• Sep
    1

    Be warned this is from ages ago but i just noticed i never scanned the original article in for you guys to see and i was checking out the Bristol Evening Post’s website and found this article they wrote on us last year.

    Daughter's birth inspired Little Stoke  mum to set up clothing business

    By Ekoch Emily Koch E.Koch

    After the traumatic birth of her daughter, Liz Jeans decided if she could make it through that she could do anything.

    Baby Amelia was not breathing when she was born and had to be resuscitated, and Liz’s blood pressure was so high doctors feared she might have a stroke.

    Four years later, 35-year-old Liz has given up her day job and set up her own internet-based clothing business.

    Mama Feels Good sells a range of fashionable t-shirts for mums-to-be and breastfeeding women.

    Liz, who runs her business from her home in Little Stoke, has been building the business up over the past four years and finally gave up her job as a biomedical scientist at Southmead Hospital a few weeks ago to concentrate on Mama Feels Good full-time.

    The Mama Feels Good T-shirts, featuring specially created designs, are sized especially for pregnant women, and the breastfeeding range make it easier for new mums to breastfeed their baby discreetly and comfortably.

    She said: “There are a lot of people saying it is a bad time for business, with the recession, but I haven’t been put off. It has really taken off so it seemed like the right time to put some more hours into it. We launched the website a few months ago and we have been making lots of sales – to people in this country, the US, Australia. And now people from Poland and Canada as well are contacting me wanting to stock the T-shirts in their shops. It’s fantastic.”

    She said the inspiration for the business came when Amelia, now four, was born.

    Liz said: “Her birth was so awful that I felt like getting through that was a big achievement. I thought if I could go through something like that, I could go through anything. After she was born I started selling American maternity wear online in the UK, but then I thought I would like to sell clothes that I really liked.

    “I also found that the maternity clothing market in this country was not very good, the clothes I got didn’t look very nice and fell apart. I wanted to buy clothes that I really wanted, not clothes that were my only option.

    “Mum made up a T-shirt for me and I got it printed – and everyone said how much they liked it. It all went from there! Now we are selling at least 200 T-shirts a month. I get letters from mums saying the T-shirts have changed their life because they can go out and feel good about what they are wearing for a change.”

    The idea for the name came from her husband, Matthew.

    Liz said: “I was getting really frustrated coming up with a name and he said, well what do you want the business to stand for? I said – I just want mums to feel good – and we had it.”

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  • Aug
    30

    I spotted today this article on the Guardian website today about Hooter Hiders , they are breastfeeding covers for nursing your baby in public ( BTW thanks to the lady who posted a comment recomending our breastfeeding tops :)  ) .

    I just don’t get why they would be such a big issue about them? OK so if i am being honest they are not my cup of tea, and i know i am one of the most forgetful people never so i would go out and forget them but hey if ladies want to wear them then just wear them, anything which makes your breastfeeding experience better can only be a good thing? There is SO much pressure on ladies on how they should be feeding their babies ie breast Vs bottle i don’t think we need extra stress about what we wear whilst we do it.

    Ok i sell nursing tops so you could say i am biased but i created Mama Feelsgood to provide an option for women who want a choice of maternity wear / nursing wear i’m not saying you Got to wear them, breastfeeding tops are like chocolate, you can live without it but it makes your life that little bit better ( ha ha well i suppose that depends upon if you like chocolate or not!).

    i don’t know if it is the culture we live in here in the UK but people love to judge others and give their options, maybe it’s because shows such as the X Factor are popular where basically they have celebrities passing judgement on others we think it;s acceptable to do this in everyday life. If a lady likes to / feels more comfortable wearing a Hooter Hider or breastfeeding top then whats the problem?

    What do you think?

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  • Jul
    24

    We are super pleased to say Pregnancy & Birth magazine have featured our Island nursing top in the August edition of their magazine. It was in a review of the best nursing tops around and our breast feeding top got a Pregnancy & Birth love woo hoo, ie it was one of their favourites out of the 8 tops. I will scan the article in but if you want to check it out it is on page 90 of this current edition.

    So they running a competition where they are giving away everything featured in the magazine ( well not sure if absolutely everything but loads of stuff) so why not enter, you can win tons of stuff for you and your baby and of course could pick up a Mama Feelsgood nursing shirt :)

    Check out our Nursing Top page 90 !

    Happy days!

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  • Jul
    14

    I always knew Bristol was lush ! As you know we are based in lovely Bristol, a truly lovely part of the south west and it was on our regional news yesterday that Bristol has been deemed the most friendly baby city in the UK.

    UNICEF has awarded this and it take quite a few factors into consideration, from the ante-natal care through to birth and after baby is born, through to breastfeeding help and advice.

    NHS Bristol is the first PCT to gain the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative 

    community accreditation. This is a city-wide staged approach to achieving 

    best practice in supporting breastfeeding mothers.  

