An Irish company has invented a device that can help you strengthen your pelvic floor muscles before or after childbirth… without doing so much as a Kegel. Studies show that at least one-third of women in Ireland experience urinary incontinence during early pregnancy, while half of women suffer incontinence three months after giving birth. Atlantic […]

11 years ago

The Master of the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street has warned that Ireland is not paying enough attention to childbirth. Speaking to Kathy Sheridan on the Irish Times The Women’s podcast in a special 1916 programme recorded live at the Rotunda Hospital, Dr Mahony said there is much work to do in correcting the mistakes of […]

11 years ago

Fine Gael Deputy Leader and Children’s Minister Dr James Reilly has lost his seat in Dublin Fingal.  Dr. Reilly’s Sinn Féin rival Louise O’Reilly ousted the 60-year-old, clinching the spot on the tenth count. Reacting to his loss on RTÉ, Reilly said: “I suppose now the Taoiseach has a job to do, to be focused on. […]

11 years ago

Lego has been a playroom staple since we were the toddlers sat on the carpet surrounded by colourful bricks, but every brand must evolve to stay relevant and we are super excited about the company’s upcoming launch.  Lucky fans were given a sneak peek at the newest addition to the Lego family at the New […]

11 years ago

Whether it’s the latest ‘muffin top’ eliminator or brand new (impossibly restrictive) fad diet, women are bombarded by troubling messages about our bodies on an hourly basis.  No sooner have we ‘beaten the bloat’ than we are expected to set out on a mission to achieve ‘Jennifer Aniston arms’ or ‘Pilates posture’. It’s exhausting. That’s […]

11 years ago

As counting in #GE16 resumes this morning, we’re taking our light relief from the drama where we can get it. Luckily Fianna Fáil’s James Browne was on hand to provide a much needed giggle. When Brown won the second seat in his Wexford constituency last night, his quick reaction, captured by RTÉ’s Damien Tiernan, seemed […]

11 years ago

Have you noticed that a stalwart of the biscuit world has been mysteriously missing from its spot on the supermarket aisle lately? The McVities Ginger Nut vanishes from our shelves in January after a flood at the UK factory where they are produced temporarily halted production. The flood has also made classics such as the […]

11 years ago

The first sexually transmitted case of the Zika virus has been diagnosed in France.  The patient’s partner had recently travelled to Brazil where he picked up the mosquito-borne virus that is sweeping through South and Central America. She is not pregnant. According to Francois Bourdillon, head of France’s Institute for Public Health Surveillance (IVS) “This was a […]

11 years ago

The World Health Organisation has concluded that MBT, a chemical used to manufacture rubber, ‘probably causes cancer’.  MBT is used to make everything from condoms and hospital catheters to baby pacifiers, elastic bands, insoles for shoes and the surface for all-weather sports pitches. According to a report in The Daily Mail, a group of 24 […]

11 years ago

Early tallies appear to support two exit polls suggesting bad news for the coalition.  As votes continue to be counted across the country, it’s clear Fine Gael and Labour have suffered serious losses, while Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin and Independents are on the up. .@RTE exit poll indicates bad news for Govt parties & gains for […]

11 years ago

The last we heard from supermodel Gisele and her impossibly gorgeous offspring they were eschewing almost everything in the average family’s diet in favour of a diet that’s 80 per cent vegetables. Happily, the latest news from the Brady-Bündchens is something we can totally get on board with. The supermodel and her American football star husband […]

11 years ago

Manufacturers have recalled 3,100 boxes of sanitary towels in France and Canada after a consumer magazine claimed they may contain ‘potentially toxic residues’. A team of researchers working for the 60 Millions de Consommateurs claim that some of the eleven brands they tested, including Always and Tampax, contain traces of harmful chemicals in them, such as cancer-causing dioxins and insecticides. […]

11 years ago

Do you ever wish you could see your granny’s smile, or hear your mum’s grandfather sing a song? Imagine if you could time travel into the future and offer life advice to your great, great, great grandchildren, or show them exactly what life was like in 2016? The developers of a clever new app hope to […]

11 years ago

The average Irish family loses around €700 on food waste every year -that’s about 80kg per person. Whether you’re meticulous about using up every last carrot or not, even the thriftiest domestic goddess has a split bag of rice or a icing sugar packet that won’t close lurking somewhere in their kitchen. Imagine the money […]

11 years ago

Previous studies have shown that being as little as four pounds overweight can raise your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes, but did you know that those extra lbs can also affect your memory? In a small preliminary study of young adults between 18 and 35, researchers from the Department of Psychology at […]

11 years ago

As any wearer of lady hosiery knows, it’s very difficult to adjust them when gravity inevitably starts to draw them south.  There is, however, a sneaky way to keep them in the right spot from breakfast until dinner; a trick that fashionistas have kept up their sleeves for years. Firstly, it involves knickers so bear […]

