This month, when you purchase The Everyday Oils enrollment kit from the Verte boutique, $15 will be donated to V-Day and UNICEF’s City of Joy Project. The two non-profits, in partnership with the Panzi Foundation, are currently building a special facility for the survivors of sexual violence in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The City of Joy will support women to heal and provide them with opportunities to develop their leadership through programming in: group therapy; storytelling; dance; theater; self-defense; comprehensive sexuality education (covering HIV/AIDS, family planning); ecology and horticulture; and economic empowerment.

Just a few dollars have far-reaching impact and can provide much needed supplies that will make the City of Joy a comfortable, caring, and healthy place for women survivors of sexual violence to learn, lead, and inspire.

For example, $30 provides one woman with seeds for the City of Joy’s horticulture program for one year or $400 provides the salary of a local registered nurse.

On your behalf, Verte (The Green Doula’s Parent Biz) will donate $15 to one of the City of Joy’s registry category items which include:

Skills Training
Healing
Living
Education
Working
Nourishing
Or a Custom Donation

How Are You Able to Enhance Your Life While Helping to Build the City of Joy?

By incorporating “nature’s living energy” into your everyday lifestyle, you are bound to enhance your everyday life. How do you hone such energy? Well, you don’t have to for Young Living Essential Oils have already done it for you. It is Young Living’ mission to promote the ancient healing art of essential oil therapy. Offering a collection of over 140 therapeutic-grade single essential oils and unique essential oil blends, they are the world’s largest community dedicated to achieving wellness via nature’s purest, most potent gift, essential oils.

When used aromatically, applied topically, or taken internally, essential oils can calm, energize, balance, purify, and rejuvenate the mind and body. As well, such oils can be incorporated into your everyday (including pregnancy and childcare)lifestyle in areas such as:

air purification
aromatherapy + fragrance
cleaning
cooking
first aid
pet care

Your Everyday Oils enrollment kit will include the following oils and more for only $150; ideal to introduce you to the benefits and ease of incorporating essential oils into your life, receive discounts & rewards, and should you chose, the opportunity to generate extra income:

Everyday Oils includes:
(
1)- 5 ml Frankincense
(
1)- 5 ml Lemon

(
1)- 5 ml Lavender

(
1)- 5 ml Peppermint

(
1)- 5 ml Purification
 Blend
(
1)- 5 ml Panaway
 Blend
(
1)- 5 ml Peace & Calming®
 Blend
(
1)- 5 ml Thieves®
 Blend
(
1)- 5 ml Valor® Blend
As well

You can purchase the enrollment kit at any time through Verte, though the fundraiser for the City of Joy ends on February 28th. Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me and db@vertenyc.com.

Keep an eye out all this month for a variety of recipes incorporating essential oils that you can incorporate into your pregnancy and infant care regime. If you are not interested in purchasing therapeutic-grade oils, but still want to contribute to the City of Joy, please make your donation here

(getty images)

Though one would assume it to be, there are not many published reports that clinically validate the benefits of eating organic foods during pregnancy. The intuitive lifestyle has been growing primarily because moms-to-be want the purest and healthiest foods possible to help ensure a healthy baby. Now, The Organic Center (TOC), an independent nonprofit 501(c)(3), have taken the much needed steps of converting what many have already figured into a tangible report. In the medical and scientific world, theories and hunches do not mean a thing until it can be clinically proven or documented.

As a result of over 150 scientific studies, The Organic Center have concluded that a balanced organic diet before and during pregnancy directly benefits childhood development. Such a lifestyle can significantly reduce childhood obesity and the development of diabetes. As well TOC’s report revealed that exposure to pesticides used to grow non-organic food during pregnancy increases the risk of premature birth, low-birth weight, and neurological problems.

(getty images)

Click here to read more about the report. All of TOC’s publications, consumer guides and videos are available free of charge on their website as well. The organization’s mission is to advance scientific research on the health and environmental benefits of organic foods, and to communicate those benefits to the public.

As I am glad that such concrete information and reports now exist, I still want to emphasis, that it is still important to research the companies that stamp their products with the organic logo. With the growing demand for organic foods and the less than stringent regulations provided by the FDA up to this point, there are several companies who pose as charlatans and misuse the organic symbol and/or brand their product to appear to be the most pure, when in fact it is not. Check out this startling article regarding some brands of both Organic Soy and Dairy milk.

A little bit of research and intuition are the only sure things you can rely on to make the right food choices for you and your family. After reading the labels, you should be able to comprehend the ingredients. The more simple, whole and real the ingredients are, the better. After reading about the company, whether it be on-line, on the package or through word of mouth, you should feel comfortable about the source and comfortable about your purchase. Do not solely rely on the design of the packaging and the Organic logo alone before you make a purchase. Remember that ultimately, design agencies are paid big bucks to make consumers purchase. Make sure the companies’ ingredients, mission and practices match, if not supersede, the initial visual impact of the design of their packaging.

Acclaimed retired midwife of over 28 years and author Valerie El Halta has been quoted to say,

‘Women today not only possess genetic memory of birth from a thousand generations of women, but they are also assailed from every direction by information and misinformation about birth.” Valerie El Halta.

