6 h. ago Like many mothers, I struggled with breastfeeding. Now we know we’re not ‘failures’ | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

A study shows the impact of feeding challenges on maternal mental health. With official help in short supply, it’s time to support each otherAnyone who has struggled mentally knows it is often only with time and recovery that you can challenge the destructive thought patterns that once plagued you. That said, hindsight can also be a strange thing. While collecting Republic of Parenthood columns for a book, I spent time revisiting my old articles about my struggles with breastfeeding. I felt vindicated, as some of the things I wrote have since been confirmed.This week, the largest ever qualitative study on how difficulties with breastfeeding affects mothers’ mental health has been published in Scientific Reports. More than 2,000 mothers were surveyed with 65% reporting difficulties with infant latching, “which seemed to impact mental health”.. Feeling like “a bad mum” and “like I had failed my baby” were some of the common reasons given by participants.Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is a Gua...

Events

9 d. ago Macaulay and Kieran Culkin's family turmoil revealed as ailing mother, 70, struggles financially while brothers rake in millions

Her sons are among the most recognizable actors in show business: Home Alone star Macaulay and recent Oscar-winner Kieran Culkin.

Economics

9 d. ago Macaulay and Kieran Culkin's family turmoil revealed as ailing mother, 70, struggling financially while brothers rake in millions

Her sons are among the most recognizable actors in show business: Home Alone star Macaulay and recent Oscar-winner Kieran Culkin.

Economics

1 week ago ‘Charisma in abundance’: why Just Act Normal is the best showcase for new talent since Adolescence

Incredible newcomers! Chickens! Jamelia! The casting director of Stephen Graham’s Netflix smash hit has done it again with this hilariously bleak, utterly unique series. The cast open upOver the last few years, we have found ourselves inundated with sadcoms. Again and again, we’ve been deluged by ostensible comedies that are so concerned with grief and trauma that the laughs end up feeling like a distant afterthought. Striking the right balance between comedy and drama takes absurd levels of effort and craft at the best of times. Doing it with a premise as bleak as BBC Three’s new series Just Act Normal is almost impossible.My hands are tied with embargos, so I have to be vague about certain plot details, but Just Act Normal is a show about three young siblings who decide to struggle on as normal after their mother – a perennially unreliable woman with substance abuse issues – disappears. Their lives are suddenly spent trying to navigate the complex systems of the adult world while ...

Culture

3 w. ago Ruth Langsford shares update on mum's health after Mother's Day heartbreak

This Morning star Ruth Langsford has shared an update on her mum Joan's health as the 94-year-old remains unwell following a recent health struggle on Mother's Day

Politics

4 w. ago New mums are being ‘strongly encouraged’ to take regular exercise and get more sleep. Don’t make me laugh | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

New guidelines are well intentioned, but as parents of babies know, finding time to look after yourself is impossibleOne of the many things you don’t realise until you have a newborn is just how much people congratulate you simply for leaving the house. “Well done for getting out and about,” they say, with the cheerful camaraderie of People Who Know. Going outside may sound like a low benchmark, but during those early weeks summoning the energy to put on clothes, pack a bag, and then using that narrow window between sleeping, feeding, pooing and screaming to cross the threshold into the world can feel like the grand sum total of all human endeavour. Screw the frescoes of the Scrovegni chapel: Mama made it to Budgens.Which explains my reaction when I read that new guidelines published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine say that new mothers should be strongly encouraged to do at least two hours of moderate to vigorous exercise a week, in addition to “daily pelvic floor muscle t...

Politics

last month 'I'm a shopping expert and these FatFace gifts are perfect for Mother's Day'

If you're struggling for inspiration this Mother's Day, then look no further than British lifestyle brand FatFace, which has a range of gifts that are perfect for the occasion

Economics