Natural Family News

If this study is to be believed, then breastfeeding moms should be calm, cool, and collected. The study measured levels of cortisol in women who were breastfeeding versus women who were bottle-feeding as they were exposed to stressful situations. Consistently, the breastfeeding moms had lower levels of cortisol, which is a stress hormone. As a side benefit, this should have some weight loss implications, as well, if the infomercial for Relacore are to be believed. Several weight loss products on the market claim to supress cortisol production, which causes weight to accumulate in the belly area. So, the next time you’re feeling stressed out, just grab your baby and settle in for a nice long nursing session. You can read more about the study here.

Black Rhino organic coffee is teaming up with CureBreastCancer.org to develop co-branded packaging for a line of coffee that will soon be available online. A percentage of the proceeds will go to breast cancer research. Read more.

Ethicbaby.com Launches Natural Baby Store Online for Concerned Parents

Victoria, British Columbia – July 22, 2005. Finding healthy, environmentally-friendly baby products can be a difficult task for concerned parents. “Your everyday baby stores only seem to carry a few brand names, but how do you know the products are safe for your baby?” says Sheri Murray, a loyal Ethicbaby customer. Ethicbaby.com is a new, online store meeting the growing demand for healthy, natural baby products.

“We just followed our hearts – we wanted to offer parents and grandparents a healthy alternative and complete peace of mind when purchasing baby products”, say expectant parents and store owners, Kate and Jeff Dorion.

Ethicbaby.com offers a fairly-traded product line from around the world including, certified organic cotton clothing and bedding (India), stuffed toys (Egypt), wooden toys made with non-toxic paints (Germany), natural baby skin care (Australia), parenting books (Canada), baby gifts and engaging music for both parents and babies (US).

The vision behind ethicbaby.com stemmed from a desire to provide retail support to parents choosing a healthy, sustainable lifestyle. Trained as a pediatric occupational therapist, Kate’s mission is to educate parents about both baby development and sustainability issues. “Having a baby is a major trigger toward healthy living, and a great opportunity to educate parents”, says the co-founder. The online baby store features an education series and a section of natural parenting books.

The couple began re-evaluating how and what they purchased for themselves, and like most expectant parents, thoughts turned to product choices for their child. “We need to care where purchases come from,” says Jeff, “it is imperative that we sell products that promote fair-trade labour and green business practices.”

A member of Coop America and The Values-based Business Network (VBN) in Victoria, Ethic Retail’s merchandise selection criteria ensures products only come from socially responsible suppliers, thus supporting solid business practices.

Ethicbaby’s natural baby goods can be purchased at http://www.ethicbaby.com. For more information about the parent company, Ethic Retail, call (800) 706-ETHC or visit http://www.ethic.ca.

My kids are at my Mom’s house today, so I just happened to be watching the Today Show this morning. They did a segment on breastfeeding, which for the most part, was positive. They pointed out that the AAP encourages exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months and that children should really breastfeed until at least 2 years of age. They highlighted the benefits for mom and baby. All in all, it was pretty well done. The main points can be read on the Today Show site.

However, female talk show hosts should just quit talking about breastfeeding altogether, I think. First Barbara Walters opens mouth, inserts foot about mothers nursing babies on airplanes, and on today’s segment Katie Couric was just about as bad. First, she went on and on about how hard it is to breastfeed. While she did encourage women to seek professional help if they were having difficulties, she made it seem like breastfeeding was one step away from torture. Then there was the end of the interview. After it was pointed out that babies should be nursed until 2 years of age, she said “But when they can ask for it, they’re too old, right?” The doctor responded with something like “It varies from mother to mother.” And Katie’s reply? “That sort of creeps me out.” She did follow up with “to each his own”.

So, ladies, perhaps it’s time for a bit of education, or a letter writing campaign, or a nurse in. It’s sad to me that it’s the women in the media who, more often than not, are the ones who torpedo the Moms who are just trying to provide the best possible life for their children.

The video of the interview, including the comments mentioned above, can be seen on the Today Show’s website.

For those of you who read a lot of birth things, this article may contain some really familiar phrases, but, like the author of the story, I had to ask “what monkey?” I thought this was a great article about the homebirth process. It contained statistics and reasons for homebirthing, but mostly it was just a father’s journey through the process of pregnancy that ends in homebirth. Read it. You’ll be glad you did.

I saw an article today on the best worst foods today- that is the best foods that will drive you to an early grave. It brought up a couple of questions in my mind. One was “why is an article on foods in Forbes magazine”.

The second question was “why does this list involve primarily things that only old and/or rich people would eat”. For example, duck confit. Duck confit? I honestly don’t know anyone who has ever eaten duck confit or who plans to eat it in the future. Foi gras? Sure, I’ve eaten that. When I worked art gallery openings in college. There were more pedestrian foods, such as french fries and hamburgers, that made the list. You can read the full article here.

