mumof3girlies

My eldest daughter was in the same position as your little one when potty training - about 2 years 4 months old, when her little sister came along, because of this I just kept her in nappies as she had shown really very little interest in potty training before this, I secretly used to think 'I don't think she's ever going to get it...', but lo and behold at 2 years 5 months a month after her sister was born she got up one morning and said 'don't want a nappy today' and that was the last nappy she ever wore in the daytime. She had a few accidents, literally maybe 4 or 5 but it was pretty painless, I just got used to having a pair of pants and trousers in my bag at all times! I think if you just wait until they let you know they're ready it just clicks and turns out much easier for you too. I think once toddlers sense there is any tension around the issue they start getting tense about the toilet too, although I know its hard especially with your first and everybody else telling you their child is younger and already potty trained, but don't compare, like bluebrick said all children are so different - my second insisted on coming out of nappies day and night at bang on 2 - desperate to be like her big sis! Best wishes and congrats on arrival of number two!:)

More info here about the report and Alison Mcafarlane - the statistician who reviewed the report that Kings have supplied to the Albany Midwives. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/

I did not personally say the term HIE is being phased out, but the author of the counter report that analysed Kings' original report claiming the Midwives had a higher than average rate of HIE. I am in no doubt, that Frederick Still Ward is a world standard centre of excellence. =Ann wrote: Why do people think Albany have been selected for special treatment?] Maybe because they have a 14.9% caesarean rate compared to 24% rate at Kings College, an 80% breastfeeding rate at 28 days (35% at 7 days at Kings) and a 4.9/1000 per live births infant mortality rate (Kings 7.9/1000). Interestingly Leonie Penna made a speech at the Albany Anniversary party (just 2 years ago) commending their excellent practice and that if she ever had a baby she would want them as her midwives, she seemed to be quite happy with their ethos and model of working then - remember that Kings have also stated in the past month that The Albany 'don't follow the rules'. Also if you google Leoni Penna you will find her quoting the Albany and their low caesarean rate. Lets not put a slur on these midwives practice as let us be reminded that they are all still registered on the NMC register and have been investigated and cleared by the NMC. I sure Ann if anybody brought into question your midwifery practice you would be devastated... Ann - are you implying that because Kings prohibits Independant Midwives in particular Caroline Flint that they are unsafe or negligent in their practice? Obviously I cannot speak for all Independant Midwives, but I am certainly sure that Caroline Flint has no claims of malpractice against her.

I thought I would post some information about HIE, as Kings has decided to post their figures on HIE on their website. HIE stands for Hypoxic ischaemic(or sometimes induced) encephalopathy, as a health professional(and a former Midwife) working within maternity services I have had experience of babies suffering from this condition. HIE is now being phased out as a medical term, largely because it is very difficult to diagnose, it is diagnosed by existence of factors varying from seizures, abnormalities in breathing, difficulty in feeding and lack of tone or reflexes. In developing countries with adequate maternity care the rate remains static at about 4/1000 live births, what is most interesting is that elective caesarean section does not change the incidence, which indicates that it is rarely caused by negligence during the labour and delivery period. The BMJ (Dec 1998) in a large study of babies with HIE states 'For many years it was accepted that fetal asphyxia (loss of oxygen) during labour was the major cause of neonatal encephalopathy, however the evidence for this is surprisingly thin'. Therefore if Kings is implying that because of negligent care during labour the Albany Midwives are responsible for babies with HIE, this is not medically possible. Firstly nobody has actually seen the figures of these apparent babies affected by HIE, they may have been diagnosed with very mild HIE i.e. problems with feeding or poor tone, not uncommon problems in the neonatal period. Secondly, an independant statistician who reviewed the report that Kings produced actually questioned the methodology of the report, most importantly that such a small group of cases were studied (under 40) and that there was no control group. The statistician stated that it was impossible to draw a scientific conclusion from the data supplied. Kings have chosen to put these figures on their website because they feel they need to justify their appalling treatment and management of skilled midwives, however the facts and figures just don't add up, and hopefully over time and with more and more media coverage (BBC London News and Channel 4 covered our campaign today) Kings will have to publish the report and then it will be ripped to shreds by the scientific community. I honestly have no idea why Kings College Hospital have chosen to behave in this way, but it is nothing new; the vilification of Midwives and Doctors who assist women in having choice and achieving natural and intervention free birth: Wendy Savage in the 1980's and Caroline Flint in the 1990's both practitioners completely exonerated of any negligence and went on the continue in their practice. Wendy Savage retired in the early 2000s after sitting on the General Medical Council and Caroline Flint continues to practice in her highly successful birth centre in South London. The truth will out...

