“You’re one point away from postnatal de­pression” said the family health care nurse scoring the questionnaire I had just com­pleted in her office.

I was on the verge of breaking point. My baby, our third addition, was breastfeeding every 40 minutes overnight and would not take a bottle.

The nurse explained that I was in a zone called postnatal depletion. My hair was fall­ing out, my nails were cracked, my mind was playing tricks on me. I was depleted.

Being pregnant, breastfeeding, caring for other humans, not getting enough sleep had taken its toll.

Fast forward a few weeks as I now sit in front of Laura, my Nutritionist, as she reviews the results of my blood test. The numbers on the page in front of us tell the story of how I feel.

I was a tired Mum, so exhausted that I was surviving on frozen pizza and dino chicken nuggets. I’m sure many of you can relate!With the help of Laura I began to rein­corporate foods into my diet that were rich in the vitamins and minerals my body was lacking and pretty quickly, my nails healed up and grew. My hair stopped clogging the shower drain, and I didn’t feel exhausted every time I woke up in the morning.

We’re thrilled to share that Laura is now offering her Nutrition Consultation services to our community in Parkes or via Tele­health to any location. If you are seeking support to feel your best, reach out to our team to book an appointment with Laura today on 0437 749 746 or learn more at www.kerinhealth.com.au

Australian women in every state and territo­ry can now access treatment for uncompli­cated urinary tract infections at a community pharmacy, without a prescriptionIt follows a decision to empower commu­nity pharmacists to do more for their female patients. UTIs are the second most frequent preventable cause of hospitalisation and on average 1 in 2 women develop a UTI in their lifetime.

Pharmacy Guild of Australia National President Trent Twomey said “Women are busy mothers, carers, bosses who need timely easy-to-access access relief to get on with their day and prevent long-term health complications.”

Professor Twomey said increased access to UTI treatment was part of a larger evolu­tion of women’s health services in commu­nity pharmacies across Australia.

There are more than 6000 community pharmacies across Australia that have the opportunity to provide additional services and prescriptions for everyday health condi­tions.

“The widening of the services provided in community pharmacy is meeting the expec­tation of the modern patient and is reliev­ing the pressure on other parts of the health system.

“Community pharmacists are highly skilled health professionals and we’re ready, willing and able to deliver more for our pa­tients,” Professor Twomey said.