Ask our experts

Do you have any advice to offer for pregnant mums with ME/Chronic Fatigue syndrome?

Hi Paul

Thank you for contacting the NCT with your question.  You may have seen some of our other answers on here that remind everyone that we are not medical professionals and as such can't give medical advice about specific condiitons. 

However, from what I have read, it seems that many women with this condition see an improvement in their fatigue during pregnancy (perhaps related to a change in mums immune system to protect the baby), but a lot of support is needed afterwards (as with most women after birth) when the body is recovering and is naturally tired, in addition to the expected disturbed sleep patterns that come with having a new baby of course! 

You may find some useful information here:  www.mecfsparents.org.uk/PregnancyandMECFS.htm

Hope this helps a little, but do speak to your GP and see what advice you may gain there.

Louise

 

I am 5wks pregnant, when is the right time to start getting involved in classes. Am I too eager?!

Hi Sally

Congratulations on your pregnancy!  It's a very exciting time, and you can never be too eager.  At this early stage, however, if you attended a full course now, the details may be a little sketchy by the time you have your baby.

Some branches offer 'early-bird' sessions that are very useful for your pregnancy and I suggest you look up and contact your local branch to see what is on offer there or in a nearby branch. 

Do register your interest as soon as possible for a full antenatal course (which would take place later in your pregnancy) too, if you are interested, because these do get booked up quite quickly.

You can locate your nearest NCT branch through this website (www.nct.org.uk).

I hope this helps - enjoy your pregnancy!

 Louise

My 4 week year old can go for very long stretches at night without demanding to be fed -- 5, even 6 hours from the end of the previous feed. He was 5.3kg at birth and is only 5.22 now. During the day we demand feed normally every 3hrs, sometimes more frequently than that. He always has both breasts for @30 mins each and normally settles after that lot. Breast feeding took a couple of weeks to sort out (before that he was on formula and expressed milk). So, should i be waking him to feed more frequently? he does around 5 pooey nappies and lots of wetting each day.

Hi, Sara. Thanks for your post to NCT.  I can understand your concern, as most babies of four weeks have reached their birthweight some time before...but I'm sure you know that weight is not the only aspect of a baby's development and well-being that 'counts'.

 

You don't say what your midwife and health visitor have observed - it would be useful for you to have their opinon on your baby's health.

 

I think it will help you to talk over things with a breastfeeding counsellor, too. She'll want to ask you about how your baby reacts and a bit more about what went on in those early days. 

 

It strikes me you might like to think about how frequent your baby's feeds are - it's not clear from your post, and it may be they could happen more often. Your baby will probably feed more if he is held close to you, day and night if you can, as I agree with you that these long sleeps may be an issue...no one would worry if breastfeeding had gone brilliantly from the start, and if he was piling on weight, but this isn't the case. 

 

So all in all, it's hard to give you much info in this email, except to encourage you to get more support and opportunities to explore what might be happening. 030033 00 771 is the breastfeeding line - I hope you'll call and that you'll find it useful. 

 

best wishes to you and your baby

 

Heather Neil , breastfeeding counsellor

One of my service users is a visually impaired pregnant lady who would like information about any groups she could be put in touch with to speak to other women in the same position. Understandably she is very anxious and feels that this would help her as she is now 6 months pregnant.
I would be grateful for any information that you can give.

Hallo Anne,

Thank you for contacting the NCT.

You don't say whereabouts in Surrey your client lives, if you go to www.nct.org.uk and type in the first half of her postcode. you should then be able to find your client's local NCT branch, events that are happening locally such as Bumps and Babies groups and details of antenatal classes in the area.

Antenatal classes do book up quickly, but they are a great way for her to develop a support network.  The NCT has a reduced prices policy for antenatal classes which can also be accessed from the website.

Of course we can't guarrantee that she will meet other visually disabled pregnant women or mums.

You have probably already come across local support such as the Surrey Association for Visual Impairment   http://www.surreywebsight.org.uk/ .

Anne, I do hope that this is of some help and that your client does find the support that she needs.

best wishes

Clare Charlton

Antenatal teacher

Hi there, I gave birth to my beautiful daughter by emergency c section at 33 weeks. Hannah was born on the 20th May 2008,she was 7 and a half weeks early weighing 4 pounds, she is now 24 weeks old and weighs 14 pounds.Hannah is a very hungry baby, I started her last week on one feed of baby rice a day, which she loves, she opens her mouth in anticipation, so much so that she is dissapointed when then offered the bottle. I am a little nervous about starting to increase this and introduce solid food due to her prematurity. I recognise that she is nearly 6 months old now, however I would like to know if her prematurity affects when she should start on solid foods, and would appreciate your guidance on this matter.

Thank you

Tania Christie

Hello Tania

 I can understand that you are concerned about finding the best way to move forward with weaning your daughter which meets her individual needs.

There is a lot of sense in checking and double-checking what a premature baby's needs may be. I can understand that one issue may be whether your daughter's system is mature enogh for solids. In addition, some premature babies may not have had the opportunity to store up as many nutrients in the womb to help them through their first months. Your health professionals - GP, health visitor or paediatrician - should be able to help you assess Hannah's whole history in order to make an informed decision. You may also be interested in this publication from the premature baby charity, Bliss, about Weaning your Premature Baby. They also have a helpline and other information services.

Tania - I'm sorry I cannot help more - you and Hannah deserve direct support and tailored information to help you make your decisions. I hope you can find it.

