Testimonials

Oh Baby was my bible for my first baby and now my second. And I’m so excited to be reading this next book too. Will be a book I refer back to many times throughout my kids childhood. You’re amazing Kathy Fray!!

Just wanted to say thanks for the book – a real gem. Has been my bible especially for the first 4 months … your book covered it all for me and our lovely new son … I have recommended your book to lots of friends and to the local hospital … Thanks again for writing a book with all the facts but in such good humour. Looking forward to reading your next books as he grows up. You are right the intrepid journey of motherhood is amazing. until you become one you don’t understand how special it is.

Hi Kathy, I’m loving the new book and try to feed my family as well as possible. I found chapter 6 brilliant.

Kathy, your 2 books “Oh Baby” and “Oh Grow Up” are just fantastic – thank you! The books really resonate with me and the direction I’d like to take as a parent. You know these days I’m refering to either of those books on a weekly basis. Really looking forward to your next book coming out.

I’ve just finished reading Oh Grow Up! FANTASTIC!! I’ll be arranging for a few copies for our Parents Centre library too!  The book won’t live on my shelf amongst my other parenting books – I have well over 40, as with 3 kids under 3 I needed all the help I could get! Now with baby 4 on the way (and the 3 now aged 2, 3 and 4!) I need books like yours, that dont ‘dumb’ me, since I have my own knowledge, but help me fill the gaps when I have forgotten or stumble across something new.
Anyway, it won’t live on that shelf, but rather will live in my kitchen with my recipe books, simply because I found your chapters on homeopathics and other remedies so damn useful. I’m no stranger to alternative health but your guide is so simple, so now I feel I can make the next leap and really get it involved within our family. And I’m working on the food thing too, I think your chapter will help me polish that, and give me the encouragement to make the final changes I need to.
…This is an amazing book, I’ll refer to it often! THANKS!!

Dear Kathy
I just want to say a huge ‘thank-you’ to you … I’ve found it very enlightening and I love the way it’s written … I particularly enjoyed the section on ‘Children’s Spirits’. The way you have written that is so real and open and honest. Many thanks again.

Forget a New Zealand guide, this book should go international. It really resonates with a shift in thinking about raising kids in the 21st century and offers insightful solutions. Well done you.

I’m almost finished reading “Oh Grow Up” and I just wanted to drop you a note to say how fabulous it is! So readable, interesting and entertaining. I love your holisitc, diverse and accesible approach. Thank you, once again, for providing a guiding light through the winding tunnels of parenthood!!

Her introduction cuts to the chase clearly outlining her intent and dispelling with the myth of parental perfection. Truthfully and succinctly Fray describes her latest book as ‘eclectic, boundless and liberated; it’s eccentric, unconventional, alternative and passionate; and once again has an undercurrent of spiritual awe for parenthood and life.’ The honesty of her delivery style gives a balanced perspective that culminates in a refreshingly informative and grounding presentation. This is not a clinical prescription for those afflicted with offspring; moreover, it reads as a relaxed chat with an experienced traveller … one with an open file of well-schooled contacts. Fray’s wise work is supported throughout with quotes and avenues for further reading. This effectively positions OH GROW UP as a key resource, one with depth and scope for guidance from both within and beyond its covers.
Fray has developed her gentle, funny and non-judgemental book in a way that is both thought provoking and relevant to all people spending time with children. By first covering general developmental steps the reader can familiarise with the style of her vehicle in preparation for the interesting journey ahead through sections discussing the care and nurturance of the mind body and soul.
Each chapter combines the perfect measures of humour, fact and experience to maintain the high energy nature of this book. There is something for everyone in this enlightened decoding of those parenting myths, whether you take what you need and pop back for the rest later, or read and re-read. This is a very practical book that will resonate.