    NHS Bristol joins both city maternity units in gaining the coveted Baby 

    Friendly Award – presented to health care facilities which have implemented 

    globally recognised standards for infant feeding – making Bristol the first Baby 

    Friendly city in the country. 

    The award means that mothers in the city are now being cared for by NHS 

    staff trained to deliver best practice standards from the beginning of 

    pregnancy, through birth and into the postnatal period. 

    With less than 2% of babies being exclusively breastfed at six months, 

    breastfeeding rates in the UK are amongst the lowest in the developed world.  

    Evidence shows that breastfeeding is by far the best way to feed a baby, 

    giving protection against many illnesses for both mother and baby. 

    Implementing the Baby Friendly standards has been proven to increase 

    breastfeeding rates. Since the start of the project, breastfeeding rates in 

    Bristol have risen and more mothers are breastfeeding for longer.  

    Dr Hugh Annett, Bristol’s director of public health said: “This is fantastic news 

    for Bristol. It demonstrates the hard work going on in the NHS and with other 

    agencies in the city to promote breast feeding. 

    “We decided to join forces with UNICEF UK’s Baby Friendly Initiative to 

    increase breastfeeding rates and to improve care for all mothers. 

    “Breastfeeding protects babies against a wide range of serious illnesses 

    including gastroenteritis and respiratory infections in infancy, as well as 

    allergies, diabetes and obesity in childhood. We also know that breastfeeding 

    reduces the mother’s risk of some cancers, as well as being cheaper and 

    often easier than bottle-feeding.”  

    To achieve this award, NHS Bristol has worked closely with the health visiting 

    service through the North Bristol Trust Child Health Partnership, Bristol City 

    Council, the maternity services, Barnardos and voluntary breastfeeding 

    organisations. 

    Other support for Bristol’s breastfeeding mothers includes: 

    • A network of volunteer peer supporters who can support mums  

    • Breastfeeding support groups where mothers can meet  each other  

    and gain help and support 

    • A ‘breastfeeding welcome’ scheme where cafes/restaurants and 

    other premises sign up to say they welcome breastfeeding mothers. 

    • A paid peer support scheme for mothers in 12 wards of the city with 

    the lowest breastfeeding rates (beginning in the summer)  

    • A scheme to promote breast feeding to teenage mothers (beginning 

    in the summer) 

    Sue Ashmore, UNICEF UK Baby Friendly director, added: “This is a 

    momentous development for mothers and their babies – and for breastfeeding. 

    Consistently good care around infant feeding from the beginning of pregnancy 

    onwards should be something every woman can expect. Unfortunately this is 

    often not the case. 

    “But at last Bristol has shown it can be done. NHS Bristol has become the first 

    PCT in the country to gain Baby Friendly accreditation and joins both city 

    hospital maternity units, at St Michael’s Hospital and Southmead Hospital, in 

    implementing evidence based best practice around infant feeding.  

    “Bristol has worked incredibly hard to achieve this award ensuring that 

    mothers and babies will be getting the care they deserve throughout the city, 

    antenatally and postnatally.  We hope this news inspires the many other PCTs 

    and hospitals currently working towards Baby Friendly status – it really can be 

    done.”

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  • Jun
    27

    OMG this heat we have been having has zapped me and i am not even pregnant (well not anymore , had Erin 11 weeks ago) so i can’t even imagine what it must be like to go to Glastonbury Festival when you are about to give birth literally…..

    This article on Netmums recalls how a heavily pregnant mum went to the Glastonbury festival and went into labour there , went to local hospital the same day, had a baby boy and the next day went back to the festival….

    I quote from netmums ” First-time mother Victoria Iremonger, 30, realised she was about to go into labour when she arrived at the festival site in Somerset on Wednesday.

    She went to the Glastonbury medical tent where doctors confirmed that her waters had broken and she was ready to give birth.

    Ms Iremonger wanted to have her baby at the festival site but medics insisted that an ambulance was called and she was taken to nearby Yeovil Hospital.

    She eventually gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Reuben, at 7.30pm on Thursday and then returned to the festival the next day.

    Ms Iremonger, from Boston in Lincolnshire, said giving birth to her first child at Glastonbury was ‘amazing’.

    Read more: http://www.netmums.com/coffeehouse/showthread.php?p=4677635?utm_medium=twitter#ixzz0s5OOpCEy 
    Netmums – the local parenting network “

     

    OMG have you seen the toilet at Glastonbury….. there is noway i would want to have my baby there. I know we are all different, wish i could have had my baby like that (not at Glastonbury) and got on with things, beats being in hospital for 3 days (had c section) , but man have  a baby at a music festival, i’m sure a lot are conceived there but not born.

    Wish new mum and baby all the best, he is bound to grow up to be a true rocker :)

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  • Jun
    18

    Maybe you did or didn’t know but it;s breastfeeding awareness week next week and lots of local NCT groups and other breastfeeding orgaisations have things in store to celebrate this.

