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    THE BYRON PREGNANCY RETREAT elfbc5000br.com
    being held in Byron Bay – an exciting new initiative by Jannine Barron (Nature’s Child) and Sue Basser (Byron Renewal).

    This is a unique weekend designed to be the ultimate pregnancy pampering experience in a creative, relaxed and supportive environment. The theme for the weekend is self-empowerment for childbirth, reflected in our range of speakers and activities during the weekend.

    The Byron Pregnancy Retreat is an opportunity for a pregnant woman to completely focus on her own body and her baby for 4 days with no interruptions in a supportive, nurturing atmosphere, sharing stories and learning with other pregnant woman and qualified practitioners.

    Just some of the delights of the weekend include:
    * Lush organic meals 5 times a day
    * Daily Pre-natal yoga and meditation
    * Childbirth Information and Planning
    * Massage and Beauty Treatments
    * Choice from a menu of Healing Modalities
    * Beautiful and relaxing accommodation in a bush retreat with ocean views
    * Free time for sleeping, bushwalking and swimming

    For more details visit http://www.natureschild.com.au
    Simply click on the belly icon on the front page or please phone Toll-Free 1300 555 632.

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    Conscious Parenting Group
    Discussing different topics weekly – Coming up: Steiner/Montessori Education, Development through play, Bedtime Rituals
    Life & Balance Centre
    132 St John’s Rd, Glebe NSW. Friday Mornings
    Contact Denise Love for further info and times:
    0409 998638

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    Doula Express
    Here is some information for anybody passionate about birth, with a willingness to “hold the Space” for women and babies during the birth process.

    This is a great opportunity for childbirth educators, midwives not currently working in birth, and women passionate about birth in our new Doula Course.

    Doula Express
    Phone: 02 9399 5854 www.e-lifeoptions.com

    Current Feature

    Andrea’s Story

    After the swift and beautiful birth of my daughter Raania, my midwife challenged me to explain and define the aura of peace he experienced on entering our home shortly after her birth (she flew in like a bird, my midwife arrived 20 minutes later!). I remember Pete giving me a thoughtful challenge after the birth of my son…would I have done anything differently, he asked? I enjoyed writing my thoughts and feelings and recollecting my first birth experience in the little book I created for Jahnu before his entrance into the world. This time my midwife wanted definition of the nature of things! How, he asked? Why, he asked? How and why have your experiences of birth been so peaceful, so inspiring and seemingly so much fun? My midwife is a bit of an intellectual. My midwife is also a man, which almost meant he might not have been my midwife! Continued.

    Raising Media Savvy Children

    tv…advertising…..video…playstation…net nanny…palm pilots..DVDs…SMS advertising………OVERLOAD!!!! Our children consume a daily diet fed to them by marketers, advertisers and media designed for the lowest common denominator. How can we, as parents guide them how to ration their daily consumption and teach them how to consume it consciously with awareness and a questioning mind? “We are all wired. Caught together in a web of resonance… joined to everyone else on the planet by cables, lines, signals and satellites.. the air waves crackle with billions of invisible forms, realities that buzz across the sky..the world mind broadcasts through all of us.” wrote Scoop Nisker in 1977. Continued.

    Mothers’ Day Proclamation: Julia Ward Howe, Boston, 1870

    Mother’s Day was originally started after the Civil War, as a protest to the carnage of that war, by women who had lost their sons. Here is the original Mother’s Day Proclamation from 1870. Continued.

    Read a mother’s day blessing

    Mothers Are as Total as the Sky
     
    Mothers Are as Total as the Sky
    Older than the earth, and more enduring,
    They’re rooted in our hearts like ancient trees,
    Halfway down to seething lava seas;
    Emblazoned on our sail, and on our mooring.
    Returning home, we dwell within their sigh:
    So maddening, so rich, so reassuring.
        
    © Nicholas Gordon

    Young Australians ask “how can it be right to lock up children?”

    Children and young people from around Australia express their concern about the government policy of detaining asylum seeker children. When the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission (HREOC) announced its Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention, the United Nations Youth Association (UNYA) sent out a request for young people to send their opinions on this issue. The young people who wrote to UNYA and Amnesty International were unanimous in their belief that children who have committed no crime should not be detained. A girl from St Michael’s College in Brisbane wrote “As young people we feel accountable and guilty for the young people so similar to ourselves. Why should we be the lucky ones born outside the fence?” Continued.

    Midwives to deliver without doctors

    According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Midwives at a NSW hospital are expected to get permission to assist women to deliver their babies when there is no doctor on duty, in a state first that may herald a shake-up of public maternity services. Justine Caines, the Maternity Coalition’s NSW president said, “When midwives have one-to-one care of women, their results are stunning.”

    Read the full report here.

    Attachment Parenting by Dr Sarah Buckley

    Parenting in our culture is a struggle. Bookshops are overflowing with advice to help us with crying babies, sleep problems, feeding problems, toilet training, temper tantrums and discipline; the same areas our parents had difficulties with, and probably our grandparents too. But these are not issues for parents in many contemporary cultures, and it is only in recent generations that these have emerged as the norms of parenting in western society. What has changed, and how do others manage to avoid difficulties in these areas? Read on.

    Catherine Lowe’s Photography

    View some of Catherine’s
    beautiful photography here

    Babywearing – ancient wisdom embraces the present.

    In touch with the natural rhythms of life, tribal and other more communal peoples knew – from experience! – the value of baby wearing. A state childhood experts call “quiet alertness” replaces crying and fussiness. A sling distributes the broad weight from shoulders and hips, aligning the baby’s center of gravity close to the wearer. Many scientific studies now show how a carried baby receives the exact essentials of pressure, motion, pleasure, warmth, security, sound. Read on.

