Diary of an academic mum

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD). As parents, when we think ‘solids’ we think 2 things: choking and allergy…oh and a third…copious amounts of mess. As a mum, I want to do all that I can to prevent my 5-month old daughter, Abby, from developing any allergy, including food allergies and related diseases like asthma, eczema etc. To do this, I have been eating peanuts, fish, shellfish, tree nuts (e.g. almonds), taking probiotics daily and working hard to continue exclusively breastfeeding all because I have heard somewhere or from someone that this can help to prevent Abby from developing allergies. I also jumped at the chance to feed Abby peanut butter, egg, fish and other foods because I also heard that she should eat these as soon as she starts solids to reduce her chance of developing allergies. Image 1: Abby loves eating solid foods, especially when she can make a mess. I made some love-heart shaped omelette with sesame oil. Allergens galore! S...

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD). WARNING: Too much information for some people in some sections. Read with caution 😮 My daughter, Abby, is my first child and this was my first pregnancy. Abby arrived 2 weeks early on September 13, 2019, weighing 2.94kg and measuring 47.5cm. At 8pm on September 11, 2019, my waters spontaneously broke. Unlike what I thought, it doesn't just come in one gush (Image 1). I had at least 6 gushes over 2 hours (RIP 3x pants and undies!). This happened only 30 minutes after seeing the beginning of my mucus plug dislodge. I thought I was going to have much more time between these two events, wrong! So off to the hospital we went for confirmation that Abby was indeed on her way. The midwives were happy and the plan was to go home, let labour start, and to visit the hospital daily for monitoring. Image 1: What I thought my waters breaking would be like (credit: Reddit ) The next day we visited the hospital. Everything ...

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD). I am sharing this post a few months after writing it. This was written while I was in my last trimester of pregnancy and reflecting on the advice I was offered throughout my pregnancy. I was wondering what the evidence was behind all of this advice and, therefore, if I should follow it or not.  BehaviourWorks Australia (my amazing workplace at Monash University) has caught baby fever this year and so I thought it was time that I wrote a pregnancy-inspired post. Today my 37-week bump and I decided to go for a walk to meet a friend of mine from the medicine faculty and enjoy a cheeky coffee together. Why is coffee cheeky you ask? Well, apparently, having coffee when pregnant is  bad  for you. So, suddenly my drinking of coffee is now cheeky and bad. I probably shouldn’t tell you that I accidentally had some cold chicken today too. But is there any evidence to say that pregnant women should avoid these ...