As I see it there are 2 parenting styles the salmons and the apples. The salmon-like parent chooses to swim upstream ignoring the flow of the majority. Making the tough choices, gasping for air and really LIVING life. Salmons know the direction they are going in and they set themselves determinedly (if that is a word!) to achieve their course. Apple parents are like an apple-bobbing barrel. They float around next to everyone else and don’t try too hard to experience the highs and lows of parenting. Everything is average and as soon as a new idea plops in the barrel they all splosh about a bit then go back to what they were doing before. Apple parenting is easier probably, not as many hard decisions to make just a lot of doing what everyone else is doing. Apples don’t have to make decisions for their children they just do what everyone else is doing. I think Kathy Fray would be a salmon in this analogy. Her book is very comprehensive. It’s not just about parenting styles and getting your offspring to turn into healthy, contributing adults it’s about everything. It’s a bit like having a readily accessible experienced (and opinionated) parent who has a large dose of nutritional and health background and a generous swig of hippy (and I mean this as a compliment) thrown in for good measure … I really like that she treats a child as body (lots of health, food, alternative medicines), soul (parenting with strength and love, building relationships) and spirit (values/morals, the fourth dimension, eternal). Many great parenting books are pretty much all soul, which is fine and necessary but we are people with a physical body and, most important to me, a spirit … Kathy’s writing style is easy to follow and pretty relaxed, be prepared for a few expletives. The book covers toddlers to teens but the food and medical stuff is relevant to anyone … She’s not a PC ‘everything you choose is okay’ type which I love. I think as parents we all need to be more salmon and less apple in order to help our children grow up to become strong, loving and whole adults who will be healthy in body, soul and spirit.

Employing her usual approach of insights from a parent who has done the hard yards, as opposed to those from a parenting expert, Kathy Fray brings us excellent material outlining the physical, mental, social and emotional developmental stages of every age of childhood. Her advice is clear … and is a welcome input to those of us who are confused about the plethora of advice available. As Kathy herself describes it, Oh Grow Up is about ‘parenting with spirit – strength, guts, soul

Personally, I devoured the parts about ages and stages. I agreed wholeheartedly with the chapter on being environmentally aware and responsible … Read this if you like Diane Levy [or] Nigel Latta.

This is a comprehensive book with topics ranging from age-stage overviews and nutrition through to the A-Z of diseases and drugs together with their natural alternatives. It is a reference book to dip in and out of as you see fit; otherwise, you could be in serious danger of neglecting your child, as it’s easy to get caught up in the next interesting chapter!
Thanks to this broad base of information there is something for everyone, from first-time parents to, as Fray rather eloquently puts it, “the gnarled, well-honed, old-hand guru grandparent”.
Fray is opinionated and she makes no apologies for this. In her author’s note she admits that there may be parts of the book which are “a tad too out there or new to your thinking” … Her essential philosophy is one of holistic health and this comes across strongly in her guide. She talks about parenting the whole child – physically, emotionally and spiritually … use it to understand and enjoy your children.

Not only does Fray give parenting tips that really work, but she also includes discussions about physical development, nutrition, diseases, drugs and remedies and many other topics. The chapter on personality types is a great help in tailoring your parenting style to your child’s character.

OH GROW UP is an amazing manuscript. There is a touch of genius in your work, especially the ability to read and research so widely, to extract the knowledge and wisdom that you discover, and integrate it into a powerful and comprehensive narrative. I have not known another person who possesses that remarkable grouping of qualities. Equally to the point you have friendships and relationships with all manner of people who you talk with, and you consult and quote, and who you retain as close personal friends … The closest comparison I know is in the books of Bill Bryson … One impressive lady, as determined as an elephant and as soft-hearted as a bird of paradise.

I have three energetic boys yet confess to having never read a parenting book before.  Perhaps I perceived they were, as Kathy puts it, ‘patronising, pious, mothercraft books, with condescending definitions of the perfect parent.’  Well then, this no-nonsense guide is not how parenting books are supposed to be!  It has got, as Kathy says, ‘so much incredible and fascinating stuff to tell you!’ that it’s difficult to put it down.  You can randomly flick to a page and immediately be drawn in.  I wish I had read it eight years ago when we were starting our family.
Oh Grow Up is pacey, easy to read, and incredibly informative.  It’s as up-front, humourous and hard hitting as Muhammad Ali and punches above its weight with its non-politically correct stance on many parenting issues.  And the comprehensive nutrition and health ‘power to the people’ sections (which can be treated as a reference tool for dealing with health issues) are compulsory reading.
So, please please please read it.  Same goes for the entire Western World; someone needs to deliver a copy (or two) to Oprah!

