In this 20 minute documentary, First Nations, Inuit and Métis midwives and representatives from Aboriginal organizations discuss the challenges, benefits and significance of Aboriginal women taking control of this most sacred ceremony and bringing it back home.

To hear more, visit the Podcast at the NAHO/The National Aboriginal Health Organization’s web-site.

Q&A With Mama Goddess
The Mompreneur June 2008 13
Nikiah Seeds is the mother of two children and the
owner of Mama Goddess Birth Shop, a proudly
Canadian, eco-friendly online store that is a high
quality source of home and hospital birth supplies,
water birth pools, organic baby products, organic
herbal teas, breastfeeding supplies, midwifery
supplies and much more.

How did you get started in your business?
Before opening my “cyber-doors” to Mama Goddess in 2005, I worked in Lower Mainland Vancouver for many years as a Birth Doula (CD DONA), Childbirth Educator, Holistic Nutritionist, Certified Birthing From Within mentor, Herbalist and Maternity Reflexologist. It was very fulfilling for me to combine all of these skills together, specializing in working with women during their childbearing year, and it was also incredibly busy. The vision for Mama Goddess grew out of these many passions. First and foremost there was my interest and love for working with women in their childbearing years, as well as my husband’s and my desire to birth our own children at home with midwives in attendance. We were also dedicated to making a difference to our planet for our children and future grandchildren. I also wanted to see a Canadian place for parents-to-be, birthing professionals and folks who care about the earth to come and be taken care of. When I had my first baby, I ran all over town trying to buy my birthing supplies for my planned home birth – it was a real pain! Then I did it again our years later when I started teaching prenatal classes. Unable to find many of the supplies I needed
in Canada, I spent a lot of time and money shipping things from the U.S.It was then that I first thought about having a business of my own – something that would fill the supply gap I was experiencing in Canada. At the time, no one was offering home birth supply kits or even comfort items needed for mothers birthing in the hospital, and there was only one small company that sold teaching supplies. Needless to say they saw a lot of me! Mama Goddess has grown more then I ever could have imagined when I first started out with a small idea and a need in my community.
Much like the work I was doing in my prenatal classes, I wanted to create a place online that felt
safe and that was as informative as it was fun to be at. This meant that Mama Goddess Birth Shop had to become not just a place to find natural, organic and really unique items, but also a place that women could feel the community presence…...

To read the rest of the article pick up a copy for the Mompreneur Magazine!

It is with great excitement that I make the formal announcement of my work on the Board of Directors of Shanti Uganda a non profit organization based both in Vancouver B.C and Uganda.

Shanti Uganda is dedicated to helping women, Children and communities in Uganda find peace and health.
It is our belief that in order to overcome trauma and conflict within a community, we must first allow individuals to heal and uplift their minds, bodies and spirits.
The programs within Shanti help provide the tools needed to find inner peace and well-being, foster conscious birth and manifest health, happiness and community. All Shanti Uganda projects combine Birthing education, Healing support and Community Development initiatives.

My role is as one of the coordinators of the Cooperative Birth Program, and I will be overseeing an exciting new piece within the existing project. Mama Goddess Birth Shop will be putting together birth kits that can be bought at the wholesale price here and sent to Uganda for women having babies.
These kits will be filled with the basic supplies that a woman needs to have her baby with safety and health in mind.

In the meantime…
Natalie Angell one of our founders will be flying into Uganda on July 9th and we are raising money for several projects that she will be overseeing during her time there, such as building a chicken coop and buying 100 egg laying chickens for the local children’s breakfasts!

To help in this endeavor Mama Goddess is selling these beautiful beads with 100% of the proceeds going back to Shanti Uganda.

Nsambya Women’s Craft Cooperative
Nsambya is a slum in the outskirts of Kampala, Uganda. The women who have joined the project all have HIV/AIDS and make beautiful jewellery from recycled paper.

Group membership has more than doubled since August 2007. The women have opened a savings account which they use to save money for treatment, to support their children and to support the children who have been orphaned since the project began.

Despite their struggle, the women continue to support their families and community. Their strength, compassion and commitment is an inspiration to us all.

This morning I opened up this wonderful e-mail from one of my old doula colleges about International Midwives Day to find a great article about another good friend of mine Midwife Tracey Simpson who was featured in the New West News leader on-line paper! Way to go Tracey!

