Misbehaving Mums to Be

I've been fascinated by the recent BBC3 Misbehaving Mums to Be series. For those who haven't seen it, each week the programme follows three pregnant girls/women who have habits that could harm their unborn baby - these have included smoking, binging on junk food and under-eating. Specialists midwives work with the mums to be to help them kick their unhealthy addictions.
The image I've found most shocking so far was the girl who balanced a full ashtray on her pregnant bump while explaining that the first thing she does in the morning is reach for her fags. Sadly, in both the programmes I've seen so far the nicotine-addicted mums have found the idea of quitting too much and stopped filming. It's easy to judge - I smoke a bit but have always vowed that the minute I fall pregnant I will quit - but it seems that it's just not that easy. The same goes for the girls who eat unhealthily - they know what they['re putting in their mouths (or not) could damage their child but in practice it takes real willpower to break habits they've had for years.
The midwives featured in the documentaries are so inspiring and so far they've helped most of the girls to make some really positive changes. They don't lecture the mums, they just help them to see how they could be healthier.
One quibble is that the mums to be who agreed to take part in the programme must have been aware they had a problem and had some desire to do something about it, which is half the battle. But hopefully it will inspire others watching to think more carefully about how their choices are affecting their unborn baby, and to realise that help is available.

Summer Holidays

With the first rays of sunshine over the weekend it seems as though summer is finally on its way. I'm counting down the days until my holiday to France in June (a whole two weeks off, I can't wait...)
But I've still got just over a month before I can turn off my computer, so I'm focussing on finding some really juicy features before I head off.
With magazines starting to plan their summer issues I'm turning my attention to summer holiday stories.
Holidays are the time when we tend to throw caution to the wind. There's something about that mixture of being away from home and in a warm climate,  that makes people lose all their normal inhibitions. The fact that it's suddenly acceptable to have cocktails with breakfast doesn't help either (or is that just me?)
The result is great stories - romances (both good and bad), life-changing moments, terrible holiday disasters...It's amazing what can happen on a two week package holiday in the sun.
So for the next few weeks I'm going to be firmly pushing all thoughts of my own holiday (sunbathing, sipping wine on the beach, spending all day reading magazines and eating as much as I want....mmmm) to the back of my mind and concentrating on speaking to other people about their adventures overseas.
If you've got a great holiday story which you'd like to share, get in touch. You can email me at alice@medavia.co.uk.
Here's a picture of a beach to keep us all going in the meantime.