Hum..I guess I’m ready for London! 🌈

So ready for London! Looking great with your colours flying high!

This wonderful nugget brought their colours to OTRA London in September 2015 and you can bring your own to your show! We’d love to see your pictures and videos of whatever you’ve prepared and are going to bring and read your concert reports!

Another woman utterly failed by our society’s devaluation of women’s reproductive health. We can’t wait around for male doctors to decide what we need to know. This is why we need to take control and educate ourselves about our own bodies.

and here’s some comments i saw under the post. why is this a pattern?? why is this a recurring theme?? why is this information not common knowledge? what the fuck are doctors doing??

This is news to me so let’s share it so people will know!

Gross tmi: but i passed a pretty big clot after having my daughter. It was about the size of a baseball. It actually hurt worse because while 15 hours of labor opened my cervix, i passed the clot in 30 minutes. I knew it was a possibility because of my midwife and reading, but everyone Ive told after this (mostly other pregnant women) were shocked that this could happen.

In our culture, it’s much more common to do deep research about what family cars we want to buy than we do about childbirth when we ’re pregnant.

Tmi: I passed a huge clot after birth in the bathroom of my hospital room and called the nurse sobbing because I didn’t know it was normal. She treated me like an idiot, but NO ONE told me it was a possibility. And the pain associated with healing for the first couple of weeks after birth was worse than the labor imo. Again, I had no idea. They didn’t tell me a thing besides “sitz bath regularly and change your pads.” Before discharging me from the hospital.

I was most definitely told about this in school. Fucking hell, 4-6 weeks of bleeding? My periods were/are bad enough, why the hell don’t we get told this?

I didn’t know it could last so long, wtf? Is the bleeding inevitable after birth? 

Bleeding is inevitable after birth - your uterine wall is shedding a fuck ton of lining. It can last from three to six weeks (possible longer) and it tapers off.

More TMI - I passed a MASSIVE clot after my fourth birth. At this point I already knew this could happen - it’s normal. What I DIDN’T know, was that I had caused it.

My post birth contractions were so bad after the birth that it felt like full transition labor. And they don’t give you anything for the pain. So I used a hot water bottle, without the nurses knowing, and it caused me to bleed even more. I lost so much blood that by the first time they sat me up to go to the bathroom, I fainted. It took three more tries until I could sit up.

Anyway, that’s not the point. The point is, the next morning I passed a clot the SIZE OF ANOTHER PLACENTA I KID YOU NOT, and I know what is and is not normal. So I called for the nurse and through the door told her I had passed a huge clot, and her response was - “It’s not big. I know what big is.” She hadn’t even looked. So I rolled my eyes and said, “Yeah, no. It’s big, I’m telling you.”

So, sounding extremely put upon, she asked me to open the door. I did, and after a long pause she goes, “Okay, yeah, that’s a little big.”

YOU DON’T SAY.

The point I’m trying to get across is that this shit is so common - women not knowing this stuff is so expected, and it keeps getting reinforced. People don’t expect you to know anything, don’t teach you anything, and then make you feel like you’re totally ignorant and a burden for your lack of knowledge when THEY WON’T SHARE.

Fucking learn EVERYTHING you can when it comes to childbirth, girls. It is the single most empowering thing you can do for yourself. And if you missed something, that’s okay. But the more knowledge you arm yourself with, the more in control of your situation you’ll be.

A few post partum tips:

This is just a few things, but PLEASE feel free to send me an ask if you have any questions about ANYTHING childbirth/pregnancy/nursing related. I have four incredible kids. I’ve done it all - c-section, vacuume birth, episiotimy, stitches, with an epidural, without an epidural. I’m here.

More tips:  GET A PERI-BOTTLE.  If you have a hospital birth, they’ll probably give you one.  If not, you can pick up any kind of small squeeze-y bottle (or even an empty, CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN spray bottle if it comes to it).  It’s like a little portable bidet.  Use it after you go to the bathroom, then pat dry.  This way you don’t have to climb into a shower every time if you don’t want.

IME bags of frozen peas in your underwear with proper covering (you don’t want to get frostbite) are the best sort of cold compress.

Those contractions during nursing?  They are v v important.  They shrink your uterus, helping your body get back to normal faster (and helping you pass blood quicker).  They hurt.  Keep drinking red raspberry leaf tea (which hopefully you drank during your third trimester).  It should help not only with the contractions, but with your milk supply as well.  Take a nursing-safe NSAID if you can.

