• Created on 1/15/11 by Mothering Editorial

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) currently advises pregnant women and women of childbearing age, as well as young children, to avoid eating any swordfish, shark, king mackerel, or tilefish. But according to the FDA’s own test results, other fish are at least as toxic. Grouper, sea trout, orange roughy, and bluefish all have higher levels of mercury than tilefish. So does albacore (“white”) tuna, a staple in the diets of many Americans, especially children. After pressure from watchdog groups and its own advisory panel, in 2004 the FDA recommended that these... read more

• Created on 1/12/11 by AdinaL

This is Part 2 of a 3-part series on how to positively shift gears in your relationship or marriage. To enter the giveaway for Project Happily Ever After, please leave a comment below–with your own Happily Ever After tip, or your own example of feeling very hopeless and frustrated, or, what do you want from your partner that you’re not getting–whatever resonates for you. Guest blogger Julie Geen discusses the book Project: Happily Ever After: Saving Your Marriage when the Fairytale Falters with author Alisa Bowman. Part memoir, part self-help book, Bowman spills every... read more

• Created on 1/11/11 by AdinaL

So many people are looking for it: their big life purpose. Becoming YOU is your purpose. You’re the very purpose of your existence. Realizing what lights your fire and floats your boat — THAT’s your life purpose. What else could it be? If it gives you true joy {not the seemingly happy-high that is fleeting, but the reliable, always-there kind of satisfaction} to…grow a family or a garden; to help people feel powerful … whether by fueling their bank accounts or working their bodies or writing their stories; to make people laugh, to commune with nature,... read more

• Created on 1/10/11 by Mothering Editorial

January 10, 2011 On January 5th, 2011 the British Medical Journal published the article "How the case against the MMR vaccine was fixed" by journalist Brian Deer--spurring controversy surrounding the research methods used in a 1998 study published in the Lancet by Dr. Andrew Wakefield et al. The study, which suggested a link between Autism and the MMR vaccine, and was later retracted by the Lancet. The Boulder Vaccine Safety Coalition has compiled several media resources where Wakefield and others defend his research and gives important information for understanding... read more

• Created on 1/10/11 by AdinaL

Caroline Leavitt is a bestselling, eight-time novelist. She’s also a mom, a vegetarian with vegan aspirations, an unabashed chocolate lover, and a wonderfully warm and generous being. She’s also brave; compassionately taking on subject matter that fascinates us all, but can be intense. For instance, in her latest book, Pictures of You, she follows the story of two women who collide (literally, in their cars) one dark night. Only one walks away with her life, but it is a life forever marked by this chance tragedy. She also becomes involved with the... read more

• Created on 1/10/11 by mamazee

Healthy Food for Healthy Families! This Green Grrranola packs a punch. I created this to have s a healthy, nutrient-rich, anti-oxidant filled food to offer my children who recently decided they are vegetarians. Everyone who has tried it this creation has flipped for it. My disclaimer is a) I’m not a nutritionist and b) I rarely cook from a recipe, so to follow this recipe, you need to get into a go-with-flow mindset; don’t worry if you don’t have everything on the list or if you want to add something else; feel free to improvise and make it your... read more

• Created on 1/9/11 by Mothering Editorial

Vaccination is a medical procedure that carries a risk of injury or death. As a parent, it is your responsibility to become educated about the benefits and risks of vaccines in order to make the most informed, responsible vaccination decisions. Your doctor is required by law to provide you with vaccine benefit/risk information materials before your child is vaccinated. Consumer groups, including the National Vaccine Information Center, worked with government health agencies to develop parent information booklets on each mandated vaccine. Ask your doctor for the... read more

• Created on 1/9/11 by Mothering Editorial

By Corbin Lewars Web Exclusive - July 25, 2008 "I hear a strange swooshing sound in her heart. I think you better take her to the doctor," my midwife Lisa said the day after my daughter was born. Coming from Lisa, this made me a bit nervous. I'd gotten used to the reassurances she dispensed at every potential hurdle we encountered throughout my pregnancy. I'd grown accustomed to her saying, "Don't worry. Everything will be fine." And everything had turned out fine. With the labor over and newborn Stella curled up in bed next to me nursing away, I was just starting to... read more

• Created on 1/9/11 by Cynthia Mosher

A place to collect all those little tidbits about the various mood neurotransmitters, and which ones do what.  Very VERY much a work in progress!  Sources linked at the bottom    not summarized yet: http://www.teachhealth.com/chemmess.html Norepinephrine and dopamine and concentration/focus http://www.integrativepsychiatry.net/neurotransmitter.html     Serotonin inhibitory neurotransmitter regulates many other processes such as carbohydrate cravings, sleep cycle, pain control and appropriate digestion. decreased immune... read more

• Created on 1/6/11 by mamazee

by Jay Gordon, MD This section is a web feature to compliment the articles  “Straight Talk on the 100-Day Cough,” by Dr. Lauren Feder, and “The Problem with Pertussis Vaccines,” by Barbara Loe Fisher in the January-February 2011issue of Mothering magazine. You can read the article by Dr. Feder at the link above, or buy the reprint here for both articles. Your doctor and I would probably disagree about the timing and safety of the DTaP vaccine. The P stands for pertussis, the word used—perhaps incorrectly—as a synonym for whooping cough. Despite this... read more