Happy Earth Day!!

We are taking Small Steps to a cleaner Planet

Do you want to make a difference, but do not know how? Do you think that only big steps and big actions can only make a difference? Think again!

Every day millions of plastic bags are disposed and destroyed, polluting our environment. Be it for shopping, for carrying our belongings or simply for getting items from the nearby store – we have seemed to live with plastic bags, and cannot do without it. Is there a way out of this mess? Can we do something about it or we keep destroying the environment around us? A simple solution?

What can a little bag do?

• Every single bag can effectively prevent dumping of 200 throw-away plastic bags. Every single bag can provide a meaningful job to women who are empowering themselves. Every single bag can educate a whole family about environmental issues.

Mama Goddess Birth Shop has partnered up with Small Steps to bring you these little reusuable shopping bags!

Everyone ordering between now and May 1st will receive a Free Small Steps reusable bag!

Heartstone and Mama Goddess

Over the past six months Mama Goddess has been pleased to be able to offer our Organic herbal teas and aromatherapy at wholesale prices to some amazing businesses.

The newest one is a beautiful spa here in B.C located on Bowen Island called Heart Stone.
Heartstone was recently interviewed by creator of Bowen Island T.V in front of the Mama Goddess Birth Shop product display.

We are proud to have such wonderful women as enthusiastic about our products as we are, offering them through Heartstone!
If you are curious, or will be going to Bowen and would like to try a spa treatment their wonderful motto is ” Walk in – Float out” you can check out the U-Tube version of the interview here!

Help Alberta Midwives get funding!

This week I received a beautiful letter by a woman from Calgary asking if I would write about what is going on in Alberta with their midwives at the moment.
Below is a small piece of her letter to me, followed by some information about what is going on, and what you can do to help.

Dear Nikiah,
My husband and I recently found your website and fell in love with the accessibility to birth supplies that I’ve been unsure of where to find now that we’re having our first home birth baby.
The other two were born in the hospital. Knowing how supportive you are of alternative birthing I was hoping you would help spread the word about an event here in Calgary to get the government to fund midwifery.

What the Ministry has to say:
In a letter sent to the Minister of Health and Wellness in 2007 from the SOGC (Society of
Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada it stated that a study was done in 2006 with the folliwing
findings;
“Last year, the Ministry completed a program evaluation of midwifery. Program evaluation showed that
midwifery is very cost effective compared to the care provided by obstetricians and family physicians.
According to Ministry estimates, the cost to the health care system of a midwife-attended birth in a
hospital is about $800 less than with a family physician. If a midwifery client gives birth at home,
the cost is about $1,800 less. (Savings are due to a c-section rate for midwifery clients that are 30%
lower than for family doctors, an episiotomy rate that is less than half, a re-admission rate to hospital
that is 65% lower than other providers, and shorter hospital stays including over double the rate of early
discharge of low-risk patients.) There are broader savings to the health care system resulting from
midwifery care not captured in the savings shown above, including reduced nursing staff time, reduced
emergency room visits, and reduced use of walk-in clinics. As well, the focus of midwives on health
promotion can yield other long-term savings.
Midwifery produces direct savings for hospitals. According to a report in The Ottawa Citizen, the
Ottawa Hospital estimates that a midwife-assisted birth costs the hospital about $450 while a physician-
assisted birth costs $1,400. Home births increase savings for the health care sector by an even greater
amount.”

Addressing the issue referred to as the Care Crisis, the SOGC had this to say;

“A generation ago, about half of family doctors still delivered babies. Today, that figure has dropped to
less than 10%, according to the Ministry. Just in the past three years, more than 300 family doctors have
left the practice of obstetrics. Family doctors now deliver about 20% of babies.
The number of obstetricians doing deliveries is declining slightly, but those who remain are doing an
increasing number of births each. In 2001/02, 466 obstetricians were delivering babies, 15 fewer than
3 years before according to a study by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Services. In the absence
of other obstetrical care providers, these doctors were doing on average 221 births per year, 7% more
than 3 years before. At the same time, the percentage of births by c-section increased by 17.5%, which
results in increased costs to the health care system.”

The SOGC ended with this warning:
“Responding to the maternity care crisis depends on addressing the sustainability of midwifery.
Midwifery is the only obstetrical care profession that is growing, particularly in areas that are
underserved for maternity care. There are currently over 300 midwives practicing in Ontario, and the
number of women they have cared for has increased by more than 80% over the past five years. Midwives
look after healthy women with normal pregnancies in their communities, thereby freeing up obstetricians
and other specialists to handle more complicated pregnancies.
However, many of the same pressures pushing doctors out of obstetrical care are also impacting midwives,
including job-related stress resulting from long and irregular hours, and substantial amounts of time on
call. As a result, action is needed by the province to support both the growth and the sustainability
of midwifery.

