Category: Opinion
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Are Antenatal Classes Worth it?
I always imagined antenatal classes to be in-person, with my husband cradling my bump whilst we learn breathing techniques for labour. However, in Malta, antenatal classes (know as ParentCraft) are done via Teams online, which I found disappointing, but joined them anyway. I started attending these sessions when I was 26 weeks pregnant. They would…
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Maltese Society – Maternity Leave and Childcare
Fifty years ago, one income was enough to sustain a family. Now, women are forced to return to work shortly after having a baby. In Malta, maternity leave is just 18 weeks. As a result, it has become the norm for babies as young as four months old to be put into childcare. This is…
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Alexa, You’re Fired
Christmas 2017, my husband receives an Amazon Echo, aka Alexa, as a gift from me. March 2019 and she’s in the bin. At first, “Silly Alexa” was the response when her blue lights came on to indicate she was listening, when we hadn’t asked her anything. Then she began to frequently burst out with phrases…
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Should we accept our partners for who they are and not expect them to make changes?
“Don’t change for anyone!” is a common phrase we say to our love troubled friends. But is this really the best advice we can offer to the ones we care about? I always imagined that relationships were about accepting our partner for who they are, warts and all. If their flaws are just too much…
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Malta’s U-turn on Compulsory Vaccination for Travel
There are two things you should know before you read this article. 1) I am double jabbed with the Covid-19 vaccine, and 2) I am a strong believer that vaccines save lives. Malta’s decision to insist that all people exiting and entering the country must be vaccinated against Covid-19 was an outrageous infringement on freedom…
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Dragons’ Den Episode Pulled
On a recent Dragons’ Den episode, an entrepreneur went on the show with her ear seeds business. Ear seeds are tiny acupuncture devices. She claimed that these helped her to overcome ME, a chronic condition that causes severe fatigue. After her captivating pitch, she received six offers from the Dragons, they loved her and her…