REST.  I know this is especially hard for people who are already parents, for poor folk, for people with a ton of responsibilities in general.   This is when you call in the cavalry, if you’re lucky enough to have support.  FRIENDS AND FAM of birthing persons, leave the parent alone with their baby.  Do a load of dishes.  Pick up.  Check to make sure the parent has their baby supplies handy (as in, within reach).  Bring them food.  The more they rest, the faster their body heals, and the shorter the bleeding period will be.  If it tapers off and then ramps back up, YOU’RE DOING TOO MUCH.  Slow down.  This is the perfect time to learn that, as a parent, you can’t do it all.  Always prioritise your kid.  If there’s one time you’re allowed to just let shit go, it’s during your babymoon.  (Google is telling me babymoon now means a trip you take with your partner before you have your baby.  What.  No.  “Babymoon” means the first week after your birth.  When the hell did that switch happen?)   REST.  REST.  HOLD YOUR BABY.  SLEEP.  NURSE.  EAT.  This bonding time is imperative.  You and your baby deserve this time.

@bellyhairs

….I know I keep reblogging this but people keep adding super important information.

I feel like no one tells women this stuff because if a woman was even a little on the fence about having a baby before this would kinda make them run for the damn hills.

…..you are correct, typing.

300% EXTRA SURE I’M NOT HAVING BABIES. 

peri bottles, witch hazel or anti-pain anticeptic spray are your friends. Also passing large clots after birth is a WARNING SIGN. Bigger than a half dollar is a sign that you have not passed your entire placenta (this is most common in hospital vaginal births where the mother is not allowed to naturally birth the placenta and instead has it ripped out by the doctor) if there is any placenta left in your uterus you can get extremely ill. This happened to both myself and my mother in law

WOW I didn’t know any of this and I’m terrified of what more I’m unaware of about my own body :( Honestly when will we fucking abolish this taboo about the female body…

I had pretty great sex ed in school (lots of contraceptive information, and totally acknowledged that teenagers might have sex) and all of this is news to me.

And, as a 28-year-old person with a uterus, I’m extremely appalled I’m just learning this.

Long, but very important information, even for those who don’t plan to have children, because you will almost certainly know someone who will, and you might be able to to help them. Or at least increase your level of empathy for them.

even if you dont plan to have kids this info is really important to know. Uterus havers should know what their body does and why.

lol so glad we spent 2 weeks learning that abstinence is the only way to prevent pregnancy(as if that’s not obvious enough) and never once learnt that you bleed after you give birth

Also know nearly nothing about pregnancy.

However, I know that bleeding means a loss of iron. It’s important to take vitamins that have iron and to eat lots of fruits, vegetables, and red meat. Especially strawberries, broccoli, and beef.

Reblogging to HELP OTHER WOMEN!!! I may not need this information right now, but somebody else might. SPREAD THIS! We as women need to know more about our bodies and what they go through. Worth the read to increase knowledge.

Basically what I didn’t have in periods for nine months I made up for for a few weeks after giving birth. Took my week old son for a nice walk and broke loose a small clot which I knew could happen but I figured wouldn’t pass.

Oh and peri bottles are your best friend and dont laugh at those massive pads and ice packs the hospital gives you, throw a few witch hazel pads on them, pull up your undies, relax and youre good to go.

Reblogging because I had no idea about most of this. Omfg…

Padsicles, bitches (witch hazel and Aloe Vera on a pad and you FREEZE IT!!!!!) And don’t wipe, pat!

I didn’t know most of this stuff until I was actually pregnant. Sigh.

Yes to all of this. Women are often unaware of what happens to their body during postpartum and puerperium and it could either end up with getting scared of the completely physiological stuff that goes on (like bleeding, expelling clots, having cramps while breastfeeding due to the increasing level of oxytocin etc.) or underestimating what cannot be considered physiological (like massive bleeding, smelly secretions, unbearable pain in the stitches area than could mean you are developing an hematoma, having high temperature etc.). Too many times doctors and nurses presume women know this stuff, when they actually don't and proceed to make fun of them, when most people don't know about what really happens after giving birth due to misinformation and a general tendency to focus mostly on pregnancy and birth and not so much on puerperium, which is actually one of the most delicate moments for both the mother and the newborn. I'm a student midwife and just know that my inbox is always open if you have any doubts on pregnancy, birth, puerperium, newborn care and women health. Being informed is the key of having the safest, most satisfying, empowering birth experience, so we need to share this as much as possible.

An anti: Louis hates Harry Louis: So excited for Harry so proud of him Harry’s great he’s so talented he-

‘It’s like you’re all family now.’

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/robintwist

Dear Fate,

I need something good to happen to their families.

Thank you

Jay and Robin, never forgotten, always remembered. You will live forever in our hearts.

23 days of Harry (donate) ↳ day 4: Harry + Robin

@ the world not to make any demands but if you would be so kind i’d just like harry, louis and their families to have even an inkling of the compassion they’ve given others returned

Please remember to be kind and spread love 💚

With each of the boys captions and respects to Robin, it just shows how very loved he was and always will be, he was a good man all around and clearly made people feel loved and important. They each say how funny and kind he was and those are such brilliant ways to be remembered 💔 rip Robin

so, the weather?

Liam on his son (via ourheroictommo)

troubadour setlist

beausloane24: Seeing Harry Styles at the Troubadour and he surprises the crowd by bringing out STEVIE NICKS… I’m completely speechless