Regards

Kirsty Nicol

Hi my daughter is nearly 6 months but has not been putting on much weight (dropped from 25 percentile down to 9th but appears steady there),I have started weaning her last week and expected to see an improvement in her night time sleep pattern, however she is still waking every hour or so after 10pm feed...do you have any suggestions for getting her to sleep longer (without me having to offer food every time)?! If I withdraw night feeds, how can I be sure she's not hungry? Many thanks

Hi Wendy,

I am sorry that you are struggling with a lack of sleep at the moment.  There can be many reasons for night waking, and it is not always down to hunger. Certainly babies of your daughter's age may still wake in the night and want a feed, but doing this every hour is very frequent and it seems likely that she isn't hungry every time, but feeding soothes her to sleep. Research suggests that introducing solids makes no difference to sleeping pattern, as you have discovered. Also although the food may be bulkier, most suggested weaning foods contain much less fat and calories than milk so babies may not gain as much weight and may be as hungry. There are ways of encouraging your baby to sleep longer - some mums find that offering more feeds during the day, or in the evening, may mean babies sleep longer at night.  Some mums find that introducing a set of cues, such as a certain music or blanket when baby is going to sleep well, can help to trigger the association and help babies to go back to sleep on their own. You may find Caroline Deacon's Babycalming book useful, or The No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. It is hard to make general suggestions to improve sleep without having more information about your baby and her sleeping pattern, so you may wish to ring the breastfeeding line on 0300 330 0771 to talk this through in more detail. 

Best wishes

Lisa Rabin-Smith

Breastfeeding Counsellor

please help im trying to wean my 5 week old boy to formula. i decided to start with the 6o'clock evening feed after giving him 3 ounces he was crying for more so i gave him another 1 ounce. after about 35minutes he was still looking for food so i topped him up with breast. another 15 minutes later he is really sick 3 times over!
should i comtinue with the same formula or give him less ??? please help

Hi Lisa

Thanks for your email. I can understand that you are concerned to understand what is happening with your little boy, to help you decide what you could do next.

Your health visitor is probably best placed to talk to you about formula feeding; she should be able to support you more directly on this matter than we can, although you may be interested in the NCT Information sheet Using infant formula: your questions answered. Speaking to an NCT Breastfeeding Counsellor directly might also be useful to you. You would be able to work through some feeding options and consider how to move things forward from here in a way which feels like it might suit both you and your baby. You can call the NCT Breastfeeding Line on 0300 3300 771.

Lisa, I'm sorry I can't give you any more direct help viaemail. Both you and your little boy deserve some direct, personal support in finding solutions. I do hope you can find someone to help.

Kind regards

Kirsty Nicol

Breastfeeding Counsellor

i have been suffering with abdominal pains for more than 3 days my baby is stil moving but some days the pain is unbearable and turns into a burning pain in my pelvis what could it be?? i am 25 weeks pregnant.

Hi Vickie,

Thank you for contacting the NCT, I am so sorry that we haven't replied to your query sooner.

We can't answer medical enquiries like this at the NCT Vickie, but I do hope that you have already called your local community midwife or the day assessment unit at your local maternity hospital to investigate this further. 

If you haven't already spoken to a midiwfe or doctor you may like to do this to find out what is causing this pain.  You can call the labour ward at your hospital day or night, the telephone number should be in your hand held notes.  Alternatively the phone No. for NHS Direct is 0845 4647.

Vickie, I do hope you get to speak to someone soon.  My best wishes for the rest of your pregnancy.

Clare Charlton

Antenatal teacher

i have a bicornuate uterus and have been advised to have an ECV done. I have been reading further information on ECV and it seems to be this is not suitable. Is it possible to be done?

Hi Andrea,

Thank you for contacting the NCT. Congratulations on your pregnancy.

You don't say who has advised you to have the ECV, nor how many weeks pregnant you are.  I assume a scan has shown that your baby is in the breech position.

A baby can find it difficult to turn to a head down position towards the end of a pregnancy if the uterus is a bicornuate uterus (heart shaped).  This is one reason why an ECV is not usually offered, because there is physically not the space to turn the baby.  It may be worth finding out from your consultant the benefits of the ECV for you in particular but also find out what are the risks to you and your baby.  There maybe some alternatives that could be offered.  Finally it is worth ensuring that you have the right environment for decision making, where you feel you have the time and atmosphere to talk through your choices.

Andrea, I hope this answers you question and best wishes for the rest of your pregnancy.

Clare Charlton

Antenatal teacher

my son is 18 weeks and was sleeping through the night but for the last few weeks wakes every 2 hrs for a feed he has been breastfed fron birth. Do you have any suggestions or could it be that i am not producing enough milk to sustain him. Should i consider formula as i am also returning to work in 5 weeks.

Hi Caroline,

I m sorry that you are having disturbed nights. Your milk supply is unlikely to have dropped, and even if it had, your son would build it up again, if he feeds as and when he needs. It is very common for 18 week old babies to wake frequently at night - this may be for comfort, food, teething, developmental spurtsor a variety of other reasons. Babies of this age may stir for many reasons. If you feel he is constantly hungry and unsettled then you may wish to talk this through with a counsellor on the breastfeeding line. If he is well positioned and able to feed as necessary during the day then he should be able to help you produce all the milk you need. Formula may wellmake no difference to his sleeping pattern. With regards to returning to work, have you made any decisions yet as to how he will be fed while you are at work. Some mothers express milk, while others cut out some feeeds and replace them with formula. There is quite a lot to think about and you may want to begin to prepare sooner rather than later. Again this is something that you can talk through with a breastfeeding counsellor if you ring the line. Good luck with going back to work.

Lisa Rabin-Smith

Breastfeeding Counsellor