Bumps and Babies with Ruth

Baroness Amos’s review described maternity triage as basically becoming the A&E of pregnancy - it’s where the earliest warning signs are supposed to get caught. And right now, it’s not consistently working. The report’s calling for dedicated staffing, faster access to senior clinicians, and a proper national standard for how triage calls get handled.
Here’s the thing though: until that change actually happens, you’re often relying on how clearly you can describe what’s wrong, at 2am, while exhausted and scared, to someone you’ve never met.
That’s a genuinely hard thing to do well under pressure. And it’s not your job to know how to do it - it’s mine.
🥰 How I can help: in our antenatal sessions we go through exactly this - what’s worth calling about, how to describe symptoms so they’re taken seriously straight away, and what to say if you feel like you’re being brushed off. If you call triage during labour or postnatally, I can also be on the other end of the phone with you, helping you find the words in the moment.

A day on the Thames with these four 🚤
I remember being knee-deep in nappies and mashed food, running on no sleep, doing the homework battles, the A&E trips, the friend dramas, the love dramas, the lost things and missed flights and all the moments in between where I genuinely wondered if I’d ever come up for air.
I’m here to tell you…. you will!
Those years feel endless while you’re in them. They are not. And when you reach the other side and look at the people your babies are becoming… the pride is something no one can really prepare you for.
It’s not loud or flashy. It just sits in your chest, quietly enormous.
To every mum in the thick of it right now, keep going. The relentless, thankless seasons don’t last. The light at the end of the tunnel is real, and it is so worth it. 🤍

🌡️ To every pregnant woman in London right now: you are not imagining it. It IS hotter than the surface of the sun.
You’re already growing an entire human being which raises your core body temperature all on its own and now the Met Office has slapped a Red Extreme Heat Warning on us with temperatures hitting 37–39°C this week. Humid. Record-breaking. Oppressive. With a bump.
I see you. I salute you. 🫡
Here’s the thing nobody puts on the pregnancy app: you are genuinely more vulnerable to heat than non-pregnant people. Your blood volume has increased, your hormones are having a party, and your body is working overtime. The NHS, Tommy’s, and NCT all flag that dehydration in pregnancy can trigger contractions, and that heat exhaustion if not treated within 30 minutes can become heatstroke, which is a medical emergency. This is not the week to push through and be a hero.
So let’s keep you cool, safe, and sane.

You’ve absolutely got this. But please, please rest, drink water, and don’t feel guilty about the air-conditioned supermarket lap you’re about to do. 🛒❄️
💬 Drop a 🥵 below if you’re suffering, and share this with any pregnant friend who needs it right now.