Your whole life has been turned upside down in the most deliciously delightful way, thanks to your new baby. You’re deeply in love with this tiny new being, a feeling so strong it might have surprised you at first. Everything is wonderful, life is magical, you’re living every second of it… but oh, if only […]

Since the inception of umbilical cord blood stem cell cryopreservation in the 1990s, the number of public and privately banked units worldwide has grown to more than 800,0001 and 7 million2 respectively.   This new field of medicine has blossomed since the world’s first cord blood transplant took place in 1988, using sibling donor stem […]

Congratulations on the imminent birth of your second child. How are you all? Thank you. We are all well and a great mix of excited, nervous and curious all in one while we wait for the arrival of the next addition to our household. This time around it is a little girl, so Alexander has a […]

Hot weather can be particularly harmful to babies and young children, so knowing how to keep them cool is vital. Babies and young children can become ill during very hot weather. Their health can be seriously affected by: • dehydration • heat exhaustion and heatstroke • sunburn Try these tips from the NHS for keeping […]

With this week’s temperatures set to soar above 30°c in some parts of the UK, we’ve put together some tips to help you stay cool and safe We know how uncomfortable it can be if you’re pregnant during a heat wave, with high temperatures putting you at risk of dangers like dehydration and sunstroke. With […]

When we think of a midwife, we probably imagine a person delivering babies. Of course, the primary role of a midwife is to assist women in childbirth. But that is not all midwives do. What does a midwife do? Midwives have perhaps the broadest skill set of any healthcare professional. As defined by The Lancet, […]

Pregnancy Yoga can be a great way to relax, exercise safely and prepare for birth. Because this form of movement works with breath, muscle control and inner and outer strength it is very popular amongst pregnant women. But to make the most of pregnancy yoga, it must be safe and tailored to your needs. “Yoga’s […]

Almost a year after the birth of his first son, scientist and business leader Ricky Martin is overjoyed to be a father. But the 2012 winner of The Apprentice is also frustrated that umbilical cord stem cell storage, a life-saving service, is still under-reported, misrepresented and under-used in the UK. In the second part of […]

In a paper published this week in medical journal Stem Cell Research & Therapy, researchers show that umbilical cord tissue can provide large volumes of stem cells over long periods. This evidence could lead to a dramatic increase in the number of stem cells available to patients from each stored umbilical cord, making cord tissue […]