I have over the years devoured many ‘parenting books’ – in fact my husband even gave me one last Mothers Day … is that a man’s idea of the perfect gift?   But just as we encourage our children to become life-long learners, the same principles apply to parenting – and there are always new ideas and approaches that can help prepare you to face the challenges of raising children.
This book is like a ‘Bible’ not to be ingested in one sitting but something to refer to many, many times as you share the different milestones with your children. It is comprehensive, covering a multitude of topics and undoubtedly a great resource to call upon. This is a modern up-to-date parenting manual that addresses many of today’s issues.

I finally got to read your book… WOW it is great and touches on so may areas I have been working on and has all the same philosophies I have lived with for many years!! Such a great easy, practical, humorous read that is full of learning and many reminders that you can do a better job in so many areas with a shift of mind set and behaviours

Kathy Fray really gets it. Her parenting philosophy is holistic, centred and well-grounded, and her views on nutrition and wellbeing are informative and inspired.  I personally believe the motherhood experience makes everything else in life pale into insignificance, but we need mentoring and tools to be the best parents we can be, so am delighted to recommend Oh Grow Up to any parent of young children and indeed, to anyone who wants to live a more healthy life.

This is the 3rd copy of the book I have bought! I bought one for myself when pregnant and have since bought two others (this one included) for my sisters in law – it’s an awesome resource! I couldn’t part with mine!!!

I am a Wellington grandmother currently babysitting my 3 week old grandson in Brisbane while his mother has gone to the doctor with suspected mastitis. THANK YOU for your wonderful book! Chapter 5 is the bible and I have either bought or recommended it to many friends for their daughters and sons with new babies. Your sleep philosopy sooo works and is so incredibly easy. What a pity I didn’t know about it when my own children were little.

I am 38yo and 7 months pregnant with my first. I read so many books and my next book is the Baby Whisperer. But your book is my bible … Thank you so much for writing your book. I am so scared and excited too.

Hi there Kathy. I just wanted to say, I picked up your book after my talk at the Parenting Place yesterday. WOW! so much wonderful information. I had a quick squizz at the natural health section and love your style on that front.
Can’t wait to read the rest. I can already tell I will be recommending it to patients left, right and center!
Kind Regards,

I am a young mum of 3 little girls and are expecting baby 4 anytime now. Never had I come across this book and was delighted to find it exists. Wish I had read it when I had my first, recommend it to everyone I know and will hate the day I have to give it back, I’m only lending it. Even 3 kids later, it’s a refreshing, do it right, almost black and white, way of putting everything from childbirth up and I just thought I’d share my appreciation!! Well done Kathy!!

Your book was an absolute godsend during my pregnancy. Having read a lot of book from such authors as Michel Odent, Janet Balaskas, Ina May Gaskin, Tracy Hogg, etc I found yours to be the most influential. Such a fabulous read! I felt like you had done all the hard yards and collated all of the research required to provide a book that covered everything one could possibly need to know. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your two-sided approach to every argument and your non-judgmental approach to childbirth and child-rearing. I recommend your book to everyone who will listen!