I have always been fascinated to hear many women share their “secret” thoughts & dreams about the ocean, dolphins, mermaids & other aquatic references during pregnancy, birth and the ebbs of their menses. Often when they share these lucid journeys, their body language retracts into a state of uncertainty, as if their dreams are juvenile or thoughts to be mocked. Some share such dreams and thoughts in such an descriptive way, it is as if they were rendering a familiar ballet in your mind. If only women owned these thoughts as genetic, sacred memories are shared such thought with other women more often. What types of connections would be re-established between the mind, body, and community of women. Could guided mediation inspired by the ocean help more women during their labor?

Before the hospitals and before the concept of water pollution, many women in the past have birthed in the oceans and pools of waters. There are many stories of such hidden in the chapters of history. Researchers have found in Minoan ruins, Art frescos with depictions of dolphins and their unique connections with water and humans. I discovered one of my favorite water birth stories in Gentle Birth Choices by Barbara Harper, R.N. Here is an expert:

“ The Chumash Indians of the Central California Coast tell stories about their women laboring in tide pools and shallow inlets along the beach while men of the tribe drummed and chanted…..Dolphins would appear nearby in the water, staying close to the woman until the baby was born.”

Russian male midwife, Igor Charkovsky, is known for helping pregnant women give birth underwater in the Black Sea ‘aided’ by dolphins. In Peru, in 2005, a study was conducted on prenatal dolphin therapy. It is referenced quite often that many women find it helpful to visualize their contractions as ebbs and flows just like the tides of the ocean or listens to aquatic sounds during labor. Women report that birthing in a birth pool or even just standing in the shower during labor soothes and alleviates the various sensations and pressures in their bodies.

There are several videos and books that capture the water births in a beautiful light if you would like to learn more. If you your self have a wonderful water story to share that relates to this topic, please do so.

getty images

This morning on Good Morning America, they featured a company called 23 and Me. The company sells DNA testing kits and offers a service where both women and men can test their salvia to generate an individualized DNA report. The way that the segment was introduced and the emphasis of the conversation was based on the idea that this kit can help parents discover potential ailments and hereditary diseases that their child may inherit.

I am curious to hear your feedback regarding this and all of the many preventive/genetic testing out there. Do you agree that eventually one will arrive at the point where too much information is just that, too much? I hear many alarming stories of couples being persuaded to test for everything disease under the sun and watch their stress levels surge at all of the possibilities. Is all of this worrying before birth really necessary? Do you think that all of these tests and kits take away from parents’ ability to fully enjoy and embrace their pregnancy or enable parents to do so?

I came across a story of true bravery. A 20 year old who was serving in the Royal Logistic Corps (UK), concealed her entire pregnancy while enlisted and delivered her baby all on her own. The baby weighed 6lbs and was concealed in the mother’s quarters till the baby’s cries brought attention. It is not disposed as to why the mother concealed her pregnancy. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be with such a secret for 9 months and then deliver in isolation. My mind plays with the thought that this mother must have had a daily conversation with her baby in womb for she had to converse with someone. That focus, meditation and bond probably carried her through the birth.

The Swedish based company, IKEA, just announced its commitment to donate $48 million to the U.N. Children’s Fund initiatives in India. The U.N. reports that one woman dies every seven minutes from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth and nearly 1 million newborn babies die annually in India.

The money donated will go towards developing critical long-term programs that seek to improve child survival, development and protection in some of India’s most deprived areas. India is home to 40% of the world’s malnourished children. The funds will also provide clean water and nutritional supplements for India’s children. IKEA is already UNICEF’s biggest corporate partner. The company has guaranteed its total commitment more than $180 million to the organization. They have been honoring their commitment since 2000 and will continue to payout their organization till 2015.

As well, this affordable retailer has a solid environmental commitment and offers consumers a range of affordable home accessories that can spruce up your baby’s nursery or Kids room.

(Getty/ABC News)

Finally there has been a great non-bias report on the truth about c-sections in the mainstream media. The thanks goes to ABC World News for the coverage. They covered the topic of the Elective C-Sections and the pros and cons of C-sections both last night in a segment and they have great follow up articles posted on their site. They led way into the segment by stating that “In the last decade, the number of cesarean sections — or C-sections — performed in America has nearly doubled.” They point out the risks to the development of babies’ respiratory systems due to the high rate of babies surgically born before 39 weeks and further outline the Pros and Cons of C-sections. Check out the articles for all of the good information.

image courtesy of getty images

We have all heard the phrase that “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”, but now researchers have discovered that apples may just help keep asthma away from your unborn child. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that out of the 20 million Americans who have asthma, about 6.2 million of those are children. While there are other contributing factors to the development of asthma, such as poor indoor air quality, this discovery is a great advancement in childhood asthma prevention.

The study which was published in the journal Thorax, found that the children who were born from women who ate more than 4 apples (hopefully organic) a week , had 37 percent less wheezing than those whose mothers did not and were 53 percent less likely to have doctor-confirmed asthma.

Dr. Devang Doshi, director of pediatric allergy and immunology at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich. commented to Healthday News on this study and said, “This was a good study, but we need a lot more evidence still,” he continued on to say, “The general consensus is that women should consume a good, well-balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, and not to overindulge in any one food.”