Misconceptions: Truth, Lies and the Unexpected on the Journey to Motherhood

According to Wikipedia, a misconception “happens when a person believes in a concept that is objectively false”. This is the premise of Naomi Wolf’s Misconceptions: Truth, Lies and the Unexpected on the Journey to Motherhood. Wolf brings to the surface many relevant points about how “backwards” we are here in America when it comes to birthing and raising our children.
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Primal Mothering In a Modern World

About 7 months ago, I was wandering through a used bookstore when a book literally jumped off the shelf at me: Primal Mothering In a Modern World, by Hygeia Halfmoon. The front cover has a picture of a beautiful family. The mother is topless and breastfeeding her youngest child. I knew that the book was made for me. I bought it without even reading the back cover.

When I got the book home, I was delighted to find that the book was written by a raw foodist, a fruitarian to be exact. Being a raw foodist myself, I was expecting to read a book about raising a raw family. Little did I know I was in for so much more. Read more

Zaida Baby- What Pregnancy is Really About

What is pregnancy and birth really about?

The answer depends on what culture one is in, what the circumstances are, and who you ask.

Today, in the U.S., I am not quite sure we have kept our connection to the sacred, primal, usually simple process that is being pregnant and giving birth. Mainstream America doesn’t value a mom’s intuition in the process, encourage her to relish each and every moment of her empowerment as a (pregnant) woman. “Rite of passage” is an un-politically correct concept, because women should be able to come by a baby by many means, and pregnancy is no longer considered a special and exalted space. Read more

The Best Book About Birth and Spirit That You Need to Read

Never have I read a book about birth with which I so closely identify. I need to tell every woman I meet about this book, and I am already considering making it a “required read” for my homebirth clients.
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Earth Mama Angel Baby

It is very important to me to NOT put any chemicals into my kids or on their skin. I’m sure some would say I am overboard, and others would say I don’t go far enough. In any case, I read labels and end up actually making my own “beauty” products for our family.

The latest concoction was a peppermint shampoo, and the week before that it was totally homemade almond soap. I use organic herbs and oils whenever I can, and I make sure that the ingredients I am using actually make sense iwith how I want the product to function. For example, I use chamomile and a minuscule amount of goldenseal in my diaper lotion, for nourishing the skin and gently combating any yeast.
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Breastfeeding Success: One thing every mother needs…

If I had a penny for every time I heard a woman with a new baby say that she didn’t have enough milk to breastfeed, or that the baby was too demanding and she couldn’t keep up, I’d be rich.

Now I’m not saying this is the woman’s fault necessarily. We have come to birth and raise our children in this culture that wants to push them away, on the road to independence before they are past infancy. I can’t solve all of these problems (though I might try) but I do have the most fantastic “product” that you just must have if you want to succeed at breastfeeding.
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