Health and beauty



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Mother and baby


25/ 7/2005

Home from hospital with baby tucked under one arm and a battery of guidebooks under the other, you may feel a sense of trepidation about the days of nappy-wrangling ahead.

But don’t be too down hearted. You’re among brilliant, diverse company in Manchester and as the routine of life with a new baby ebbs in, you can’t help but find like-minded friends to spend the months ahead with.

Dining, going to cafes, working out and long walks are all possible when Junior has yet to discover boredom, and a fun way to get out and get a bit fit at the start is through Aqua Natal classes.

Run by the NHS’s Community Midwife teams across the city, these are aerobic sessions in shallow water for new mums and mums-to-be. They tend to be more fun than exercise (although you’ll learn a few safe excercises on the way).

T-shirts and shorts are acceptable if you’re feeling demure and babies are welcome to watch Mum working out from the pool side - to find your nearest one, contact your local swimming baths or doctor’s surgery.

If you’re really into getting fit and regaining control of your wayward pelvic floor, post-natal power walking is an admirable and effective pursuit. You can do this on your own with a pram, start your own walking club or join a proper power-walking group.

Chorlton Water Park’s (Maitland Avenue, 0161 881 5639) has a fine, pram friendly surface, whilst Longford (Longford Road, Chorlton) and Wythenshawe Parks (Altrincham Road, Sale, 0161 998 2117), with their animal collections, and the epic Heaton Park (Middleton Road, Prestwich, 0161 773 1085) all make great destinations. For your nearest park see www.manchester.gov.uk/leisure/parks/

Baby massage is another good option at this age. You’ll meet other parents, get a free cup of tea and a biscuit if your lucky, and little one gets some TLC in the bargain.

Mums can attend theses classes from when baby is about a month old, and in a warm, darkened room on gym mats, an instructor will show you how to give him a relaxing, and allegedly colic-curing massage.

Again, ask your doctor or health visitor for venues – and see ‘Complimentary Medicine for Children’ section for more venues.

As junior gets bigger and starts trying to communicate with you and the furniture, you could see if he enjoys meeting other babies.

The best way to find out about playgroups is through other mums but many churches give over their innards to little ones once a week, as do some community and leisure centres.

Ask your health visitor or call the City Council’s Children’s Information Service for a comprehensive list (The Alexandra Centre, Adscombe Street, Moss Side. M16, 0800 083 7921, cisinfo@manchester.gov.uk).

The National Childbirth Trust (www.nct.org.uk, 08709 908040) may also run a group near you, and they can also give you information about baby signing.


The practise of teaching young ones how to communicate before they can properly talk through sign language is thought to relieve baby frustration and increase intelligence as well as being a great way to spend time together.
See www.britishsignlanguage.com for more details. Tiny Talk also www.tinytalk.co.uk have some classes in the region.

For some reason giving birth seems to spawn environmental concern and as you toss yet another disposable nappy in the direction of the bin, where that nappy is going to end up can start to freak you out.

Fortunately Manchester and Trafford Council’s are offering a months free trial of Cotton Tail’s Nappy laundry service – they’ll provide you with everything you need for a month of baby bottom protection and then you have the option to drop out if you don’t like it. Visit the nappy provider Cottontails www.cottontails.co.uk for more details, or contact Fiona Maddocks,

Waste Minimisation Officer at the Council for an application form on 0161 953 2421. For statistics and costing calculations visit the Women’s Environmental Network at www.wen.org.uk/nappies

Biodegradable nappies are another fine idea for the more ethical parent. Unicorn Grocery (www.unicorn-grocery.co.uk, Unicorn Grocery, 89 Albany Road, Chorlton M21 ) and Daisy and Tom (www.daisyandtom.com, 118 Deansgate, City Centre. M3) stock the excellent Moltex and larger Boots stores stock the less effective, but still reasonable Tushies brand.

BREAST FEEDING WORKSHOPS
If you’re breastfeeding, you may like to meet other mum’s who are doing the same. St Mary’s Hospital (Hathersage Road, M13) have a breast-feeding helpline (0161 276 8910) and hold a clinic at the on Monday afternoons. There’s also a relaxed and social Baby Caf' with free refreshments for breastfeeding and pregnant women, 9.30am – 11.30am on Thursdays at Alexandra Play Centre in Alexandra Park (Alexandra Road South, Whalley Range).

COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE FOR CHILDREN
Children’s behaviour, diet and health are so finely woven together that sometimes, little ones respond better to the ‘whole person’ approach of complementary medicine than the five minutes that your GP has to spare in his hectic schedule. Skin, sleep and eating complaints are thought to react particularly well to treatments like acupressure, reflexology and herbal medicine whilst the almost imperceptible doses used in homeopathic medicines are so gentle they can be used on teething or colicky babies.

