Rebecca Lancaster

3 weeks ago | motherandbaby.com | Rebecca Lancaster

It's natural to worry about being poorly when you're pregnant and how that might affect your baby. And if there's one infection that's likely to worry you more than others, it's scarlet fever. This contagious infection generally affects young children so if you have children already and you're pregnant, scarlet fever could be something you're concerned about. So, before we get into what scarlet fever is and what you need to know about scarlet fever in pregnant women, let's set your mind at ease.

1 month ago | motherandbaby.com | Rebecca Lancaster

Babies come with a lot of paperwork - there's birth certificates, GP applications, little red books, and that's before you start applying for nurseries and school. But arguably one of the most important pieces of paperwork you'll ever create when you have children, is a will. If you're like me, it's probably a job you've been putting off. No one likes to think about death but writing a will when you have a child can save everyone a lot of time and money later down the line.

2 months ago | motherandbaby.com | Rebecca Lancaster

A visit to Cadbury World has been on my wish list for a while. I still have fond memories of visiting on a school trip in the 90s and now I have my own chocolate-mad child, it seemed the perfect time to revisit my childhood. And what better time to visit Cadbury World than at Easter?!I may have read all the Cadbury World reviews before deciding to visit but it goes without saying that my 8-year-old needed no persuasion - 'a chocolate factory? yes please!'.

2 months ago | motherandbaby.com | Rebecca Lancaster

As a mum to an 11-year-old and an 8-year-old, you’d expect me to be out of the sleep deprivation years, right? Wrong. My children still like to take it in turns to wake up in the night. Not every night, and not both on the same night, but enough that my body is on high alert for the pitter patter of not so tiny feet. Throw in perimenopausal night sweats and aching joints and it’s no surprise I can barely roll out of bed in the morning, let alone leap.

2 months ago | motherandbaby.com | Rebecca Lancaster

The average age of first time mothers has been rising steadily since the 1970s, and births to women over the age of 40 are now double that of teenagers. Where once pregnancies over 35 would have been termed 'geriatric pregnancies', now more and more women are enjoying healthy and happy pregnancies and birth in their late thirties and forties. But while attitudes are changing, pregnancy and parenting can come with challenges, including lower energy supplies and hormonal shifts.