What you can do to help
There is a rally in Calgary scheduled for May 5, 2008 at the McDougall Centre from 12:00-1:00 during the lunch break.
Buses are bringing hundreds of families in from all around Calgary to try and show the Alberta government how much support we have here, locally. The rally is in an effort to get the legislature to make midwifery publicly funded.

If you need any more information about the rally please contact: Jennifer McKinnon at: jen@jenthemom.com

Earth Day Contest!

Calling all Earth Day babies!

Are you pregnant and due on, or very close to being due Earth Day- April 22nd or did you have your baby last year on earth Day?

You could win a fantastic prize!

Read the details for our Earth Day Contest on our Mama Blog!

The mama who gives birth closest to 12:01 am on April 22nd will win a great gift package valued at over $150.
If you already have a baby under your belt, don’t despair, all mamas who gave (or give) birth between April 22nd 2007 and April 30th 2008 are eligible – all you have to do is email us with your name, your baby’s birth date and your contact details.

The Prize:

The winner will receive a gift box worth over $150.00!

Inside she will find: A copy of the book Healthy Mom Happy Baby, a Baby set from Shirtseed’s baby line- Bumbleboo, consisting of a Bamboo and organic Cotton Blend Onsie, Baby Hat and receiving Blanket so soft you will melt! An Organic herbal tea set from us at Mama Goddess Birth Shop that includes a Beautiful Chinese Tea infuser mug, a bag of Calming Mama tea, a bag of Nurturing the Nursing Mother tea and, a Small Steps reusable grocery bag, And last but certainly not least a pair of Luna Panties from LunaPads

Happy Earth Day!!

Pro-Breastfeeding? Mother Made!

Ok so it’s probably pretty obvious that we are pro-breastfeeding,but what you may not know is how much we love a good laugh!
So when we came across this “Mother made” video on You-tube we just has to share!

Enjoy!

Earth Hour!

On March 29, 2008 at 8 p.m., Mama Goddess will join millions of people around the world in helping climate change by turning off our lights for Earth Hour, an event created by the World Wildlife Fund.

Earth Hour was created by WWF in Sydney, Australia in 2007, and in one year has grown from an event in one city to a global movement. In 2008, millions of people, businesses, governments and civic organizations in nearly 200 cities around the globe will turn out for Earth Hour. More than 100 cities across North America will participate, including the US flagships–Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco and Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

We invite everyone throughout North America and around the world to turn off the lights for an hour starting at 8 p.m. (your own local time)–whether at home or at work, with friends and family or solo, in a big city or a small town.

What will you do when the lights are off?
Have a candle lit dinner with your family.
Tell stories to each other.
Read books by candle light.
Go to bed with the sun and wake up with the sun and watch it rise.

Join people all around the world in showing that you care about our planet and want to play a part in helping to fight climate change. Turn it out for Earth Hour!

Recipe Contest!!

Mama Goddess has teamed up with Meals for Mums to bring you our “Spring Madness Recipe contest”!

Here is how it works:
Tell us your favourite recipe and why you love it.
Is it a time saver? Do your kids love it, or does it make you effortlessly look like Martha Stewart? Is it a sneakey way to get healthy things into your kids?

If you answered “Yes” to some or all of the above, send it on in!!
All you have to do is post your favorite recipe to our contest Facebook page

1st prize wins $50 gift certificate for meals for mums.

2nd prize wins Honest Pretzels a fabulous new kids cook book by mollie katzen, from us here at Mama Goddess Birth Shop .

Closing date for entries is April 30, 2008.

Recipes will be tested and judged by a panel at meals for mums.

Mompreneur Magazine Featured our Teas!

We were delighted when we were asked to have our teas featured in the Mompreneur Magazine marketplace as a great find!
The Mompreneur® magazine is a national magazine for women who are balancing the role of motherhood with being an entrepreneur.

We love the Momprreneur for obvious reasons, but we also know that many of the mom’s who come to Mama Goddess for their birthing and postpartum needs are also mompreneurs themselves, so if you have not yet had a chance to check out this magazine it really is worth picking up a copy!

Mompreneur magazine just went national this month and can be found on all newstands in Chapters and Indigo bookstores.