    Since  1993,  the National Breastfeeding Awareness Week (NBAW) has been run annually by the Department of Health as a key event for  promoting  breastfeeding.  The  main  aim  of the campaign is to raise  awareness of the health benefits of breastfeeding, increase  social  acceptance  of  breastfeeding  and  promote  support  for  breastfeeding. 

    Berkshire NCT class are running a pass the parcel game to celebrate and Mama Feelsgood is going to donate a top to this , also bosom buddies the mid essex breastfeeding support group are having a raffle and we have donated a nursing top to this , so if you are in either of  these areas go check the groups out and see what ‘s going on, would be cool to meet other mums and make friends. Making friends at such a special time in your and your babies life can often result in friends for life.

     

    Let us know what is going on in your local are for breastfeeding awareness week and we will spread the word :)

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  • May
    5

    Hi guys 

    well who would have thought a volcano in Iceland could have caused so much trouble!

    Just a little heads up to all our foreign and Northern Ireland customers that there maybe the possibility of a delay in your nursing tops being delivered. We always use 1st class post but due to the grounding of the planes to some foreign countries and Northern Ireland there maybe a little back log in the postal deliveries. So when ordering if you could keep this in mind that would be fab :)

     

    Hopefully soon things will be back to normal, 

     

    Best wishes Liz

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  • Dec
    4

    A GROUP of women have been commended for completing a unique training course in how to help other mothers with breastfeeding.

    The pilot scheme has been set up by health bosses as part of a drive to get parents to help each other with difficulties and problems with feeding, and to emphasise that “breast is best” for young babies’ diets.

    According to NHS statistics, 43 per cent of mothers in west Essex breastfeed at six to eight weeks of their child’s birth, which is below the national average of 48 per cent.

    The volunteers all took part in a 12-week course at the Abbeywood and Hazelwood Children’s Centres in Waltham Abbey, spending three hours a week learning how to become a “breastfeeding buddy” and how best to promote the practice in the local area.

    Graduates of the course celebrated with a party earlier this week, featuring a cake in the shape of a pair of breasts supplied by Andersons bakery in Epping High Street.

    Teresa Morgan, of NHS West Essex, which organised the course along with the children’s centres and the Breastfeeding Network group, congratulated the women for their hard work.

    She added: “We hope this new initiative can go from strength to strength.”

    Course trainer Jane Neesam said: “I hope more Waltham Abbey mothers will breastfeed with the support they need to maintain it for longer.

    “It provides long lasting benefits for babies and mums themselves.”

    For more information on breastfeeding support in west Essex call Jo Eley on 01279 698625 or Philippa Hyams on 0208 522 3217.

     

    Article from here

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  • Nov
    12

    Congratulations to Claire Nasir who gave birth to a baby girl yesterday. Claire who is the weather presenter on GMTV had had a her own fair share of problems trying to conceive her baby must be over the moon with her new arrival.

    As yet no name or details ie weight have been released, just a press release on Twitter from ITv :)

    Will keep you updated, but good to know mother and baby are doing well.

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  • Nov
    11

    All Maclaren single and double umbrella buggies, including the popular Volo and Techno models, were voluntarily recalled in the US.

    The British firm, which claims to produce “the world’s most safe” pushchairs stressed that the UK is not affected.

    Parents in America have been advised to stop using them immediately by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

    Maclaren said customers should contact the company for a free set of hinge covers which resolve the problem.

    There have been 15 cases of children placing their finger in the hinges “resulting in 12 reports of fingertip amputations”, a joint statement from the firm and the CPSC said.

    A Maclaren spokesman added: “Consistent with our unwavering commitment to child safety we are providing US consumers notice of a voluntary recall of all Maclaren umbrella strollers sold in the US.

     

    In co-operation with the US CPSC, we are providing free of charge to all affected consumers and retailers a kit to cover the stroller’s hinge mechanism, which poses a fingertip amputation and laceration hazard to the child when the consumer is unfolding/opening the stroller.

    “The voluntary recall is to alert the operator when opening or closing the stroller of the possible risk of injury.

    “Safety is our first priority and through this voluntary effort we urge consumers to contact us immediately to obtain the kit which consists of hinge covers designed specifically to fit all Maclaren strollers.”

    Maclaren told Sky News the recall does not apply to umbrella buggies sold in the UK because “there are a lower number of similar reported incidents amongst the considerably higher number of Maclaren buggies sold in Europe annually relative to the US market”.

    However, as a precaution, the company will put additional warning labels on their pushchairs and in instruction manuals.

    The company also highlighted that the definition of “recall” is different in the US and can include all types of corrective action such as the “modification of products at consumers’ homes”.

    Maclaren USA is not recalling products from parents for replacement or refund.

    The recalled models include the Volo, Triumph, Quest Sport, Quest Mod, Techno XT, Techno XLR, Twin Triumph, Twin Techno and Easy Traveller.

    This was taken from Sky news.com 

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