both physical and emotional levels throughout pregnancy and how intuitive massage can help. Joanne can be contacted via https://joannemassagedoula.au/
- Pilates for pregnancy and new mamas (00:28:01)
Ellesse Hawkins from Fleur Pilates in Charlestown talks us through safe exercising during pregnancy and those delicate early months of motherhood.
- Introduction to Kinesiology with Erin Dube` (00:23:27)
Erin Dube` is a kinesiologist with a background in occupational therapy and hypnobirthing. She takes us through what kinesiology is and how it can help a wide range of health issues.
- Switched-on Kids (00:20:01)
In this episode the tables have turned and Dani from NewyFitness interviews Dorte Bladt from Family Chiropractic Centre Charlestown about her Switched-on Kids program.
- Sleep and Settle Babies (00:28:23)
The baby whisperer Natalie Ebrill from Sleep and Settle shares with us her favorite tips to help baby have a good night’s sleep. She reminds us of the importance of feeding well, playing well and sleeping well through the day as the secret to a better night. Enjoy 🙂
- Exercising again after the birth of your baby (00:24:30)
In this episode I have a chat to the lovely and knowledgeable Dani from NewyFitness. She shares about the importance of being patient and kind to ourselves as we safely return to exercise. Her advice is to gently build the pelvic floor and core stability from the inside out, and being mindful of healing that is still happening within. Dani also talks about the many options for healing diastasis recti and organ prolapse without the need for surgery.
- Chinese Medicine for women’s health (00:25:31)
Kristie Ussher shares with us how acupuncture, Chinese herbs and other aspects of Chinese medicine can help with various aspects of women’s health. She has a particular interest in helping couples with their fertility journey, supporting both mum and dad-to-be with whatever path they have chosen. With her background as a doula she also has a real passion for helping pregnant women prepare for birth. Kristie favours a holistic approach, incorporating the tools of her craft with emotional and nutritional support. www.kristieussher.com.au
- Empowered Lactation with Emma Maher (00:23:35)
Emma Maher is a wonderful lady with lots of valuable knowledge about breast feeding. She is an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) who also has a background in nursing and midwifery. The best thing is, she works right here in the Hunter :). Emma shares with us a wealth of information and advice about how to handle some of the challenges one may experience with breast feeding. You can find her here: https://www.empoweredlactationwithemma.com.au/
- Your doula – the birth-angel (00:31:04)
Doula Sarah Newling shares with us how she supports growing families through pregnancy and birth. By providing sensible research-based information as well as centering yoga practice, she empowers the birthing parents to be to make the best decisions for them for this lifegiving journey. Overarching this is Sarah’s focus on fostering connection and trusting relationships to promote the feeling of emotional and physical safety and wellbeing. https://www.yogimama.com.au/
- FF 21: Best Parenting Advice (00:29:59)
To raise our children to be happy and successful is every parent’s goal and dream. Deb Arthurs is an ex-teacher and educational board advisor and she is passionate about children’s learning. On this podcast you will love to learn her ideas about creating thriving families. Her website ‘Best Parenting Advice’ is also a goldmine of free tips and tools to help you stay focused on what is important.
- FF 20: School shoes (00:21:47)
The post FF 20: School shoes appeared first on Family Chiropractic Charlestown.
- FF 19: Two eyes- no spares – Behavioural optometry (00:27:06)
Susan Walton, a Newcastle behavioural optometrist, talks us through the importance of our eyes working as a team. We are all aware that 20/20 vision is essential for health and learning. However, having the eyes work together as they alternate between focusing close, looking into the distance and moving here and there is equally important. Susan enlightens us about how the function of our eyes reveal how our brain functions. She also shares what we can do to improve function of them both.