11 years ago

A California ten-year-old has been hailed a hero after she died saving the lives of two toddlers.  Kiera Larsen acted quickly when she spotted a Mercedes-Benz rolling backwards towards one-year-old Adison Jenkins and two-year-old Emma Jenkins who were playing nearby, pushing both children out of the way. Tragically, the child was hit by the car herself, […]

11 years ago

An Irish breastfeeding support group has slammed RTÉ and the Today show for posting a poll asking viewers to answer the question: “Breastfeeding in Public. Yes or No?”. Friends of Breastfeeding have described the programme’s approach to the issue as ‘shocking’ and ‘discriminatory’, given that the right to breastfeed in public is protected by law in […]

11 years ago

Thousands of people will flock to polling stations all over the country today as voting gets underway in the 2016 General Election.  More than 3.2 million people are eligible to vote in 40 constituencies, the final result determining 157 of the 158 members of the 32nd Dáil (Ceann Comhairle Sean Barrett is elected automatically). Divisive issues for […]

11 years ago

Women who drink alcohol while pregnant increase the risk that the next three generations of their family will succumb to alcoholism.  That’s according to boffins at Binghampton University, New York, who say that even the odd drink while pregnant can affect the genome and epigenome (molecules that control gene translation) to such an extent that the effect […]

11 years ago

Beta-carotene has long been hailed as a powerful antioxidant, but the latest studies on the red-orange pigment found in carrots suggest the benefits could be much more far-reaching than ever imagined.  One of the biggest studies ever undertaken into the relationship between diet and cancer has revealed that women who ate foods that are high in beta-carotene, […]

11 years ago

Attention cookies and milk fans: Dublin Cookie Co. is opening a dedicated shop in The Liberties.  According to their website, the emporium of all things round and biscuity will throw open its doors to its adoring public on March 5, taking over a premises at 29 Thomas Street. Fresh cookies. Cold milk. Equality. #SmithfieldMarketFair #yesequality2015 #cookies […]

11 years ago

The pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay $72million to the family of a deceased woman who claimed the brand’s Baby Powder caused her ovarian cancer.  Jackie Fox, from Birmingham Alabama, who passed away last year aged 62, claimed she had been using Johnson & Johnson products containing talcum powder as feminine […]

11 years ago

A Kildare community is in mourning today after a schoolboy lost his life while trying to save his friend from the Lyreen River yesterday afternoon. The thirteen-year-old was one of three youngsters, two boys and a girl, who were walking beside the water near the Kilcock Road in Maynooth, Co Kildare when the tragedy occurred. According […]

11 years ago

Mars has recalled a host of their most popular chocolate products after a German consumer discovered pieces of red plastic inside a Snickers bar. The recall has been issued across 55 European countries, including Holland, Germany and the UK after the errant plastic was traced to the factory in Veghel in the Netherlands. While Mars has […]

11 years ago

Prior to taking a role on a parenting website, I foolishly thought that motherhood was similar to personhood, in that you can do it any way you like provided you have a healthy respect for general safety and nobody gets a tattoo until they’re 18. What I’ve learned from hanging out with my mom friends […]

11 years ago

If you could have dinner with anyone in the whole world, who would you choose to share that meal with? When Masterfoods asked couples that question, the answers ranged from celebrities (Marilyn Monroe, Justin Bieber) to icons (Nelson Mandela), rock stars famous politicians and heads of state. Meanwhile, in another room, the same question was […]

11 years ago

Too frustrated by the mountain of election leaflets on your door mat to read them? Too annoyed by the garish election posters blotting your neighbourhood to really consider the big face asking for your ‘No. 1’?  If #GE2016 has left you more mystified than motivated, an interactive website designed by the Union of Students in […]

11 years ago

Student nurses midwives can look forward to a pay increase next month as part of a €3.5 million plan to improve conditions and encourage Irish talent to stay in the country. Fourth year students will earn €9.48 per hour as of March 1, bringing them above the minimum wage for the first time since the […]

11 years ago

It’s been three months since the newest member of the Kardashian West clan arrived, and while mum Kim has been pictured out and about (having shed 30lbs of baby weight already, natch) the world-famous couple have been slow to give us a peep at baby Saint.  Until today, that is. The reality star (35) finally […]

11 years ago

Kids party on the horizon? Listen up. The under-twelves have moved on from cupcakes. Yep, these days every dedicated little sugar fiend worth their cavities and mood swings is craving donuts, in ever wilder and wackier flavours and combinations. Luckily, it’s an easy trend to work into a party menu. These rainbow donuts by Brit […]

11 years ago

From sexism and old-fashioned stereotypes to golliwogs and violence, many of the movies and books we grew up contain a hefty amount of material that is no longer be deemed suitable for today’s children.  That’s why Channel Four viewers who sat down to watch the family favourite Dumbo over the weekend were horrified to discover […]

11 years ago

Struggling to conceive? Your man’s smartphone obsession could be hampering your chances of success.  An Israeli study of 106 men has revealed that men who talk on their mobile phones for more than an hour a day have a lower sperm quality than those who do not. Talking on the phone while it was plugged […]