Hi Kathy – I just wanted to thank you.  I have a little boy who is now 13 months.  He had severe reflux and colic until he was about 10 months.  In the last few weeks I “hit the wall” – almost a delayed reaction to what we have been through in the last year.  I have felt really inadequate and have lost confidence in my ability to parent him because of the tough time he/we had.  Last night I read chapter 7 of Oh Baby.  I don’t know why I haven’t read it before now (must have skipped those pages pre-birth as I never thought I’d have an unhappy baby!) and your words have actually turned my whole outlook around.  I wanted to thank you for addressing those issues and in such an insightful way.  I read 289 – 290 to my husband and for the first time we feel that we are not crazy for having felt so overwhelmed.  It is so relieving to know that our response has been very typical of this situation. I have read so many baby books and always felt that none adequately addressed this area.  I am so so grateful for you understanding what I have been through and including it in your book.  2 GPs and 3 paediatricians have failed to come close to supporting us in our plight.
Keep up the writing!!  Hopefully you are still practising midwifery when/if (!!) I have another baby!  Best regards,

Thanks kathy so much for this wonderful book. I have my own copy and purchased this one for a friend, and she is super rapt with it! I highly recomend this book to any future mother to be as it is a fantastic, relatable and informative masterpiece! 🙂

Hi, I am currently reading this book and it was given to me by my cousin who refered to it as “her Bible”. My husband and I are both finding it to be absolutely fantastic as we are about to become first time parents, thank you so much! I really just wanted to say a huge thanks. A lot of the literature out there can be extremely overwhelming and this has the right balence of information. 🙂 I am going to recommend to all my friends!!

Purchased Oh Baby for an expectant girlfriend and have subsequently bought the book many times over as it’s my ‘go-to’ gift for preggy friends.

I love your book! I bought it for my son and daughter-in-law and found myself reading it as well … I am going to share it with all my dear friends who become new Grandmas.

Hi Kathy – love your book!! … My Mum has bought 3 copies of your book, one for me, my sister-in-law and my brother’s partner (all of us have had babies within 2 months of each other!!)

Your book was given to me by a non-child friend !! She had heard it was the bible of new parents. She was right. My baby Katie is 8 weeks old, happy and healthy and sleeping through the night thanks to you and your wonderful book. Most of the pages are highlighted in blue and some are falling out…especially the 12 magical secrets part. I have since given a copy to a girl I met in Antenatal class and it to has become her bible. So I just wanted to thank you so much for sharing your knowledge, my husband and I and Katie are grateful !! Kind regards.

Your book is amazing and we refer to it almost daily. I recommend it to all new parents and suggest they ‘throw out’ most other books in favour of Oh Baby. It’s certainly much simpler and less confusing.

I am giving this book to my sister-in-law for Christmas – she is expecting in April and I don’t know what I would have done without this book when I was a new mother. It was my reference and best friend many times. It was the first thing I thought of when deciding what to buy her.

I have bought three of these books for presents now after being lent one from a friend. Three won’t be the final number either…Thank you.

Recommend ‘Oh Baby’ book to everyone not just 1st time mothers. I’m having 3rd child and borrowed the book from a friend, its so great & I’ve learnt so much from it, I decided I needed a copy of my own so I could referring to it.

I am a mother of one boy. After four years of “trying” for another “small miracle” finally I am pregnant – 23 weeks. One of my colleagues brought me your book and said “Here is something you can be interested in” and I was very sarcastic about it – hey I know everything about “being a mother”, but took it “just in case”. Every Wednesday my husband is away till late in the night for study. So one of those lonely Wednesdays I started to read your book and every page was telling me that I do not know everything and even more I missed lots of amazing moments. I have got your book just in time and will enjoy every single moment of my new baby … I would like to say how much I enjoyed to read it for the last two months and will be happy to read it again and again. Thank you!!!

Hi there, I just wanted to pass on my thanks to Kathy Fray for her book “Oh Baby”. I started reading it a few months ago, our first baby is due in December and I have been given heaps of books to read, but have found Oh Baby the best by far! I was hooked from the first honest non-biased page. Thank you for such a wonderful piece of important literature!

I have a huge amount of respect for your knowledge and passion … I am with Parents Centre and hugely passionate about empowering women and advocating natural, positive birthing experiences … the whole committee love your book.

I’ve greatly enjoyed your book which was lent to me by my occupational therapist. As a new mum with a disability I’ve found your book has helped me gain some confidence.

