After enduring the uncertainties of how to respond to her son’s illness, it is another family’s plight that provides a lasting lesson to Cathy Watson. It’s a strange, twilight zone, the Emergency Department at night. It is full of interrupted lives and children in dressing gowns,...
Business owner and single mother Kate Heussler talks about how vital financial planning is, as she prepared to became a solo mother. Pregnancy: Preparing for the Unexpected Money conversations matter If you have a partner, discussing finances before pregnancy is essential—covering expenses, parental leave, emergency savings, shared domestic...
Hannah Dahlen, Hazel Keedle and Lilian Peters give the answers to a common question about what is a ‘vaginal birth after caesarean’ or VBAC? A vaginal birth after caesarean (known as a VBAC) is when a woman who has had a caesarean has a vaginal birth...
Katharine Clifton has a less-than-enthusiastic response to her daughter being assessed as gifted. Almost six months ago, my daughter was diagnosed as gifted. It came about when she performed well beyond expectations in a vocabulary test at her three-and-a-half-year check-up and the maternal health nurse suggested...
Her youngest child’s first day at school has an unexpected effect on Helen McKinnon. I thought I had been waiting for this day for the past seven years. My youngest trotted off to her first day of school. (At least I think it was her –...
The legacy of Kate King’s grandmother looms large over her family. My grandma died this year. I always considered myself very lucky to have my maternal grandmother in my life for so long, and now she isn’t. I was there when she suffered heart failure, and...
Sarah Pietrzak is caught unawares when she is forced to confront an old, but lasting, family tragedy. I was instantly transported to my childhood when I entered the room. My team member was practising resuscitation on the baby mannequin, under the eye of an assessor. But...
Doctors says concerns about being able to have children are becoming more common as people start their families later in life and awareness increases about the impact conditions such as endometriosis can have on fertility. In response to these concerns and strong demand from women wanting...
Megan Howe hits a hurdle in her son’s toilet training. The Struggle Begins: Toilet Training Challenges The bathroom had become a battleground. We’d pleaded, cajoled and offered every reward under the sun, but there was no way our four-year-old son was going to do a poo on...
New Legislation Will Support Parents in Making Better Feeding Choices Australian public health groups are praising the Government’s decision to introduce stricter rules for the marketing of infant formulas. This change aims to protect children’s health and prevent confusion for parents trying to make the best...