Here is a snippet of the article:
Midwives provide an opportunity for expectant mothers to play a greater role in the decision-making process

When she was seven centimetres dilated, Kirsti Bergmeier knew it was time to lower herself into the inflated pool set up on the living room floor of her New Westminster home.

With a garden hose hooked up to the kitchen sink, the pool took two full tanks of hot water to fill. Meanwhile, Bergmeier’s husband ran back and forth to top up the tub with water he boiled on the stove.

When she sank down in the warm water, Bergmeier began to relax as her labour pains subsided.

But midwife Tracy Simpson wouldn’t let the labouring woman rest for long. After a brief break, she coached the first-time mom to get out of the tub because her relaxation was slowing the process too much.

Reluctantly, Bergmeier stepped out of the water and paced around her home, climbing up and down the stairs. When she needed a rest, she sat back in the tub and reclined until the water reached her armpits.

When Simpson discovered the baby was…...Click here to read the rest

To recognize International Midwives Day and the 10th anniversary of registered midwives practising in B.C., Simpson is hosting an open house Monday, May 5 from 6 to 8 p.m. at her clinic, Mama Love Midwifery at 434 East Columbia St.

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!

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!

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

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, 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!!

Enjoy!

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!

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.

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.

We had a Blast at Birth Fest Last week-end and we even won a contest for the most birthfesty booth!

In this photo my daughter and I are posing with a pink container filled with Tsunami Dolls that she was giving out, she loved having something to do while she was there helping mama!

We held also contest for a gift bag filled with some of our teas and bath salts, and are happy to announce Sarah Galuska as our winner!

What is it?
Tiny Tots Coupon Book is A MUST-HAVE for expecting families and families with children! Save on family attractions, kids clothing & accessories, toys, classes, photography, family services, and much more for your family!

At only $10, Tiny Tots Coupon Book is a handy purse-sized coupon book and is a must-have for expecting parents and families with children. Get savings on everything from family attractions, maternity and prenatal products and services, to baby clothes and accessories, photography, toys, fun activities, classes, baby wearing and unique gifts and services.

Also makes a great baby shower gift!

The Business of being Born is a new film produces by Riki Lake and Directed by Abby Epstein, that documents the state, or rather “Business” of having a baby in the USA.

Birth:it’s a miracle. A rite of passage. A natural part of life. But more than anything, birth is a business. Compelled to find answers after a disappointing birth experience with her first child, actress Ricki Lake recruits filmmaker Abby Epstein to examine and question the way American women have babies.

The film interlaces intimate birth stories with surprising historical, political and scientific insights and shocking statistics about the current maternity care system. When director Epstein discovers she is pregnant during the making of the film, the journey becomes even more personal.

Should most births be viewed as a natural life process, or should every delivery be treated as a potentially catastrophic medical emergency?

Where can you see it in Canada?

Thunder Bay, Ontario
February 21, 2008
Purchase Tickets @ Midas Auto Centre
OR call: Carey, 807.577.8406

Stratford, Ontario
February 26, 2008
For tickets call: 519.273.9200 or 519.275.3535
or email: tchambers@wightman.ca

Calgary, Alberta February 22, 2008
7:30pm PRIMA SAI’S INSPIRED CINEMA
$8 Advance / $10 Door

Calgary, Alberta
February 24, 2008
UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY
MURRAY FRASER HALL 160
info at: moviesthatmatter.org

Calgary, Alberta
March 15, 2008
7:00pm CARDEL THEATRE
Purchase tickets at: healthybirthchoices.com

Edmonton, Alberta – Mama Goddess will be there!!
March 1, 2008
WHITEMUD CROSSING LIBRARY
4211 – 106 Street
Free Admission

Burnaby, BC March 2, 2008
1:00pm STUDIO THEATRE
SHADOWBOLT CENTRE FOR THE ARTS
For ticket and info call box office: 604.205.3000

North Vancouver B.C
March 14, 2008
7:00pm CAPILANO COLLEGE LIBRARY
Free and open to the public
Sponsored by the Capilano College Women’s Studies Program
In honour of International Women’s Day!

Submitting this letter is the most important step since the funding for the 2008-2009 health care budget is being decided soon! Please take a quick moment to visit www.midwivesnow.com click on the Act Now button and sign your name, location and email. It doesn’t matter where you are from, the more people demanding that women in the Corridor have a choice of care the better. Please spread the word if you can!

