You judge a society by how it treats its most vulnerable citizens, and once again it seems we are failing. We’re one of the richest, happiest and most advanced countries in the world but we can not get care - of our children, our elderly, our sick or our people with disabilities - right. We leave [...]
We live in an age of unprecedented equality between parents, but, almost three years in, I can confirm that it’s news to many people that men can be parents too. Many of my female friends out-earn their husbands and partners. Sometimes, the early rationale for their career decisions included an expectation that the man would take [...]
We’re living in the age of augmentation, when lips, teeth, and breasts are only the tip of the ‘fake it til you make it’ iceberg. These days reality is augmented in every Instagram picture; perfection is entirely achievable with enough patience to capture the right moment, plus the right filters. And it’s turning us all into [...]
Every so often a radio phone-in show opens a Pandora's Box and out pours a hitherto hidden trove of stories that shock the listener. We thought we had heard it all when it came to reproductive healthcare in Ireland after the many shocking stories that led to repeal of the eighth amendment. But all week, call [...]
They say two’s company, and when I was in the throes of SPD with my second pregnancy, that thought went around and around in my head. While some people love being pregnant, I wasn’t one of them, but I knew it would be worth it. As an only child, I consoled myself with the knowledge that [...]
A bit like Batman watching Gotham city, I spent much of September observing the movements of boats and planes around Cork Harbour. Batman might be nocturnal, but if they’d given the job to Catwoman she’d have worked it around pregnancy and new motherhood no problem - being awake night and day is part of the deal. [...]
New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern gave birth yesterday to a beautiful baby girl. Mother, baby, and soon to be stay-at-home Dad are reportedly all doing well. She will take six weeks’ maternity leave, and her husband will take over childcare duties after that. The overwhelming reaction online was ‘Woman gives birth. So what?’. But it’s [...]
Sometimes I wonder if I’m living in a parallel universe and everyone else has it completely sorted except me. Because, you see, I must be one of the only people in the world who did not know you should wash and disinfect your toothbrush holder every three days. Apparently, all of you are washing your towels [...]
Photo: Virginia Thomas It’s National Breastfeeding Week, one of those annual public health campaigns that bypasses you completely unless it impacts you directly. I was all about breastfeeding, when I was pregnant. I did the prep course in my local hospital (in which the nurse told us dads might be able to light the [...]
Happy birthday to my son, Ferdia. It’s been one hell of a year since this little boy burst into the world in rather a rush, kicking and curious and ready for action. https://www.instagram.com/p/BZEw7MqB6Sn/?taken-by=deshocks My beautiful blond boy has turned me into the kind of mother I always laughed at. My husband says he knew almost [...]
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