It is a very fair point Aloha and very salient, but I would say historically, it always tends to be the middle class women who do the shouting and fighting for causes where women are being disadvantaged. Fuschia is absolutely right Albany do serve a really broad section of the community and all ethnic groups and backgrounds are all equally represented. We are seeking to balance our campaign with more representation from other groups of women. Thank you for your support. Thank you Molly for your support too.

I just want to respond to some recent posts - firstly WE ALL want to see an objective report about this 'Albany stuff' The Albany are being honest, open and have presented all their statistics and figures for perusal and analysis, however it is KINGS that have not done this - where were they in the media yesterday? they were asked but declined, I know this because I participated in the radio and television input. Kings have forbidden the Albany Midwives to share the results of their 'report' on the grounds of confidentiality, which is convenient, however the report is anything but scientific, anybody with an ounce of knowledge about research knows that you need to use a cohort of a large number of women for it to be scientifically significant, i.e. at least 500-1000. I understand they used a selected number of approximately 30 women having babies with the Albany. A statistician who analysed the report questioned the sources of the figures presented and stated that it was impossible to draw any reasonable conclusions from the figures and facts presented. Until Kings present PUBLICLY their 'evidence' about the Albany's practice, it is impossible for there to be a truly fair discussion and debate about the situation. In the meantime all I can say is that I had all 3 of my babies with the Albany, and they were excellent every time, they were safe, professional, kind and compassionate, at no point did I feel that they took risks or were cavalier in their midwifery practice, I feel that I am able to comment on this as I used to be a midwife. Furthermore, although I never worked at Kings, but sadly in every hospital mistakes are made and babies are put at risk - I am not excusing this but illustrating that hospital is not always a completely safe place to have a baby. Finally, sadly it is a tragic fact that even in a developed country it is impossible to have 0% mortality rate of babies, all that can be done is strive to maintain the mortality rate at an exceptionally low rate - 4.8 per 1000 like the Albany compared to 11 per 1000 in the borough of Southwark. I just wanted to finish with the point that I have read nothing but positive reports of women who have had their babies with the Albany, however I have lost count of posts and reports of women who experienced horrific/shambolic/uncaring treatment in Kings. To mirror what power_parent said the organisation with the higher perinatal mortality rate should be closed down, not the Albany.

Just to let you all know there will be a piece about the ongoing campaign to support the Albany Midwifery practice, it will be on BBC LONDON NEWS on BBC 1 at 13.30 and 18.30 today, some mothers who have had positive experiences with the Albany and their take on why and what is happening to the Albany. Please Watch and please sign the petition, this really can't happen to such an excellent midwifery service.

I was walking through peckham rye park towards Harris girls academy on Monday, when I came across two teenage boys matching Daizie's description and I felt extremely uncomfortable, I looked around for other people in the park and thankfully saw a man walking his dog. The two boys were acting suspicious as if they were about to do something and were not in school at 10.15 - always rings alarm bells for me after I was mugged by a group of 15 year olds whilst at work in Elephant and Castle, they were out of school mid morning too. I agree with other posts that this is not high jinx, I think it is highly concerning, I recall a talk we received as young students from the met. police, who stated that indecent exposure is the possible first rung on the ladder of a sexually deviant criminal career.

I say hear hear to Huggers post, although Keston Road is actually 2 streets away from being an SE22 postcode...