Hi Kathy, I’m a huge fan of your book ‘Oh Baby’. I’ve bought multiple copies for various friends and relatives having babies and even posted it to my sister-in-law in the USA. I myself have lent heavily on it since the birth of my first baby. I even had the nurses at the hospital (after my caesarean) helping me get my wee man into the sleeping habit of wake-feed-play and I’m very happy to say that he’s been sleeping through the night since only a couple of weeks old.

A fantastic, indispensable book – this is the third one I’ve bought as a gift for mummies-to-be!

Hi Kathy, I’m a huge fan of your book ‘Oh Baby’. I’ve bought multiple copies for various friends and relatives having babies and even posted it to my sister-in-law in the USA. I myself have lent heavily on it since the birth of my first baby. I even had the nurses at the hospital (after my caesarean) helping me get my wee man into the sleeping habit of wake-feed-play and I’m very happy to say that he’s been sleeping through the night since only a couple of weeks old.

Thank you immensely Kathy, for writing your book – especially the information on ptyalin and introducing me to [the research of] Herbert Shelton! My daughters life (and mine) is changed immeasurably for the better because of it! Thank you thank you THANK YOU!!!!!

Thanks Kathy, as a first time mum I thought I was pretty prepared. I had read a lot of books, was a trained teacher and had watched my older sister. However the reality was far different. I have recently purchased your book and it is fabulous. It gives me the confidence to follow my instincts and reinforces commonsense. While I still have not got things perfect (if they ever will be) I feel more confident and am sure I will get there in the end. Thank you once again.

I really enjoyed your book, and still often refer to it. We arrived in Canada just a few months before I gave birth, being away from all family and not knowing anyone here, I found it a huge help! All the very best to you and your family.

Have been reading your book from the Library…it is just so good, don’t know how you put so much knowledge together so well. I am into natural things and although now a grandmother of 5 I think it is just so interesting. Will pass it on for my daughter to read.
So, my warmest congratulations on a book well done!

Hi Kathy, loved the book, and refer to it on a regular basis. I’ve been a midwife for 12 years and am finally mum to my first baby. I’ve been impressed at how well researched your book is and also that you manage to give loads of advice without being overly biased. I have found it so interesting and reassuring to hear what an experienced Mum has to say. Especially when floundering – your chapter on sleep was particularly helpful! We’ve had our Grace in your BabyOK babe-sleeper since I stopped swaddling her at 7 months and find it fantastic. Thanks for a great book and product.

Hi Kathy. I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate this book. I borrowed it from my friend, and when I had to return it (as she was having baby number 2) I went and purchased it myself. My husband and I pick it up ALL THE TIME! It is like a manual for babies, your advice is so practical, you cover everything so well and no nonsense. I have told all my pregnant friends to purchase it, as to me it’s a compulsory item for all mothers to have – it’s nothing short of a life saver.

I enjoyed reading your book (I’m stocking it at Bella Mama now). It was absolutely fab, so down to earth but very compassionate and understanding too. I especially liked the section on how to get through those first challenging few weeks as a new mum and how to nurture and care for yourself and ask for support. I’m recommending it to all my yoga girls and will soon write a review to go out in my Bella Mama newsletter.

Hi. Just wanted to say that your book is absolutely fantastic and saved me many grey hairs! I bought all the main stream books but OH BABY is far and above the best. As a first time Mum it was a life saver – especially in those moments when you just don’t know what the heck to do or who to ask … So, anyway, I just thought I’d say thanks!

At last, a simple, yet informed, down-to-earth book … justifiably becoming the new bible for parents. It’s a no-holes barred, non-judgmental look at parenting … practical advice and tips, with a strong emphasis on well being and health, both for the mother and baby. Fray writes “We’re often 32 year old and 42 year old educated, successful and respected women, with zero infant practical experience, going home after our two-day stay in hospital, naively thinking – how hard can it be? But two weeks later, that previously self confident and capable woman can find herself inconceivably isolated, hopelessly fumbling over everyday mothering tasks, enduring quite literally torturous levels of sleep deprivation, feeling desperately despondent and physically aching everywhere….I just wanted to scream ‘Why won’t anybody tell the truth?’ That’s what prompted me to research and write this book.” OH BABY covers the last trimester, through to the first year of parenting … If you only want one book in your parenting collection, then this is the one to buy.

