• Last updated 2/21/13 by Cynthia Mosher

Hi! Welcome to MotheringDotCommunity and the Pleased To Meet You forum! We are so happy you're here. The Pleased To Meet You forum is a space to stop in and introduce yourself and to greet others. It is support-only and does not host debate. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with our User Agreement, Our Statement of Purpose and our Signature Rules. Here is a helpful article written by Mothering/MDC's owner and publisher, Peggy O'Mara, that helps explain "Natural Family Living" in more detail. Please note that our User Agreement does not allow... read more

• Last updated 8/24/12 by Mothering Editorial

Chickenpox Party: Developing Natural Varicella Immunity By Brian Wimer, Jacquelyn L. Emm and Deren Bader Issue 122, January - February 2004 "Whoopee!" When word got out that little George's cousin Natalie had chickenpox, the playgroup phone tree lit up with the jubilant consensus: "Chickenpox party!" George was there, as was Natalie, our "Patient Zero." Jonah, Timothy, Sam, and Luka came with parents in tow, hoping to bring home a lifelong party favor of double-stranded DNA herpesvirus. Yes, it sounds cruel and unusual to subject one's child to a biological sneak... read more

• Last updated 10/19/12 by Melanie Mayo

Eleven years since 9/11. Eleven years ago last night, our daughter Eve — then ten years old — was so excited that the next morning she was going to wake up by herself for the very first time, using the radio alarm clock we had given her for the occasion. She chose the station carefully (classical was it? maybe soft pop?), but when the radio clicked on at six a.m. in her Los Angeles bedroom it wasn’t music that woke her up. The second plane had just hit its target. Nobody yet had clarity on what was happening, let alone the news media. A fragmented noise... read more

• Last updated 10/23/12 by Ruxandra Looft

By Ruxandra Looft     This week is Inflammatory Breast Cancer Awareness Week; a week dedicated to raising awareness for a particular type of breast cancer that is often left out of the mainstram conversation. IBC is a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer that does not present like “normal” breast cancer (in that there is no lump) and that spreads rapidly. It’s easy to miss IBC or to confuse it with a clogged duct, especially if you are a breastfeeding mom, as it makes the breast look red and swollen. That is what happened to my friend Heather, when her... read more

• Last updated 10/24/12 by emilyfrischmann

sponsored content Do I really need to do Kegel Exercises?   And other questions answered by pelvic health expert Dr. Susan Kellogg Spadt This week, I got a chance to talk to Dr. Susan Kellogg Spadt.  Dr. Susan Kellogg Spadt is the co-founder of The Pelvic and Sexual Health Institute of Philadelphia where she functions as The Director of Sexual Medicine. In this capacity, Dr. Kellogg Spadt performs direct patient care and consultative services as a vulvovaginal specialist, colposcopist, researcher and sexual dysfunction consultant. Like many... read more

• Last updated 12/21/12 by The IRC

  About International Rescue Committee   The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. At work in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities to restore safety, dignity and hope, the IRC leads the way from harm to home.   By Rebecca Blum   Rebecca Blum, emergency preparedness and response program manager with the International Rescue Committee, visited IRC programs in Yemen in September 2012 and shared this account:   Yemen has the second highest rate of... read more

• Last updated 10/19/12 by Melanie Mayo

  Image: CC 2.0 by Mike Baird Today’s kids are awash in environmental toxins from conception on. Some of those chemicals are implicated in the ever-earlier onset of puberty plaguing many girls. Over the last 100 years, the average age when puberty arrives fell from around 16 to 17 years of age to 12. It continues to drop. Experts say some of this can be attributed to better health. And some of it has to do with high rates of childhood obesity. But there’s a growing body of scientific evidence linking it to a variety of toxins. The... read more

• Last updated 4/5/13 by Melanie Mayo

A great resource for parents and educators of teens and kids living on the spectrum.   By V.K. Harber   April is Autism Awareness Month and Tuesday was Autism Awareness Day. As a yoga teacher I have had the immense privilege of working with children of various ages who exist on the spectrum. It has been, without a doubt, the most rewarding aspect of my work and I am always so touched to see these kids connect in some way that I am told tends to elude them outside of their yoga (and other therapeutic) sessions.   I am not a clinician or an... read more

• Last updated 12/27/12 by The IRC

  About International Rescue Committee   The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. At work in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities to restore safety, dignity and hope, the IRC leads the way from harm to home.   By Ruth Fertig and Lauren Fuller   Ruth Fertig is online community builder and Lauren Fuller is associate digital producer at the International Rescue Committee.   Last week our colleague, Rebecca Blum, reported on the revitalization of... read more

• Last updated 4/7/13 by AdinaL

While much of the rest of the country is experiencing frigid temperatures and snow storms, Ashland, Oregon has been balmy this past week: windy but mild, highs in the low 50s. My mother, who was visiting from Amherst, Massachusetts, was amazed every time she walked outside. “Oh this weather!” she’s been saying with a happy sigh. “You have no idea how lucky you are.” We are lucky to live in such a nice place. While it isn’t perfect, Ashland has the best of so many things: A nine-month-long theater festival, lots of outdoor recreation including a ski... read more