- FF 18: Tongue ties (00:23:50)
Breast feeding is recommended by WHO for the first 12 months of a baby’s life, but it can be heart-breakingly hard work for some mum’s and babies. Tethering of the tissues in the mouth may affect baby’s ability to create a good seal and an effective suck when feeding, potentially causing tummy pain and reflux. Tongue, lip and buccal ties may also lead to trouble with chewing, swallowing and speech. Kristie-Lee Anning is a local dentist with a masters degree in oral tissue revision. She shares with us the in’s and out’s of what this is all about and what can be done about it. Dorte Bladt: I’ve got Kristie-Lee Anning with me today from Honeysuckle Dental and she’s going to talk to us about tongue-ties, and lip-ties and things like that. I’m so pleased you could be here. Thank you for joining us. Kristie-Lee Anning: Thank you for having me. Dorte Bladt: I’ve given people your name. Tell us a little bit about yourself. Kristie-Lee Anning: I’m a general dentist and I’ve done some additional training in laser dentistry, so I did a Master’s of Laser Dentistry over in Slovenia. That’s given me the opportunity to have a bit of better understanding about tongue-ties and things like that, and the release and benefit of the release. But I’ve also got a nursing background before I did dentistry. That’s also piqued my interest in that area. Dorte Bladt: We just spoke before about you potentially being a little bit hyperactive. You have definitely been. You have confirmed my suspicions. You’re crazy. So why taking a course in Slovenia? Kristie-Lee Anning: Yeah. The academy over in Slovenia, the Laser & Health Academy, they produce the lasers that I use in my clinic and they’re one of the best lasers in the world. So the training academy that they have there is really comprehensive so that’s why I’ve done the travel over to Slovenia to do the training on site. Dorte Bladt: Okay. Excellent. So tell us a little bit about… I think for many parents, there’s a lot of confusion about what the tongue-tie or lip stuff, what is it that you actually look for and work with? Kristie-Lee Anning: Often, I get a lot of mums coming in with babies that are having challenged with their feeding patterns, sleeping patterns. Babies have not been able to breastfeed effectively and have had to go onto bottle feeding. And parents that are wanting to improve the feeding experience often reporting that their children or their babies have got reflux or colic, very unsettled sleeping. So when they come in to see me, we’re doing an evaluation to see if those feeding patterns, if there’s a contributing factor from tongue-tie release or tongue-tie that might require some release or some intervention. But also checking the other tissues within the mouth, checking lip ties as well and buccal ties and just seeing what the movement or range of movement is of all of those oral tissues. Dorte Bladt: So what I hear you say is that you’re doing quite a comprehensive assessment both of the symptom, if you wish, but also what may be the cause. Kristie-Lee Anning: Yes. Dorte Bladt: It’s not enough just to come in and say, okay, I lift my child’s or my baby’s tongue up and I can see that it’s tied and I want it done. Kristie-Lee Anning: Yes. There are quite a number of factors that we’re evaluating. Everyone has a freedom attachment or that piece of tissue that’s under the tongue or under the lip that tethers the tongue in some way. It’s whether or not that tissue is restrictive and functionally limiting in feeding, food consumption for older toddlers as well, not just babies, speech development and other factors. So there has to be some limiting factors there that contribute to it in order for us to want to treat that.
- FF 17: Baby wearing (00:28:08)
Carrying your baby in a carrier or a sling on your body has many benefits to both of you. For the carrier it allows you to have both hands free to do other things especially important with siblings. Having baby’s weight, light as she is, close to your body decreases the stress and strain on your muscles and joints minimising fatigue. Having her close also increases your opportunity to be tune with baby’s needs and moods. For your baby, when she is in a supportive and well designed carrier, she is protected, safe and warm. She is snuggled close enough to hear your heart, your breath and your voice as she could in the womb. She follows your daily rhythm and routine and gets gentle sensory stimulation through your movement and experiences. Peta Wilson, a Newcastle physiotherapist, designs, consults and sells wraps, slings and carriers. She talks us through the benefits of the different options and what to look for to get the perfect fit for you and your baby. Dorte Bladt: I’d like to welcome to Peta Wilson today. She’s from Moondani. Hello, Peta. Peta Wilson: Hello Dorte Bladt: Thanks for coming along. Peta Wilson: Thanks for having me. Dorte Bladt: So tell us a little bit about the exciting things you do. Peta Wilson: Well, I’m a physiotherapist locally and I’m also a mom of three beautiful babies. From there, I started to wear my babies in various types of carriers and decided to start a business called Moondani. I design fabrics and I make them into ergonomic, physio, myself-approved carriers so that they’re comfortable and they’re fitting well and also look very attractive. Dorte Bladt: Very good. So you obviously have a bit of a creative side. Peta Wilson: I do. I enjoy that side of it a lot. Dorte Bladt: There seems to be a lot about baby carriers and lots of different options on the market. Can you