Beijing Clinic
www.beijingclinic.co.uk
119, Beech Rd, Chorlton M21
Tel: 0161 860 6650
Offers a range of Chinese treatments for parents and children. They use the gentle, non-invasive acupressure on young children, in combination with herbal medicines and have had success in treating ailments like eczema, asthma and low immunity, as well as less specific problems like not eating or sleeping, and moodiness. Initial consultation is £10 and further treatments can cost anything from £5 –£30. This is a friendly, professional clinic, used to dealing with children.
Services include: CHINESE MEDICINE, ACUPRESSURE, ACUPUNCTURE

Kath Locke Centre
www.kathlocke.org.uk
123 Moss Lane East, Hulme, M15
Tel: 0161 455 0211
Just near Asda, the Kath Locke Centre is a friendly and relaxed place, with a range of health services and a fine, West Indian influenced caf'. Drop in or call up for an application for their reduced cost children’s homeopathy clinics, run by the north West College of Homeopathy. Contact sessions cost £10, with further appointments £5 including medicines. On Wednesdays at 1.30pm during term time they run a well attended baby massage class which is free. And if things are getting a bit much, they’ve also got a free counselling service. Drop in or call up and put your name down and don’t be scared - the staff’s moody façade is just that and they’re quite nice underneath it all.
Services include: BABY MASSAGE, HOMEOPATHY FOR CHILDREN, COUNSELLING

Manchester Homeopathic Clinic
www.manchesterhomoeopathic.co.uk
Brunswick St, Rusholme M13
Tel: 0161 273 2446
All practitioners at this clinic are also medically qualified doctors, making this a particularly good bet if you want to try an alternative treatment on junior, but would still like the security of orthodox medicine behind the diagnosis. This peace of mind however is not cheap. Initial consultations are £50 for 60 minutes, later visits cost £17 and they don’t offer any reductions. You can be referred through your GP who’ll apply for a Primary Health Care Trust grant to pay for your visit, but applications aren’t always successful. No drop-ins, appointments essential.
Services include: HOMEOPATHY

Osteopathic Centre for Children
www.occ.uk.com
Phoenix Mill, Piercy St, Ancoats, M4
Tel: 0161 277 9911
This is a gentle, bone manipulating technique, useful in treating everything from cerebal palsy and epilepsy, to sinusitis, baby colic and sleeplessness. Osteopathy and cranial osteopathy which focuses on the head and neck is not invasive, thus perfectly suited to children. This clinic is aimed at children, and they’ve designed their airy communal treatment spaces with little ones in mind. Also suitable for pregnant women, osteopathy is thought to help relieve symptoms like nausea, back ache and fatigue. A 50 minute initial consultation is usually followed by several shorter sessions. Prices vary, appointments essential.
Services include: OSTEOPATHY, CRANIAL OSTEOPATHY

R3 Holistic Therapies
www.R3holitictherapies.co.uk
22, Oldham St, City Centre M1
Tel: 0161 228 6698

This cosy little therapy centre is in the Northern Quarter, making it a good destination for bus-using Mums. They recommend reflexology, a treatment involving foot massage and manipulation as a general treatment for children and pregnant women. Thought to be effective at combating stress, behavioural and digestive disorders, it’s not intrusive and very relaxing. Given that they provide over 20 different therapies on site, initial consultation is free, and treatment prices vary.
Services include: RELFEXOLOGY, VARIOUS

Shizhan House
67 Ayres Rd, Old Trafford, M16
Tel: 0161 342 0088
This is a Chinese medicine centre, specialising in acupuncture and herbal medicine. In children, treatment is recommended for fever, skin problems, eating difficulties or just ‘off colour’ kids. Consultation is free, but they charge for medicines. Prices vary.
Services include: CHINESE MEDICINE, ACUPUNCTURE

Neals Yard Remedies
www.nealsyardremedies.com
St. James House, John Dalton St, City Centre, M2
Tel: 0161 835 1713
Like something from another era inside, the shop resembles a gorgeous, old fashioned apothecary. The informed staff are not authorised the prescribe any treatments, but you can leaf through the various reference tomes available to see if any herbal, homeopathic or aromatheraputic remedies might be suitable for whatever is ailing you or your kin. Helpfully, they also hold lists of all the registered homeopaths and herbalists in the area and will give you access to this information free of charge.
Services include: AROMATHERAPY, HERBAL MEDICINE, VARIOUS

Wilbraham Homeopathic Clinic and North West College of Homoeopathy
www.nwch.co.uk
23 Wilbraham Rd, City Centre, M14
Tel: 0161 257 2445
Infantile colic and teething, asthma, ear infections, skin problems and behavioural disorders are particularly responsive to homeopathy as this discipline treats the whole person. The practitioners associated with this clinic don’t have to be medical doctors, but all have or are undergoing training in the attached clinic, which means that they are able to offer reduced rates. £30 for initial consultation, £15 for further ones. There’s a popular drop in Fridays 7pm-8.30pm for ‘short –term’ ailments. Children are welcome, £5 per treatment.
Services include: HOMEOPATHY


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