About the Author

Kathy Fray, midwife, author, parenting speaker and columnist, has written the ever-popular Oh Baby ... Birth, Babies and Motherhood Uncensored and Oh Grow Up ...Toddlers to PreTeens Decoded. Fray is a self-employed north Auckland midwife and also managing director of BabyOK Products (creators of the Babe-Sleeper). See kathyfray.co.nz. Often called 'a mother's Bible', Oh Baby does not focus only on the baby, but also explores the mother's experience and needs, reading like a big sister giving you wise advice and practical assistance. Ray Richards, New Zealand's leading literary agent, said: 'Kathy Fray writes with force and conviction in an instinctive manner that readers are finding irresistible.' Her style has also been described as 'punchy'(by maternity guru Sheila Kitzinger) and 'energetic' and 'alive' (The Press). The New Zealand College of Midwives said: 'Oh Baby reads like a long, loving chat with a wise aunty ... She is insightful, blunt, compassionate, self-deprecating, affectionate, funny.' New Zealand Doctor ruled Oh Baby 'a lifesaver' in 'an era where many women are stand-alone family makers without the support of extended family all round them, [which means] much knowledge is lost which would previously have been passed down'. In PUT praised the pairing of 'supportive, caring advice' with 'encyclopaedic medical reference material' - 'like having access to a kind and gentle GP as well as to all the gems of wisdom of years of mothers' coffee groups - and singled out for especial praise the covering of intuition and that 'dads are also not forgotten'. Oh Grow Up has been described by the Nelson Mail as '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', concluding 'mostly use it to understand and enjoy your children'. Fray herself describes Oh Grow Up as being about 'parenting with spirit' and empowering your children with no-nonsense methods underpinned by a spiritual and philosophical dimension - a combination of strength, guts and soul! Of Oh Grow Up, world champion marathoner Allison Roe MBE said, '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'. World champion windsurfer Barbara Kendall MBE said: 'It is great and touches on many 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.' World rowing champion Rob Hamill declared: 'It's difficult to put it down a It's as up-front, humorous and hard-hitting as Muhammad Ali and punches above its weight with its non-politically correct stance on many parenting issues a someone needs to deliver a copy to Oprah!' Fray is also an inspirational and entertaining motivational speaker, who teaches self-empowerment through the equilibrium of mind, body and spirit.