Charlie’s Little Angels is now proud to introduce their new logo, website and services. Charlie's Little Angels is the first service of its kind tailored both to the modern woman's maternity needs and to deal with issues arising from staff maternity in business and other organisations.

Charlie's Little Angels pioneers the concept of the qualified Maternity Consultant playing a key caring role for expectant mothers, fathers-to-be and for employers.

Through its range of services, Charlie's Little Angels aims to promote health by a comprehensive approach to maternity care.

The company was created to fill an ever widening gap between the service provided by the NHS and the needs of working women.

We offer three services: Maternity Wellness, Maternity Management and Maternity Lifestyle.

Maternity Wellness is aimed at the individual and will fulfill all your expectations from pre-conception to breastfeeding. You will have your own Maternity Consultant take care of you and your family as often as you need.

Maternity Management: A service uniquely created to facilitate exchange between employer and employee when dealing with maternity issues. A perfect solution for a small or large employer, we will help you take care of all Health and Safety requirements and employment laws relating to maternity and paternity.

Maternity Lifestyle: An innovative solution for Health Clubs that look after their female clientele by supporting mothers-to-be towards a healthier Lifestyle.

Charlie's Little Angels does not replace the service provided by GP's and midwives. Its purpose is to work with other professionals to enhance, complement and complete their input and to respond to the unique demands of the individual woman.

Charlotte Julien trading as Charlie’s Little Angels is a registered Midwife, she qualified in Switzerland 5 years ago and is now based in Reading, Berkshire. She redefined her role as a Maternity Consultant as she offers a new service that is complimentary to those of a Midwife.

Charlotte Julien has created a new service to fulfil the needs of the modern working woman by founding Charlie's Little Angels in August 2004. The care she provides fills the ever growing gap between the NHS and the needs of the modern women.

She provides a multitude of services by offering advice and support from preconception right through until the baby is a few months old. Antenatal classes can often be daunting and depending on your situation you may not feel comfortable in sharing those experiences with complete strangers.

As well, you may not have the time to go to classes and you need a more adaptable solution. Today, you can opt for one to one consultations with your own Maternity Consultant. Charlie's Little Angels offers a global approach to maternity care by also incorporating complimentary therapies.

German researches found that stress can cause mums to miscarry. The stress hormone Cortisol lowers the levels of progesterone vital for a viable pregnancy, causing the body to prematurely terminate the pregnancy. Reaserch was carried out at the University of Berlin by Petra Arck who said that increasing the progesterone could counter the effects. It has now been confirmed that stress has a major impact on pregnancy.

Source: www.health24.com Nov 04

The Equal Opportunities commission has now realease it's final report on the discrimination expectant employees face at the work place. It has revealed for the first time what so many feared. Each year around 30,000 working women are sacked, made redundant or leave their jobs due to pregnancy discrimination, according to alarming new research findings released today by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC).

Of the 441,000 women are pregnant at work each year, the EOC's research report reveals that:

Overall almost half (45%) of women who had worked while pregnant said they experienced some form of discrimination because of their pregnancy.

A fifth (21%) said they lost out financially due to discrimination.

Source: Equal Opportunities Commission, www.eoc.org.uk Jan 05

A Swedish study from Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm found that the foetal outcome may be compromised in women with an active or past eating disorder. Therefore Dr Angleica Linden Hirshberg said: "These women should therefore be recognized as high-risk patients during pregnancy,"

Source: Obsetrics and Gynecology January 2005

Try and relax as much as possible, take time for yourself. Pampering, yoga and other complimentary therapies are worth trying. It's not all about fertility monitors and ovulation.As you may have read in our news section, stress can cause miscarriage so lets do our best to relieve it!

Your skin may change during pregnancy and become oily or dry. If your skin is oily cleanse with mild cleanser then rinse excess off with water. It is due to the hormonal changes you are going through, some experience problems at the beginning of pregnancy other during the whole nine months.

As for dry skin, moisturise as often as possible, natural oils like Almond oil or rich coco butter are great inexpensive solutions. I personally don't believe in expensive anti-stretch mark creams. Ideally moisturise your tummy, top of your thighs, hips and breasts from the beginning of your pregnancy and that should reduce the risk of getting those stretch marks. Be gentle when applying cream as you don't want to be stimulating your uterus or nipples too much. But as all of us have different skin textures you may still get the stretch marks. They will fade and won't be as noticeable with time.

A little tip, apply a warm flannel on the breast before the feed and extract some milk manually if your breast are really tense. Place your baby in the correct position for his feed, making sure his mouth takes all the nipple and areola into his mouth. After the feed apply a refrigerated cabbage leaf on your breast and it should help reduce the swelling.  Your Maternity Consultant will take the time to support you in your breastfeeding.