explain to us why would you wear a carrier and what should you look for? Peta Wilson: It’s very confusing especially for a new parent. They often want to get a carrier before their baby is even born so it can be a really tricky concept to get your head around. But the reasons you might want to wear a carrier is, one, to be hands-free so that you can do other things. Babies like to sleep a lot. They like to cuddle a lot. They like to feed a lot. And it really helps if you can have a comfortable way to keep them close while you’re still interacting with the world. So that’s good for both mom and bub and dad and whoever is caring for the child. There’s a thing at the moment. It’s called the fourth trimester, so it’s obviously something that’s been around since the beginning of babies and parents. But they’ve coined the phrase, the fourth trimester. That’s basically giving your baby a womb-like experience. They’re very used to being warm and cuddled in close and hearing the lulled sounds of their mother. Wearing your baby in a well-fitting carrier can give them that easier, gentler transition into the world after birth, which is really beneficial for all sorts of things. So their hormonal regulation, their temperature regulation, not to get into too much science about it but it just gives them that gentle transition into the world. Dorte Bladt: I think the science bit is very interesting, though. There are so many physiological benefits from continuing being close to mum but we sometimes, in our little busy industrial world, we sort of forget… just stick them in the capsule in the car and stick them in the pram that looks like it’s a tank but it’s quite removed from the experience that they had before. Peta Wilson: Yeah. I find from my own personal experience that having the baby close most of the time, it just puts them in sync with your own rhythms of your day.
- FF 16: Develop the best breathing habits for a healthy life (00:25:10)
Dean O’Rourke lets us in on the secret of breathing properly to promote health and well-being for the whole family. Dorte Bladt: I’m so excited to have this next speaker with us today. I saw a young person come into my practice the other day and they had just found this guy in… well, actually, they’d been recommended to see this guy and I was like, whoa, I found someone in Newcastle. So I’m so pleased. Thank you for joining us this morning. This is Dean O’Rourke. I’m really pleased to have you here. Dean O’Rourke: Thank you. Dorte Bladt: Tell us a little bit about yourself? Dean O’Rourke: Well, my health journey has been an interesting one. I started out as a Health Phys Ed teacher many years ago after doing it at Newcastle Uni. I found I was getting more and more interested in the health side of things and less and less interested in the sports side of things. But what happened to me is I developed a very severe and chronic case of hay fever. I was suffering it all year round, not just in spring but all year round, taking all of the drugs that the doctor was giving me and getting sicker and sicker and it just seemed like there was no end to it. So in utter desperation, I went looking for answers. When I started doing that, it changed the course of my life, essentially cured myself of the condition. I’ve been medication-free and symptom-free for many years now. And it changed my career, what I do. Dorte Bladt: Excellent. So what do you actually do? Dean O’Rourke: I specialize in breathing and orofacial function. So I help people with any breathing-related problem, any chronic respiratory problem, or any problem that they might have related to that. It’s a very specialized area. There’s not many people that do what I do. Dorte Bladt: No. It’s so exciting you’re here. Dean O’Rourke: So I’ve been doing it for over a decade now in Newcastle and on the Central Coast. Dorte Bladt: When you say that you’re specializing in breathing, it’s one of those things we do many times a day and we could sort of lift our eyebrows and say, “You know what? I’ve done it for many years now.” So tell us a bit about what you’re looking for. Dean O’Rourke: That’s often the way people think about breathing and the reality is there’s a lot of misconception about breathing and a lot of misinformation as well. A lot of people do think it’s just something you do and you just stop doing it one day. Dorte Bladt: Hopefully not too soon. Dean O’Rourke: That’s right. But the reality is there is a right and wrong way to breathe and, when I discovered that, a whole new world opened to me. The reality is that dysfunction can range from mild through severe. It can happen at any age. And if you are on the dysfunction spectrum, it can lead to a whole heap of health problems, well, problems people suffer. Genetics plays a role in that, or maybe the severity of it, but, very often, the trigger or the path they go down is because of their breathing function. The reality is you’re breathing 24/7. So if it’s not right, it’s affecting you 24/7. It’s the foundation of your health. Most people you ask them what the two most important things to their health are, they would say diet and exercise. As important as those two things are, I’m not in any way saying they’re not important, but the reality is breathing is well in front than those two things. The only thing that comes close to breathing in terms of critical function, in terms of what you need to do to promote it would be hydration. And hydration is a distant second to breathing, still. But most of us just take breathing for granted and we’re unaware of how much it may be affecting our health.
