• Created on 6/5/13 by Melanie Mayo

  Embracing and Nurturing your Overwhelmed Self Post-Partum and Beyond   by Katharina Sandizell   When I had my first child, I spent a lot of time thinking about and preparing for the birth. When the baby finally came, I was mildly depressed and out of sorts for a while, at the same time feeling guilty that I wasn’t overflowing with an abundance of selfless love and joy. I realized that every second of what had been plenty of personal space was now taken over by a baby that would require all of my attention and more.   These overwhelmed and depressed... read more

• Created on 5/29/13 by MamaSolo

I am a single mother by choice. No, I am not crazy. Yes, it is a lot of work. No, I have no regrets. Yes, I’m totally and madly in love with my son. I had thought about having a child on my own since my early thirties. It's not how I imagined I would have a family when I was younger but my reality is that I’m just not relationship girl, and I never have been. I have dated over the years but nothing ever stuck. And so I found myself staring at 40 on the horizon with my ovaries persistently reminding me that they were there and they would like to be put into service,... read more

• Created on 5/24/13 by Melanie Mayo

About The Heart in the Womb: An Exploration into the Roots of Human Love and Social Cohesion   Modern-day life and our highly stressed, “risk-averse” society has led to a medicalised, fearful model of childbirth, one that has stripped the process of its wondrous magic. In this groundbreaking book, consultant obstetrician Dr Amali Lokugamage discusses ways in which every woman can aim to give birth in the most natural, supportive way possible, and looks at the wider implications for society at large.    This book includes a foreword by Dr Luke Zander, founder of... read more

• Created on 5/5/13 by Marcy Axness

Mothers, some of the most potent parental influence you will have on your child takes place while he or she is still in your womb -- so let's hope that most of your days while pregnant are Happy Mother's Days! While you are pregnant, your baby’s organs and tissues develop in direct response to lessons they receive about the world. These lessons come from your diet, your behavior and your state of mind -- thereby hinting at the function of joy in pregnancy.   If there is chronic stress in pregnancy, if a pregnant mother’s thoughts and emotions are persistently... read more

• Created on 4/16/13 by Melanie Mayo

By Megan Leary   Out of all of my hippie ways, I surprisingly get the fewest inquiries as to why I decided to birth from home.  My theory is that people have already decided that homebirth is a bad thing and do not want to broach the topic in order to avoid awkwardness.  However, if you are one of these people I want you, most of all, to ask me about my decision.  If you have a hard time understanding why a mother might choose to homebirth, it is likely you are drawing conclusions about birthing at home from assumptions that are simply not true.    The most... read more

• Created on 4/6/13 by lea1022

  Quote: We have a secret in our culture, and it’s not that birth is painful. It’s that women are strong - Laura Stavoe Harm     I think it's important to start here: Labor is hard, intense work. No, wait. I think it's more important to start here: Women are amazing. And, labor is hard, intense work. And, whatever way a woman decides to bring a child into the world should be respected and, frankly, commended - because it is a hard, intense process. Molly is only three weeks old but so far, our two mantras have been... read more

• Created on 3/25/13 by Marcy Axness

Okay, I'll come out with it, finally, after all these years: I was desperately disappointed with The Vagina Monologues! I'm only now fessing up and lodging my opinion that the empress Eve Ensler has no new clothes on. In her supposedly ground-breaking play...two hours of dialogue and monologue dedicated (supposedly) to the sexual dimension of a woman's psycho-anatomical makeup...there is not one single mention of menstruation. No period, period.   Oh, there are plenty of other reasons to not embrace TVM (or as Camille Paglia calls it, "the perversion of... read more

• Created on 2/25/13 by Kristen Tea

  Reposted with permission from MotherWise     For some people, announcing a pregnancy is a happy, exciting time.  Many soon-to-be mothers experience joyous reactions, hugs, happy tears, high-fives, and other loving, encouraging responses.  Others are not so fortunate, and it seems that an etiquette guide is in order.   I am a single parent, and although I was 23 and had a good job at a library, most of the responses I received when I told people I was pregnant were insensitive and inconsiderate.  It appeared that the main focus was that I was unmarried,... read more

• Created on 2/24/13 by HWBMama

By Megan Leary     A year and a half ago, I was 42 weeks pregnant with my first and I was walking around 9 centimeters dilated.  So, it should come as no surprise that when labor finally did come it only lasted three hours from the first contraction to meeting my darling girl.  I didn’t get to experience or put to use the knowledge I had acquired on how to manage a long and laborious labor.  This is not to say that I didn’t have any pain.  My labor came hard and fast and I had grueling all back labor for the totality of the three hours.  However, my preparations... read more

• Created on 2/22/13 by Sarah Clark

Maybe you have noticed one of the latest YouTube phenomenons- the Harlem Shake.  There are dozens of them online.  They all start in a similar way- one person dancing and then- BOOM- a room fool of craziness and chicken suits.     But of course, for any true birth nut a Harlem Shake fad wouldn't be complete without a NATURAL BIRTH version.   I have this crazy friend Shannon who of course MADE one and it is hilarious.  It has everything you need in a natural birth version of the Harlem Shake- a water birth, (look closely!) some hands and knees contractions,... read more