About Me

My photo
Rugby, Warwickshire, United Kingdom
I am a mother of five children, four daughters all born in hospital (two now grown up!) and my son, born at home. One thing I know is that I would have had much more positive birth experiences if I had been well informed and well supported. Many women are feeling the same way and are seeking out the extra care a Doula can give them. I have been a Birth and Postnatal Doula for several years now, and am also a Lamaze Childbirth Educator providing 1-1 classes in antenatal preparation and baby care. I have special classes to help parents prepare for twins, homebirth, waterbirth, and parenting a new baby/babies. I am also a qualified antenatal teacher with the NCT and facilitate group classes in the Rugby/Coventry area. As a single mother I have an affinity with the special challenges of one parent families, or families where one partner is unavailable much of the time to offer support.

Tuesday, 18 August 2009

Welcome to the world, baby Aron!


Baby Aron, born 17th August, at 7.46am - after a beautiful, natural birth!
Amazing mum laboured beautifully and naturally - giving little Aron a calm and peaceful birth!
A true inspiration - i was honoured to be their doula!!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Sunday, 9 August 2009

Money4mum2be : Directgov

Money4mum2be : Directgov

Shared via AddThis


From April 2009, you can claim a one-off, tax-free payment from H M Revenue & Customs (HMRC) if you're a mum-to-be who's at least 25 weeks pregnant. The payment is called 'Health in Pregnancy Grant' and is to help you prepare for the birth of your baby.Your due date needs to be on or after 6 April 2009 for you to make a claim.
Who can get Health in Pregnancy Grant?
You can get the grant if all of the following apply:
you are 25 weeks pregnant or more
your expected date of delivery is on or after 6 April 2009
you have been given health advice from a midwife or doctor
you may not get the grant if:
you are subject to immigration control or
you are not present, ordinarily resident or have a right to reside in the UK
How much do you get?
The grant will be a one-off payment of £190 for each pregnancy. It will not affect your tax credits or any other benefits. Everyone will get the same amount – you will not be asked about your income.
How do you claim?
Get a claim form from your midwife or doctor any time from 1 January 2009 onwards - as long as you're at least 25 weeks pregnant and your expected delivery date is on or after 6 April 2009. Your midwife or doctor must fill in their part of the form and sign it before giving it to you. You will need to get your claim form to HMRC within 31 days of your midwife or doctor signing the form - otherwise you may miss out on the grant.You can get a free text message or email reminder to help you remember to claim if you are not 25 weeks pregnant yet.
Sign-up for the HiPG reminder service
How is the Grant paid?
HMRC will pay the grant directly into your bank or building society account any time from April 2009 onwards. Don’t worry if you don't have an account - any bank or building society will help you open one.
More useful links
More about the Health in Pregnancy Grant Download the Health in Pregnancy Grant podcast (MP3, 11mb)
Additional links
Don't forget to claim

More from Directgov
Having a baby
Working when pregnant
Preparing for pregnancy and advice on conceiving
Bookmark this site
Add this site to your social bookmarks including Del.icio.us, Digg, Reddit and more
addthis_pub = 'directgov.content';
addthis_logo = 'http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/documents/digitalasset/dg_172031.gif';
addthis_brand = 'Directgov';
addthis_options = 'delicious, digg, reddit, facebook, stumbleupon, furl, twitter, more';