This was the treasured book that I consistently referred to during the lead-up to and beginning of motherhood. I admit that I originally purchased it largely because it had the word “uncensored” in the title, which got me thinking that it contained some genuine, straight-up, frank advice on the things that most people won’t warn you about. I wasn’t disappointed. But there is more to the book than just honest advice … . Fray often presents not just her own personal opinion, but other equally valid points of view, leaving the reader to choose which advice best suits their own style and values … What I appreciated most about this book was how it enlightened, educated and, most of all, encouraged me … Fray leaves no stone unturned, and dispels many myths about birth, bonding and newborns, all with an undercurrent of gentle humour … The book now sits on our bookshelf at home, but rest assured there were months when it took pride of place in the middle of our lounge, always within an arm’s reach.

Hey Kathy, my bub is 4 months now and I have absolutely loved having your OH BABY on hand, ready for me to look up and find info on things I’m wondering about. It’s like having a mid-wife/extremely-knowledgeable-friend on hand 24/7 to answer all my questions and educate me on everything to do with bubs. Thank you so much 🙂

I absolutely love Kathy’s book. I recommend it to all my girlfriends.

I have already emailed once to say how I love the book, particularly your similar views on baby’s sleep. This time, a couple of months later – I was searching through “Thriving under five” etc for a refresher course on solids (mostly common sense/done it all before, of course, but do have doubts at times!) AND of course it wasn’t until I read through your book’s chapter on solids that I got the info/reminder/confidence that I was after. SO ONCE AGAIN A BIG THANK YOU! 🙂

Thanks for your book – changed my life! … I had (based on your book) managed to get my son sleeping through the night … I now have a 3mth old baby also (and thanks again to you), she sleeps really well.

Have read your fantastic book “Oh Baby” and feel all mothers everywhere should do so. Am recommending it to everyone. Well done on such a great achievement to help so many mums out there.

This is a thank you for your wonderful book, Oh Baby. I was recommended this book when pregnant with my daughter and I read it cover to cover before she was born. She is an absolute dream baby but this is not good luck it is because of the book. I followed all you advice, religiously as it is my bible. Because of your sleep section she is a fantastic sleeper, never cries when I put her down, settles herself to sleep and doesn’t need any sleep inducements to go to sleep. I watch my friends who struggle with bedtimes and bad habits and feel so grateful that we had your advice. I recommend your book to people all the time especially when they are having problems with getting their wee ones to sleep. Thanks again from one happy household to another.

Love your writing on sleep – so real, so true and so the best read about sleep and the baby – that I’ve seen! I love the way you validate the key points with why, how and reasons for (not just listing them as some other publications that I’ve seen do). Incidentally I’ve had 2 excellent sleepers (am on the second time round right now) yet have managed to learn even more tricks from you, to fine tune the latest “excellent sleeper” with!!! Thanks so much. I will be referring your book to others.

I just wanted to say thank you for writing such a wonderful book … The most valuable bits to me have been about coping with the change in my life and I found myself feeling like you were describing my situation exactly! Reading your book has reassured me … made me feel so much better. I could go on and on about the book … Thanks again.

Just bought and paid for a copy of Oh Baby after reading it cover to cover from the library and realizing this was a book I wanted and needed to own. Thank you.

I would like to thank Kathy for her brilliant book, which I have used a lot and recommend to other parents … Your book is brilliant and provides lots of great and balanced advice, which you really need when you are heading into parenthood. Your style is easy to read, and … so well put together.Thanks again for a great book, which saved my baby from a lot of pain. Kirsten, Mother
Your ‘Oh Baby’ book is invaluable. I’ve sent a copy to my best friend in London, and we refer to it as our ‘baby Bible’! As a first time mother, it is wonderful to have a practical, funny and non-preachy book that doesn’t make you feel stupid. I recommend it to every pregnant person I know as an essential aid for parenting.