    Robyn Smith’s Photography

    I have learnt to watch, to be with .. to watch the light on their skin, the way they walk, the way they hold themselves. It is the same with labouring women too.. to watch ..I have been with so many labouring women in hospital where everyone watches the goddammed machines, ugh. to follow my instincts to be silent and encouraging, being there for them.. to trust. Continued.
    or visit Birth Support Bendigo at http://www.bsb.bendigo.net.au

    Getting a Good Night’s Sleep- another perspective.
    by Dr Sarah J. Buckley

    Advising parents to ignore the cries of a distressed child, for however long, does not produce a loving and trustful parent-child relationship. I wonder how many of us would want our partners or friends to treat us this way, if we were alone at night and feeling upset and frightened. But it is not only the hard-heartedness of these suggestions that concerns me. All of the scientific and anthropological research that I have read supports my instincts and experience. Read On.

    Is it a Cheetah?
    by Stephanie S. Tolan

    It’s a tough time to raise, teach or be a highly gifted child. As the term “gifted” and the unusual intellectual capacity to which that term refers become more and more politically incorrect, the educational establishment changes terminology and focus. A cheetah metaphor can help us see the problem with achievement-oriented thinking. The cheetah is the fastest animal on earth. When we think of cheetahs we are likely to think first of their speed. It’s flashy. It is impressive. It’s unique. And it makes identification incredibly easy. Since cheetahs are the only animals that can run 70 mph, if you clock an animal running 70 mph, IT’S A CHEETAH! Read On.

    Getting a Good Night’s Sleep- another perspective.
    by Dr Sarah J. Buckley

    Advising parents to ignore the cries of a distressed child, for however long, does not produce a loving and trustful parent-child relationship. I wonder how many of us would want our partners or friends to treat us this way, if we were alone at night and feeling upset and frightened. But it is not only the hard-heartedness of these suggestions that concerns me. All of the scientific and anthropological research that I have read supports my instincts and experience. Read On.

    Is it a Cheetah?
    by Stephanie S. Tolan

    It’s a tough time to raise, teach or be a highly gifted child. As the term “gifted” and the unusual intellectual capacity to which that term refers become more and more politically incorrect, the educational establishment changes terminology and focus. A cheetah metaphor can help us see the problem with achievement-oriented thinking. The cheetah is the fastest animal on earth. When we think of cheetahs we are likely to think first of their speed. It’s flashy. It is impressive. It’s unique. And it makes identification incredibly easy. Since cheetahs are the only animals that can run 70 mph, if you clock an animal running 70 mph, IT’S A CHEETAH! Read On.

    Healing Birth, Healing the Earth
    by Dr Sarah J. Buckley

    Birth, She is dying.
    This primal and unspeakably powerful initiation, the only road to motherhood for our ancestors, has been stripped of Her dignity and purpose in our times. Birth has become a dangerous medical disease to be treated with escalating levels, and types, of technological interventions. What is worse, perhaps, is that the ecstasy of Birth- Her capacity to take us outside (ec) our usual state (stasis)- has been forgotten, and we are entering the sacred domain of motherhood post-operatively, even post-traumatically, rather than transformationally. Read On.

    Breastfeeding
    New studies have confirmed that breastfed babies are smarter. The study, published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, showed a link between the duration of breastfeeding and intelligence in young adults. Continued.

    Cathy Smith’s Photography
    Cathy Smith & Nigel Duncan have launched their new business, Concept Images. Cathy recently photographed Lara Feltham & Pat Rafter with their new son, Joshua. View some of Cathy’s beautiful photography and Nigel’s vibrant paintings. Read Cathy’s story about her life as a mama, midwife and a photographer. Continued.

    They’re singing your song
    When a woman in a certain African tribe knows she is pregnant, she goes out into the wilderness with a few friends and together they pray and meditate until they hear the song of the child. They recognize that every soul has its own vibration that expresses its unique flavor and purpose. When the women attune to the song, they sing it out loud. Then they return to the tribe and teach it to everyone else. Continued.

    Previous Articles

    Earth Mamas Web provides information, resources, community connections and links for parents interested in natural, earth aware parenting.

    • Raising Conscious Children
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    • Earth Friendly Parenting
    • Tools for teaching your kids to be media aware
      and marketing savvy.

    Read our extensive range of Articles. Updated Regularly.
    Submissions Welcome

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    Links to other great sites supporting parents.

    FREE Listings availble for all resources and community pages.
    Email Earth Mamas Web with details.

    A special thank you to Jannine Barron of Natures Child for her inspiration and assistance in the creation of Earth Mamas Web. Natures Child has a unique range of earth friendly pregnancy, baby and children’s products available from her website www.natureschild.com.au.

    Unless otherwise indicated, Black and White photography on this site is courtesy of and copyrighted by Katrina Folkwell. All Rights Reserved. Katrina specialises in pregnancy and birth photography and she works in the Northern NSW area. See Katrina’s page for more photos and information about her work.

    “From the most ancient of days,
    women have worn a wreath upon their heads.
    With this wreath they are said to have pronounced
    the most sacred incantations.
    Is it not the wreath of unity?
    And this blessed unity,
    is it not the highest responsibility and beautiful mission of womanhood?
    From women one may hear that we must seek disarmament
    not in warships and guns
    but in our spirits.
    And from where can the young generation hear its first caress of unification?
    Only from mother.
    To both East and West, the image of the Great Mother –
    womanhood, is the bridge of ultimate unification.”
    Nicholas Roerich from ‘Shambhala’