11 years ago

Anyone who is trying for a baby will more than likely discover the happy news by taking a test (or six) in the bathroom. For women who become pregnant unexpectedly however, nature has its own way of giving us the heads up. Now Reddit users have been adding their own weird and wonderful hints and […]

11 years ago

As women throughout Latin America scramble for abortions because of fears the Zika virus may have left their babies brain damaged, Pope Francis has suggested that Catholics should use artificial contraception to protect themselves against the disease.  This week the Vatican said it would not be relaxing its ban on abortion during the Zika crisis. […]

11 years ago

A woman who suffered a horror attack after answering a Craigslist advertisement has described how her baby was cut from her womb and later died.  Twenty-seven-year-old Michelle Wilkins, from Colorado, accuses Dynel Lane (35) of luring her to her home in March 2015 under the pretence of selling maternity clothes. Wilkins, who was eight months […]

11 years ago

Fans of buttery, French flaky pastry are up in arms today after Tesco announced that they will be banning curved croissants from all their stores and selling a straight version instead.  Pourquoi? Well. Crescent-shaped breads have been made since the Middle Ages, and crescent-shaped cakes possibly since antiquity, but when supermarket bigwigs looked into the […]

11 years ago

We’ve long been proponents of the ‘a little of what you fancy does you good’ school of thought, so the latest major study, reaching us courtesy of Spanish boffins, makes us very happy indeed. Scientists studied the digestive tracts of red wine drinkers for 20 days and found that a daily tipple helped boost good […]

11 years ago

The ‘dogs-in-pubs’ debacle gave everyone paws (fnar) for thought last month, but for one new business in Dublin 8, the publicity has been welcome.  Pupp, a café and boutique for dog lovers, has opened its doors at 37 Clanbrassil Street Lower offering “a unique urban experience where you can relax and enjoy a range of […]

11 years ago

If lactose intolerance or other dietary restrictions have meant that Ben & Jerry’s delicious concoctions are off the menu, the ice cream makers have some exciting news for you.  A line of dairy-free Ben & Jerry’s has been released in the States, and the head honchos have their eye on the Irish market as a […]

11 years ago

The spread of the Zika virus throughout Latin America has sent terrified women online in search of abortion pills. Women who fear they may have contracted the virus, which has been linked with microcephaly, a congenital condition associated with incomplete brain development in babies, have been contact the Canadian group Women on Web to beg for the […]

11 years ago

A Kansas couple have shared a heartbreaking ultrasound image of their unborn son holding the hand of his twin sister in utero.  It hasn’t been an easy pregnancy for Brittani and Ian McIntire, who are expecting Mason and Madilyn. The couple told a US news station that each doctor appointment revealed worsening news regarding Mason’s health […]

11 years ago

Pregnancy-related health issues such as gestational diabetes and high blood pressure mean older mums are 60 per cent more likely to suffer a stroke later in life.  A major study of 72,000 women has concluded that women who give birth after the age of 40 are two-thirds more likely to die of cardiovascular disease. The risk of […]

11 years ago

When it comes to being held, cuddled and generally adored, most newborn babies have a long line of family, friends and neighbours queuing up behind mum and dad to do the honours.  For newborns whose parents are considering putting their baby up for adoption however, those early weeks are spent in the arms of an […]

11 years ago

Nineties slip dresses are having something of a moment this season. From street style to catwalk, they’re everywhere. John Galliano, the ’90s king of slip dresses even resurrected the trend in his pre-autumn/winter 2016 collection. Playing on proportions, volume and using a mix of silk, sheer and lace fabrics, Galliano has modernised the classic style […]

11 years ago

It’s not every day we’re treated to a double dose of good news concerning chocolate, but mark your calendars, folks – today is special.  Cadbury is launching a new chocolate bar designed to appeal to lovers of luxury brands, with no fewer than two new flavours. Our JOE bros were first on the case, revealing […]

11 years ago

Irish legal experts and fertility counsellors will be among the speakers at a conference organised by the international not-for-profit Families Through Surrogacy next month. This will be the first time the event is held in Ireland, where there are currently no laws surrounding surrogacy. Made popular by celebrities such as Georgia Salpa, who became mum to […]

11 years ago

Tennis ace Andy Murray and his wife Kim Sears welcomed a baby girl on February 7, but while speculation was rife that the couple would choose a traditional Scottish name for their first born, it seems they’ve taken a more classical direction.  While the bookies’s favourites included Elizabeth, Freya and Alexandra, word has it the […]

11 years ago

The public is to be given access to monthly safety data from each of the country’s 19 maternity hospitals from the end of February. Hot on the heels of a damning report into hygiene standards and overcrowding at the National Maternity Hospital on Holles Street, the Health Service Executive (HSE) has ordered every hospital in the […]

11 years ago

A leading paediatric neurologist has said that the damage caused to the brains of babies affected by Zika virus is much worse than health officials are telling the public. While previous research suggested that newborns of mothers who had Zika virus infection during pregnancy were more at risk of developing microcephaly, a congenital condition associated with […]

11 years ago