MAY: A WHOLE MONTH DEDICATED PREGNANCY, SUPPORT AND BUILDING COMMUNITIES

In 2008 author & lifestyle expert Anna Getty and producer & mompreneur Alisa Donner created what is now knows as Pregnancy Awarenss Month (PAM). Their mission is to empower, inspire and build a community of support for expectant women and families. PAM has quickly blossomed into a variety of grassroots events across the country during the month of May. We met with Alisa and Anna to talk about pregnancy, being a working mother and that one advice they wished they knew when they were pregnant.

Alisa Donner

NCW: What prompted you to start Pregnancy Awareness Month? Was there a particular moment or event?

AD: As new parents that were dear friends who’s pregnancy overlapped, we wanted to help to inspire women to create community to support them during pregnancy and post partum. Anna declared the month of May to be Pregnancy Awareness Month® and we have been operating in that truth ever since. At the time we were both prenatal and mommy /me yoga instructors in LA and were forming our own community of new mom’s and pregnant women to support each other as we stepped into parenthood.

NCW: For Pregnancy Awareness Month, you talk about making changes in daily routines for a healthier life. Where do you recommend pregnancy women should start?

AD: I recommend that each woman thinks about what is important to them and their partner. What does a healthy lifestyle mean uniquely to their family, for their family. For the physical body eating well and choosing whole foods that are organic and respectfully grown is a great start. Researching about breast feeding and organic baby food options is also a fantastic place to start. Things are different than when we were pregnant, in 7 short years the access to organic food, in non-health store outlets, has grown significantly. If you can choose organic food, I say do it. Also watch what you use to clean your home and clothes, dishes with. Look at the labels of the household chemicals. If they aren’t safe for your toddler to pick up and handle, or ingest, why have it at all. Today you can purchase soaps and disinfectants that are non-toxic, that’s a health step. Exercise is also important, go for a walk, take a prenatal yoga class, find some time for yourself to sip some tea, rub your belly and connect to your breath. Any of these are easy steps toward a healthy lifestyle.

NCW: What has surprised you the most about this project? Are there certain misconceptions or lack of information in a certain area?

AD: How incredibly easy it has been to connect with like-minded women all over the country that are craving to connect to other women. To create community of mom’s and mom’s-to-be whether it is online in a social community or face to face in a mommy/me yoga class or a special event like our annual event with panels and vendors, etc. The women teach me each year how they want our services to expand and grow, I take their lead and it has been marvelous.

As a new mother, we commonly hear, “I wish someone would have told me …..” What is the piece of advice that you wish people would have told you?

To take more time planning for post partum, the immediate post partum. The 1st 3 months, where sleep is a distant memory. Actually Anna tried to warn me, , she actually gifted me a post partum doula for a few days. But I didn’t really pay attention and didn’t take the time to truly understand what would be required. Find your community, find support for those first few weeks for sure, and realize that it is ok to have friends, family, or paid help there for support. We learn so much from those that we surround ourselves with.

NCW: As a working mother, what is the biggest challenge you face? Is there a such thing as balance?

AD: There is balance for sure, but I haven’t found it yet! However, I waited as long as possible before I started working outside the home again. Started with some weekend shifts when she was 8 months old., did my best to create a home work environment. But it just wasn’t sufficient for us from a financial standpoint. And then by 22 months I was back to work full time out of the home. Leaving her has been my biggest challenge. And I am an educated woman, mastered prepared, waited to have children and did my corporate stint prior…but it still eats at my heart everyday. That may not be the PC answer, but it is the truth. I know that I love my work; I have needs for myself from a career standpoint that need to be met. However, it is just hard knowing that I’m not there to pick her up from kindergarten, or that I’m away from her 9+ hours a day. I take time every day to acknowledge my discomfort and take a breath, accept what is. Love her dearly. Be as present as possible when I’m with her. And when it is play time (weekends & holidays & vacations) I play hard with her, and immerse myself with my family.

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Contest, open to US residents, aged 18 or over only, ends Sunday April 15th at 11.59pm PST. Winners will be announced in the following week’s newsletter.

I think we can all agree that vegetables should be an essential part of our diets. When I was living in Ecuador, I had the privilege of being within walking distance of markets that sold fresh fruits and vegetables, straight from the farm. It was definitely convenient then to stop by a vegetable stand on my walk home from work to pick up some lettuce and other ingredients to make soup and salad for dinner.

Living in the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles, however, makes it a bit more difficult to eat healthy on a regular basis. Even with the abundance of Farmers’ Markets around, making the trek to one can prove difficult with my full schedule. When I do have the time to cook, I prefer something quick and easy. And washing, chopping, and other steps that go into prepping veggies do not fall into the quick and easy category. Not to mention having to plan out what to buy ahead of time. I don’t know about you, but many times my veggies go bad long before I get around to cooking them.