- FF 15: Balanced with Meg Linton (00:24:41)
Meg Linton from MegHQ talks about how to meet life’s challenges with a present and balanced mind and body. Typically, in our feverish goal to get fit and healthy, we rush around madly working hard to tick off exercise on our ‘to do list’. However, in our rush, we often forget the importance of connecting to what we holistically need in this moment. Being mindful of what our bodies need, and slowing our movements down so we can control them and create balance will greatly enhance the results our efforts. Meg mixes primal movements with yoga and breathing practice, and shares with us some pearls we can bring to our own efforts of creating better health. Dorte Bladt: So Welcome to Meg Linton. I’m really excited to be with Meg today. She’s from Redhead Wellness Sanctuary and she’s come here to share some amazing information about the body. Welcome. Thank you. Meg Linton: Amazing. Thank you so much for having me. I’m really pumped to be here. I’m super excited. When you mentioned it, I just had this like little buzzy feeling, so I’m super, super grateful. Dorte Bladt: Excellent. Well, tell us a little bit about yourself. Who are you? Meg Linton: Goodness. I teach yoga. I teach mindfulness. And I teach kids and adults how to speak differently and speak better to themselves. Dorte Bladt: That sounds interesting. Meg Linton: Yeah. It’s just something I’m so passionate about. When we change the way we speak to ourselves, when we become aware of that, we can then change the direction and therefore we can actually be in a happier state. We can have more energy and vitality. So I’m so passionate about that. Dorte Bladt: Sounds really, really interesting. So you say you’re doing yoga, you teach yoga? Meg Linton: I do. I teach yoga at Redhead Wellness and a few other places around Newcastle. I speak in schools on body language and bullying and self-sabotage. I am writing a book at the moment as well. Dorte Bladt: You are busy. Meg Linton: Yeah. It’s good. It’s my passion and I love it. Dorte Bladt: So I want to just hit you on the yoga for a little while because yoga seems to be, that’s what we have to do in 2019. Meg Linton: Yeah. It’s become like a bit of a trend, isn’t it? Dorte Bladt: Totally. You have your yoga mat wherever you go. What type of yoga, if I say, do you do but also do you find is useful for families? Meg Linton: Beautiful. Great question. I do many types of yoga, I suppose. I think it all comes in handy. I think it’s a mixture of balance, kind of getting that equilibrium between that yin and yang. For families, I think just getting on the mat, having a play and not being so serious. It’s about just moving the body and breathing. It’s not yoga without the breath and the breath is what brings us back into that beautiful parasympathetic state. It’s a way to find this delicious kind of flow within the body. I know that every time I get to my mat I feel so much calmer after that. I feel really relaxed and I can actually function a lot more. I’m a lot more kind when I get to my mat. I try to get to my mat every day. For kids, even if it’s just finding 20 minutes, some animal movements, even some animal sounds, we do that at Redhead, that’s super cute, it’s having fun and allowing ourselves to get lost in our practice and be mindful and be present because, in the present, we have peace. If we are stuck in our past or if we are looking too far ahead in our future, we are going to be in states that are going to alter us. We’re not going to feel calm. We’re not going to feel that beautiful, nice state that we should be operating in. Dorte Bladt: Or are definitely better when we are. Meg Linton: Totally. Dorte Bladt: You mentioned, and I just grabbed on that,