Act Now!

Marisa Harder-Chapman and Kathleen Koegler are currently accepting submissions for an anthology on birth. They believe that

”...within each woman is inherent wisdom of the birth process, though it is often forgotten. Also commonly neglected are the meaningful and transformative aspects of birth. Birth is not just a physical way to continue the human population—the way a woman births and is transformed by birth has implications far beyond herself. We want more women to experience birth from a position of trusting birth and themselves… Your words and art may help women on their path toward trusting birth and have an impact on a new generation of mothers.”

Please submit original (unpublished) written or visual expression of how you trust birth or how you have begun to travel this path. This may include essays, birth stories, poetry, artwork, or photography—any work that expresses your personal beliefs and feelings about the topic of trusting birth.

Length of poetry should no more than 750 words. Prose should be no more than 1250 words. Shorter lengths are welcome. Submissions will be edited for length and clarity. A letter of consent for publication must accompany all submissions. If you prefer to submit anonymously, please send your consent letter separately from your piece. Unless otherwise specified, first name, last initial, city and state will be included in the published work. Unused submissions along with their accompanying letters of consent will be destroyed after May 16, 2008. If you prefer to have your submission returned, please include a self addressed, stamped envelope.

Submissions are due February 29, 2008, via mail or e-mail. Please request a letter of consent with your submission. Contact Marisa or Kathleen with any questions:

Marisa Harder-Chapman
Kathleen Koegler
1501 S Elm St
Cambridge MN 55008

Marisa: 763-552-0547
Kathleen: 651-699-6454
birthexpressions@gmail.com

Every Order placed with mama Goddess Birth Shop will receive one of these little dolls until our supplies run out!
A gift of 1,000,000 dolls going around the world!

To read more or make a donation visit the Tsunamika Website

A living symbol
She is a symbol, a living symbol with her own life.

As her name suggests, she is a child of tsunami;
The tsunami that changed the lives of millions.
She is the memory of Tsunami…

She has been hand-made by women,
The women who live by the ocean,
The women whose lives changed forever after the tsunami,
The women who are exploring a new way of living,
The women who are empowering themselves.
Tsunamika is an expression of their creative fire;
Through Tsunamika they enter a new & wider world.

She is made out of bits and pieces of cloth
Left over from other works;
Made from what is known as waste.
There is nothing called waste in Nature,
Everything has its creative role.
Everything can be living & beautiful,
As Tsunamika is …

She is a living message,
A message of a new way of living
In which Life is respected.
A message of the Oneness of Life
In which love has a place.
A message of the sacredness of life
In which we can celebrate, together.

And life can be very simple
Like Tsunamika is.
She is our beloved.
She has touched many lives.
Now, she is here.
With you!

Yoyomama, a free weekday email newsletter and website, and is for every Vancouver mother who’s ever called the community centre two days too late to register her offspring for the must-have class of the season, wandered the aisles of the bookstore wondering which book will make her baby brainiest, or wished she’d known just how child-friendly a coffee shop was (or wasn’t) before she ordered her latte.

Yoyo Mama is making the lives of mums with kids from newborn to age five less yoyo-like by keeping them connected to themselves and the community with short hits of helpful, hip info delivered directly to your inbox.

Mama Goddess is going to the Baby Fair with Harmony Family Wellness!

Here are all the details:

Westcoast Moms’ is proud to host Vancouver’s Largest Baby Shower exclusive to prenatal moms in and around Vanouver. Our shows provide the opportunity for expectant mothers and their partners to:

Engage with various health care experts
Receive information on products and services
Obtain community information
View product displays and demonstrations
Hear guest speakers

When:Sunday, January 27th, 2008
Where:Heritage Hall, Main Street, 3102 Main Street, Vancouver
What Time:12:00pm-4:00p

First 100 attendees receive a diaper bag full of goodies valued at over $50.00
Over $500 door prizes!

The story began when we got a call from Mary Lawless, a Birth Doula from St Albert, Edmonton in October.
Her goal was simple, to outfit herself with as many supplies as she needed to help her local Doctor to feel as comfortable as possible while doing her first Home Birth.

Mary and I spent countless hours on the phone making sure that she had all the right midwifery and doula supplies needed so she could do her job and the Dr—Dr Marlene Lidkea could do hers.