These, of course, are not good enough excuses to cut out vegetables from my diet entirely. I decided to change my routine one step at a time, just to make it more manageable. Here are some tips that really helped with the transition—they’re great for families, too!

1. Prep your vegetables at the beginning of the week. I find that if I have already chopped, trimmed, and washed, I’m more likely to add veggies to my meal. My Sunday evenings are pretty relaxed, and that’s when I find time to myself to prepare for the coming week. I use this time to cut up lettuce to have salad on the go, as well as prep much of the veggies I’ve bought to cook during the week.

2. Cook in larger portions. I do not have time to cook every night of the week, so when I do, I make sure that there are plenty of leftovers. Bored with eating the same thing every day? Mix it up a little by using the leftovers in creative ways. My go-to method is to add them to fried rice. Voila, a whole new dish without much effort!

3. Incorporate vegetables into every meal. You don’t need to limit yourself to lunch and dinner. How about a light salad for breakfast? Your kids will love spinach brownies for dessert!

Pretty simple, right? It just takes a bit of creative thinking and planning. So, tell us: How do you add more vegetables to your family’s diets?

Photo courtesy Martin Cathrae / CC BY 2.0

Memorial Day has come and gone, which means summer is just around the corner. Whether you tan or don’t tan, whether you lounge on tropical beaches or prefer to spend your summer afternoons doing less sun dappled activities, sunscreen is a must. I’m sure you’ve all been dutifully applying sunscreen throughout the year. But just in case your SPF habits have been less than perfect, the upcoming sunnier months are a time to recommit yourself to a sunscreen routine.

The first step is the most important: Sunscreen shopping. We’re living in a sunscreen wonderland. Rising SPF numbers, UVB paired with UVA protection, self tanners, handy misting bottles; The convenience is magical. Unfortunately, the very product that’s supposed to protect us can put us at risk for toxic chemical exposures. While protecting your skin, don’t put your health in harm’s way.

Here are our top five tips for picking the best non-toxic sunscreen:

1.Not all vitamins are created equal: Vitamin A is the current darling of the skincare world due to its magical anti-aging properties, and it appears in 40% of sunscreens on the market. But when vitamin A is exposed to sunlight, the combination can speed up the development of skin tumors and lesions. Skip the Vitamin A in your next sunscreen purchase, and slow down aging with hats, shade, and frequent sunscreen application throughout the day.

2. Convenience is not always so convenient: Spray bottles of misting sunscreen may feel heaven sent on hectic summer days. Unfortunately, this convenience comes at a cost: Spray sunscreens put you at risk for inhaling sunscreen particles. To avoid inhalation, don’t apply spray sunscreen directly on your skin. Instead, spray your hands with the sunscreen and apply it as you would a traditional sunscreen lotion.

Popular powdered mineral sunscreens can also put you at risk of inhaling nano- or micro-sized zinc titanium. Luckily, if you’re a fan of mineral based sunscreen, there are more and more mineral based lotions on the market. For recommendations, or to check out your current sunscreen, visit the Environmental Working Group (EWG) Sunscreen database or the Skin Deep database.

3. Baby is not always best: It’s common sense that products specifically formulated for babies would be the safest options for sensitive skin. Which shows just how nonsensical, and dangerous, the cosmetics industry can be: Baby sunscreen options from many of the leading sunscreen companies appeared on EWG’s sunscreen hall of shame. Babies (and parents!) need UVB and UVA protection to adequately shelter their skin from damage and the possibility of skin cancer later in life. One of the sunscreens even contained oxybenzone, a potential hormone disruptor which is not recommended for “large surface areas of skin for extended and repeated periods of time.”

4. It’s a numbers game: Bigger isn’t better when it comes to SPF numbers. Though many sunscreens now boast SPF numbers in the 50s and higher, those high numbers are not guaranteed to be more effective. In fact, the FDA has said that these numbers are misleading. Stick with a UVA and UVB protecting, 30+ SPF, and make sure to reapply regularly throughout the day.

5. Do your homework: School may be out soon, but summer sunscreen shopping requires a bit of homework. Look up your sunscreens on the EWG Sunscreen database or the Skin Deep database to make sure you’re making the safest selections. Also remember these two key chemicals to avoid as you shop: Oxybenzone and Vitamin A (retinyl palmitate).

Additional Resources:

• Healthy Child, Healthy World, “New Study Finds Only 8 Percent of Sunscreens are Safe and Effective”
• Healthy Child, Healthy World “Understanding Sunscreen: Micronization and Nanoparticles”
• Breast Cancer Fund “Sunscreens (UV Filters)”

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Looking for more suncare tips? Check out other ideas from our bloggers:

• Safer Sun Protection Tips by Lisa  of Style Essentials
• Safe Sun Tips by Betsy of Eco-Novice

Thank you to our Healthy Child Network for these wonderful articles. Interested in joining our network and submitting your blogs to be featured? Sign-up today!

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and not necessarily those of Healthy Child Healthy World.

Photo courtesy surfcrs / CC BY 2.0