Just wanted to say how great it was to meet you…and that you live nearby – I WILL keep you in mind when I plan my second baby – and I will tell my coffee group about your study – we all love the book so much and I know I would not be the only one to jump at having you as a midwife!!! All the best for your study!

We refer to Oh Baby (aka The Book!) all the time, in fact it’s quite dog-eared now. Thanks for making our first 5 months as parents so special – without Oh Baby, we’d be on the phone to Healthline constantly. We take much comfort in your words and advice … Since then I’ve bought 4 copies [for friends and acquaintances]. Your sleep advice has been invaluable -thank you, thank you, thank you! Every time we encounter a new stage, I have followed your advice, on numerous occasions. I’m thrilled to see you’re working on another book – all the best for your current ‘baby’.

Oh Baby is so well written and full of laughs. I can’t recommend this book enough.

Thank you so much for writing Oh Baby! It has been my bible! So easy to read and informative. 

I’ve found my copy of it to be awesome, thanks!! … It’s a STUNNING book! 

I love the book and have many friends swearing by it! Thanks so much for it. I had a very smooth road into motherhood using it as my guide! I have a great sleeper and even though my daughter has just turned one I still use the book as a reference often. 

The book is really practical and full of good advice and anecdotes and I have read and re-read some of the chapters (especially the sleep stuff!!). It’s actually the most popular book amongst my antenatal group friends as well.

I have found your book awesome and very practical [and] am recommending it to all my clients … thanks for a great book/resource for our kiwi mums.

Kathy – you are my hero! I think you are so clever, wise and loving. I love recommending your book to my clients through my antenatal classes. I am currently retailing Oh Baby, it fits so beautifully with my parenting and midwifery philosophies. I laughed and cried when I first read Oh Baby, I was totally gripped and a wee bit spooked – it just resonated with the whole tone and flavour that I teach, discuss and share through antenatal education.

I am a midwife of 20 years now (not the grey bun baggy pantyhose type, still young and in my early 40’s!) … I was so delighted to see another sensible thinker out there, over the moon in fact! We are so often forced to practice ‘insensitive midwifery’ due to ‘evidence based’ research when it should be used to guide care in this field not dictate it. I will certainly be recommending her book to ensure new parents can re-train themselves to trust their own instinctive urges and feelings, tempered with the support of professionals who are dedicated to delivering a safe service which is best suited to their individual needs.

It is important that new parents feel empowered to deal with most situations that will arise for them. However there is a lack of good, easily applied information available for new parents … Kathy is able to make a very valuable contribution in this area.

This comes to you with love and admiration, for your wonderful book, and for the warmth of character which so clearly shows through. Clearly, you are a woman of heart, and there are a lot of women out there who will be blessed to come across you, and your book.

Oh Baby is a rare book indeed! No longer can a new mother ask “why didn’t someone tell me…..?”
… Often irreverent, always factual and never dull, Oh Baby leaves you informed, confident and ready for wherever your own unique journey to motherhood leads.

Kathy is the face of the future. She has balance, clarity of vision and she understands it’s all about supporting mothers. She comes at the subject from the mother’s perspective and doesn’t hitch motherhood to the ideology wagon … Her writing style communicates a sense of caring, intimacy and honesty … There is a positive energy and humour bubbling through the text.
There are plenty of books about that dwell too heavily either on the medical side particularly with respect to the baby, or alternatively ones that adopt a radical ideology around childbirth and often lose touch with reality … [and] fail to educate or inform about the trials and tribulations of the first year or so after the birth … Kathy’s user friendly approach to the problems that commonly arise is both therapeutic and informative.

Informative barely begins to cover all that is in this gem of a book. Not only is it a guide, it is also filled with personal triumphs and lows, ones we all go through in being a woman, a friend, a mother, a nurturer … Kathy Fray has managed to find a balance between the human factor, the medical jargon and the old wives tales.

