Motherhood has always been a difficult job to perform. UAE has mostly relied on the traditional care tips about motherhood previously. However, with the progress of time it has become difficult to maintain all and everything at one time. Well, the problems seems to be solved as, Motherhood consultancy or Institute or groups are now flourishing in UAE.
As the Women’s Institute in Britain was once synonymous with home-made jam and baking, mothers’ groups were usually associated with coffee mornings and play dates. But things in the UAE are changing.
There’s now a plethora of resources, meetings, groups and activities that break away from tradition.
There are luxury retreats for mums-to-be with prenatal yoga, antenatal classes and spa treatments. There are Mountain Buggy fitness classes where mums can entertain their children and get a good workout at the same time.
There are also websites that go beyond talking about struggles to hire maids and references to DH (dear/darling husband).The mother-of-three joined forces with Sofia Berman, of the Sassy Mama Asia sites, to produce local content for a new Dubai version of the brand.In four months, the site has signed up 8,000 mums.
The Sassy Mama websites in Hong Kong and Singapore have attracted more than 62,000 subscribers and receive more than four million site visits a year.The team pride themselves on being contemporary, fun and not-at-all preachy, unlike some other parenting websites can appear to be.Experiencing Dubai as a single person or childless couple is different, Berman says, to when you have a child.One notable absence from the Sassy Mama Dubai website is a forum, usually a staple of any online community expat group.
The website includes sections on shopping, eating, travel, play and learning. There’s also a “Mama” category, with information on books, fitness and beauty. There’s a weekly newsletter and at least two articles going up every day.
Sassy Mama has a team of designers in Hong Kong who create some content specifically for Dubai. There are 18 full-time employees and the site funds itself through advertising and branding tie-ups, company launches or content sharing.
Pregnancy and motherhood is not the same for any two women, though. A 33-year-old Briton spent more than a month taking care of her son, George, who was born prematurely at in Mediclinic City Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Dubai.George was born in May 2013 at just 30 weeks, weighing 1.9 kilograms (4.2 pounds). While he was relatively large for his age, his body was not designed to survive outside the womb and he spent the next five weeks in intensive care, where medical staff kept him alive and free of infection.
Hanson-Halliwell recently organised her first meetup of mothers of premature babies under the umbrella of her Small and Mighty group. The plan is to make the meetings a monthly event, helping to educate new mothers and each other on the journey of raising a premature baby. She also has a website with information about where to source premature baby clothes, specialist help and online tools to help parents cope.
Victoria Keenan, 31, recently set up Birth Zone, another group for mothers-to-be that also aims to offer something out of the ordinary.
Placenta encapsulation is one of the less-well-known services on offer in the Emirates. It involves drying the placenta after birth and putting it into capsules that are taken with water. Studies suggest that it improves breast-milk production and helps to treat postnatal ¬depression.
In 2015, she plans to organise pregnancy retreats to five-star hotels in the UAE that offer educational talks, antenatal classes, spa treatments, and gifts including a birthing ball and yoga mat.
Keenan, mum to Ofelia, 6, and Aria, 3, says that mums are much more knowledgeable when it comes to their pregnancy than they once were.
The time has come when Motherhood will be taken care of seriously by the experts. After all, everyone wants the Mother and Baby to be healthy.
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