In the time between that birth, and now, something remarkable happened!
Mary not only outfitted herself with a birthing pool so mothers could have that option either in their homes or at the hospital while working with Dr Lidkea, but by working alongside Dr Marlene in her role as a doula, she was a complete insperation.

But by far the most exciting part of this story came today by wayof the news, when the whole story unfolded into the front of the Edmonton paper with the headline reading Local Doctor Hatches Rebirth of Home delivery about Dr Marlene deciding to open her own Natural Childbirth Clinic!

Here is some more information about Dr Marlene written by Mary:
Marlene is a family doctor who has been in practice in St. Albert for about 25 years. Two years ago, she was honored as 1 of the top 100 physicians of the century in Canada for developing an exhaustive set of protocols to be used when assessing children who have been sexually abused. This is one of her areas of expertise; however, her focus has now shifted to her first love childbirth. She is hopeful that, in the future, she can devote her time entirely to The Natural Childbirth Clinic.

She has always viewed childbirth as a normal, physiological process and uses this philosophy when caring for her patients. She believes that the best birth experiences occur, when parents thoroughly explore all their options and make decisions based on the information they have gathered.

I have had the privilege of working with Marlene for the past 10 years. Although she is a trained physician, she has the heart and hands of a midwife. She is warm, compassionate and utterly devoted to the women and the families she serves. I have worked with most of the physicians in our community who attend births and several of the midwives; and I can honestly say that I have never met anyone who advocates more effectively for their clients than Marlene.

The Natural Childbirth Clinic has been a dream of Marlene’s for years. She has felt a calling to work along side midwives, nurses and doulas who share her philiosophy in empowering women to trust their body’s ability to birth.

We agree that this vision is truly remarkable, and know that it was our friend and Birth Doula Mary Lawless who played an insperational part in it all!

The idea was to have folks send us their stories about motherhood, menstrual funnies and life and that is exactly what we got!

Melanie Osmack from Fit 4 Two sent us her short but to the point story about why she “really needed” some Lunapads—her story below will tell you why we choose her to win the Lunapads Intro Kit.

And Lisa sent us several of her Blog entries about being a mother. Lisa has dedicated herself to blogging about her families journey through parenthood, adoption and life in general.
Lisa some of your entries has us laughing out loud!
This is why we choose her to win the Mama Goddess menstrual care kit, because every mother deserves to care for herself during her menstrual cycle!
Here is a link to one of her many entries about her kids and life as a mother:
strechmarkmama.com

A short story by Melanie Osmack about why she needs to win some Lunapads

I still have tampons in my bathroom from 1998. Seriously.
I went to work in the Philippines in ’98 and was warned that tampons would be hard to come by so I brought enough tampons for 12 cycles.
Well it turns out that I do not menstruate while abroad.
After coming home I got right dow to work getting married and started a family.
Between being pregnant and breastfeeding I had not had a period for years!! and as a result, have ended up with my own personal collection of retro OB tampons!! Maybe I could sell them on eBay?!

We try our best to be a sustainable family, we follow the 4 Rs, we use cloth diapers and we avoid waste as much as possible. Since I am getting my period again I would really love to give the Lunapads a try since they fit in so well with value system.
Plus I am not sure these retro tampons from the 80’s are still really safe anymore?!
Hope I win,
Sincerely
Melanie Osmack
Fit 4 two fitness Inc.

Vancouver B.C

You can find our whole line of Mama Goddess Products at Harmony Wellness Family Centre Harmony Wellness offers Traditional Chinese medicine, Birthing from Within Classes, Prenatal Yoga, Naturopathic Medicine, Shiatsu and more!!

If you want to have a cup of our famous Calming Mama tea without having to make it yourself, make sure you drop into The Little Nest This amazing little haven is perfect for mothers with kids in tow, they have a huge play area for the kiddies so you can relax and enjoy some of their amazing baked goods, tea or lunch.

If you like yoga then you can find a few of our Herbal teas at the new Yoga studio in Burnaby Heart Centre Yoga , they offer a plethora of yoga including Prenatal, Kids, Hatha and healing Yoga.

Edmonton

Birth Source now offers our Home Birth Kits, Belly Casting Kits and Belly Mehndi Kits as well as our entire line of herbal teas!

You will have to visit them in their retail location though to get these items!