Mums on Top have researched many, many books and found this to be our favourite, Mums on Top best recommendation … Written by our fav baby guru Kathy Fray. This tell-all book is like having your very own wise woman sitting beside you throughout your birth and those precious months after birth.
Kathy Fray’s conversational writing style makes the book easy to read and as difficult to put down as the telephone when chatting with your girlfriend!

Kathy Fray writes in a direct manner … which I would call just plain honest … Women who read this book before giving birth will come back to it again and again … Alongside the chatty, down-to-earth, pulls-no-punches style of the book, the author dispenses invaluable advice … Most importantly, Oh Baby celebrates the role of mother and honours all mums.

Oh Baby has been extensively researched, alongside many expert specialists, including leading obstetricians, midwives, paediatricians and alternative healers, to get to the bottom of the myths, propaganda and zealot opinions that permeate through topics on birth, infants and motherhood.

This book creates a revolutionary and trendsetting genre, with its unique combination of refreshing honesty, open frankness, candid bluntness, mumsy warm fuzzies, entertaining realism, philosophical wisdom, factual information and guilt-free explanations.

A force not to be reckoned with, Kathy Fray provides a refreshing and commonsensical approach to modern day motherhood – every word with conviction and supported by thorough research throughout. We are delighted Kathy has joined our team of expert writers.

Kathy Fray is a woman with a mission: to give pregnant and new mums a wealth of information so they can make their own choices. Reading her work is like chatting to your best friend. She knows what makes you worry and treats you with humour and respect. Her writing is so spirited and honest it feels like she is sitting right there beside you through the good and bad times of pregnancy, birth and those tentative months afterwards. Oh Baby is essential reading for all pregnant women.

The use of everyday language is a relief … Any book dealing with medical conditions and terms must stand up to rigorous scrutiny from professionals and Kathy’s book passed with flying colours … Despite the many strings to her bow, this multi-talented woman’s objective is to help, not to instruct. Her book deals in an open and honest way with numerous subjects often neglected in other parenting books, circumcision, fluoride, lactose-intolerant children and babyless girlfriends, nothing has escaped Kathy’s attention. Attention to detail makes this book ideal, particularly for first-time parents who have a million questions swimming through their heads every day.

If you are looking to buy your first birth book, take it from someone who has read a good 10 (and digested maybe six of them) in the last 18 months: this one you might actually enjoy reading, and if you are not yet saturated with advice, you could go through it like a novel. These days, most baby books are … practical, medical, and cautionary. They are emotionally neutral and clean. Fray’s line of attack is different. She writes so energetically you can almost hear her … She used thought-provoking quotes and loves examples. This book is alive.

I love your book!

The book is exceptionally detailed … I wish you all the best.

I did indeed enjoy your book … you have your own style … it is a wonderful book!

Fray’s book certainly refers to expert opinion – with information gleaned, checked and critiqued by a range of pregnancy, infancy, maternity and holistic specialists – but it is communicated through the voice of a pretty down-to-earth mum.
Oh Baby reads like a long, loving chat with a wise aunty of the community – one who’s totally in love with babies and in awe of all women. She is insightful, blunt, compassionate, self-deprecating, affectionate, funny. 

Kathy Fray writes with force and conviction in an instinctive manner that readers are finding irresistible … she is the new Barry Crump! 

A candid account of what it means to be a mother and doesn’t shrink from telling it like it is … from pelvic floor exercises to labour pains to how to get recalcitrant infants to sleep. Kathy Fray – with three children of her own and studying to be a midwife – offers clear-eyed insider’s view into the world of mothering.

Kathy Fray’s clarity and commonsense brings fresh hope … [with her] highly successful, no-holds-barred book on motherhood … The readable and funny, fact-filled result is a remarkable achievement. 

Kathy Fry, Midwife, Author, professional and just what I needed to brighten my experience, not only kind caring, street smart and down right charming, this lady has all the attributes that are missing from some of our “todays” workforce. Thanks for being! Kind Regards