I was checking out Google news for the latest articles on homebirth, and the number one article was a recent news piece on the Homebirth Association of North Dallas, featuring our very own Laura and her family. You can view the article here.

Australian toddlers have weighed in. The results? Breastmilk is as good as chocolate and better than ice cream. I thought that was one of the sweetest quotes I’ve read in a long time. This article was part of World Breastfeeding Week’s focus this year on nursing toddlers. Many women stop nursing by one year, in spite of the World Health Oranization’s guidelines, which indicate children should be nursed until at least two years of age. I know that here in the United States, women interpret the AAP’s guidelines of “at least a year” as meaning *until* a year. So, here’s to all those women who have continued on past a year. May your nursings be as sweet as your children. (read article here)

Dozens of new products to be added to www.greenforgood.com on ongoing basis
through site that also donates portion of profits to community-based
organizations

AUGUST 2, 2005 – EDMONDS, WA – Addressing the growing popularity of
ecologically friendly products in the marketplace, Green for Good, LLC today
launched its website, www.greenforgood.com. The site features everything a
consumer needs to live a “green” lifestyle on a daily basis, including
organic food, clothing, cosmetics and beauty products as well as organic
cotton beds, pet products, house wares and more.

According to the consumer research firm Mintel, consumers in 2005 are
spending twice as much on organic food as they did in the 1990s and 44
percent of all organic foods now are being purchased at mainstream retail
outlets. ACNielsen, a leading global provider of consumer and marketplace
information recently announced that the overall organic product sector has
sustained strong product growth – up 14.4% in 2005 from the same period a
year ago.

“There is no doubt that a green wave is rolling across the consumer
marketplace,” said David R. Kaufer, President and CEO of Green for Good.
“Whether it’s the skyrocketing sales of the Toyota Prius, national shortage
of organic milk in grocery stores or increasing number organic menu options
in restaurants, consumers are demonstrating an increasing commitment to a
green lifestyle. Green for Good is addressing this demand by providing an
incredibly broad range of green, organic and eco-friendly products online
that promises to grow substantially on an ongoing basis. ”

Green for Good plans to offer the broadest range of green, organic and
eco-friendly products available online and will add dozens of new products
and categories monthly. In addition, Green for Good is committed to being an
active supporter of groups and organizations who focus on preserving and
improving the environment, individual health and local communities, by
donating a minimum of ten percent of its profits to these organizations.

Greenforgood.com features a wide variety of organic and eco-friendly
products, including baby gifts, clothing, yard and garden products, pet
products and even organic wine. “This is an ideal site for people to
purchase practical items and do a lot of green window shopping and see
unique products,” Kaufer said. “We’ve thoroughly enjoyed selecting these
products because it helped us realize how diverse the marketplace has become
and how many choices customers now have.” The site currently offers nearly
1400 products within 201 categories and displays products that are “most
popular,” “newest,” “highest rated” (based on customer votes) and “random”
(a range of products customers might not realize can be or are organic and
eco-friendly).

By offering these products through an online storefront, Green for Good
allows customers to shop for their favorite eco-friendly products in a
“green” manner. Natural resources are kept to a minimum, with no land
required for a physical retail location and gas consumption kept to a
minimum.

About Green for Good
Green for Good is a West Coast company with offices in Edmonds, Washington
and Pleasanton, California. It was started with the vision of building a
successful business that sells great products and services that support
health and well-being and contribute to a healthy lifestyle and
environment – while “doing good” with the profits. That’s why the company is
dedicated to donating at least ten percent of after tax profits to
community-based non-profit organizations that are dedicated to improving the
environment and the world we live in.

Green for Good is an official member of Co-op America, the leading business
network for green businesses and the Organic Trade Association. Businesses
displaying the Co-op America Business Seal have passed Co-op America’s
screening process for socially and environmentally responsible – or green -
businesses and have been admitted to membership in Co-op America’s Business
Network. The Organic Trade Association (OTA) is the membership-based
business association for the organic industry in North America. OTA’s
mission is to encourage global sustainability through promoting and
protecting the growth of diverse organic trade.

The Sierra Club has come out in favor of an SUV– you read that correctly. Not only are they in favor of Ford’s Mercury Mariner hybrid vehicle, but they are actively helping to promote it. In addition to being more environmentally friendly (it gets 33 mpg in town and 29 mpg on the highway), the Mariner is union-made in the United States. Although it won’t appear in showrooms until the fall, it is already available on online. (read more)

Unfortunately, for my family, this SUV falls into the “completely useless” category. We drive an SUV, but that’s because we have 5 children. An SUV that seats 4 comfortably or 5 if you *squeeze* them into the backseat does us absolutely no good. Our next vehicle will have better gas mileage, but that’s because we’ll buy a minivan next. Now, why don’t they make one of those as a hybrid?