Natural Labor Stimulants
By Mona K. Harris
"The last weeks of pregnancy can be very tiresome. Mom may feel extra large and uncomfortable. Moving around is challenging and baby is getting bigger and putting even more pressure on her body. It's at these times when moms start asking, "What can I do to bring on labor naturally?"

On The Rag (Literally): Menstrual Alternatives
By Laura Schwartzman
"Most people tend to notice that pads, tampons and applicators cause a massive amount of waste. It's not people aren't concerned; most women just aren't aware of the alternatives to conventional pads and tampons. Stores and pharmacies don't normally carry alternative menstrual products, which is why most people haven't heard of them. Also, Americans are squeamish about menstruation in the first place and don't talk about it often. Many gynecologists aren't even aware of alternatives, despite the fact that most are safe, if not FDA-approved!"

Reduce Stress and Strengthen Your Immune System
By Monique N. Gilbert
"Protecting the immune system is a vital part of living longer, feeling younger and being healthy. Here are ten natural healthy ways to reduce stress, boost your immune system and slow down the hands of time..."

Benefits of Touch
By Kausalya Santhanam
"My 7-year-old is very "artsy." So when she asked me, "Do you know why I like art lessons in school?" I had no problem answering (or so I thought). "You love art and so you like art lessons," I said. "Yes, I do like art. But there is one more important reason," she said, eyes shining..."

Camping Out in Mommyland
By Lia Mack
"On my way to motherhood, I came upon many camps of thought surrounding birth. There was the "get an epidural" camp and the "induce your labor" camp, which were right next to the "opt for a c-section" camp. However, I knew that I didn't belong to any of these interventionalist camps. So, I ventured over to the "just go natural" camp and found freedom in following nature's course..."

Nurturing Baby's Senses
By Dana Johnson, MSW
"I once read that a newborn infant enters the world through three doors: breathing, nutrition, and sensory impressions. This is how they begin to take in their surroundings and learn about the world around them. Infants are completely open and take in these experiences with their entire body. As parents who already make conscious choices about the food we feed our children, let us also be mindful of the sensory impressions we ask them to digest..."

Un-diapering Your Baby - A Perfect Recipe for Vegans
By Melinda Rothstein
"As any family who follows a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle knows, challenging the mainstream view or putting aside pre-conceived notions of parenting can be very difficult. Babies are expected to wear diapers, right? Diaper discussions pervade parenting conversations, diapering ads fill up parenting magazines, and diapering accessories fill many homes. Is it really possible that this is all unnecessary? You bet!"

Dispose of Your Disposables
By Lisa Poisso
"Is your household trapped inside the box? You know the boxes I'm talking about: Brightly colored vessels containing products promising to make our home and personal lives neat and convenient … boxes we find ourselves purchasing and re-purchasing, throwing out and then throwing out again in each week's trash..."

Making the Switch
By Linda Jones
"Dishes are sanitized in machines so we won't get sick when we eat or prepare food; teeth are brushed so they don't get diseased and fall out; floors are sucked and mopped so our kids don't inhale and play in dirt, hair, and dander...These are very important reasons for doing what we do each day, but what if all that we're doing is actually causing more harm then good?"

Top 10 Cloth Diaper Myths
By Mona Harris
"Cloth diapers today are much different from those used by our parents. You may be thinking of using cloth, but stories of pins, plastic pants, and washing with bleach can be a real turn off. Here are a few of the most common misconceptions concerning cloth diapers..."

Top 10 Attachment Parenting Challenges
By Caity McCardell
"Being a parent who labels herself an Attachment Parent (AP), I follow Dr. Sears' prescription: Wear your baby, sleep with your baby, nurse your baby, and tend to your baby - for as long as they want you to. This parenting style goes against modern Western tradition, which includes letting a baby "cry it out," weaning from nursing or not nursing at all, having baby sleep in a crib, and leaving baby alone in a playpen..."

Tools You Can Use When Your Parenting Comes Under Fire
By Lisa Poisso
"People say the darnedest things sometimes -- and natural parenting practices can be a common target in mainstream America. How do you respond when people question or criticize your parenting? How can you build bridges with inquisitors, helping them hear and consider new ideas about attachment parenting and natural parenting?"

Cloth Diapers Make Sense
By Mona Harris
"If you were cloth diapered as a baby, chances are you wore prefolds, pins and plastic pants. Moms today have more options than ever! Cloth diapers have become more convenient and rival disposables in their simplicity of use..."

Aromatherapy for Babies: Essential Oil or Snake Oil?
By Stacie Jacobs
"Natural products are at the forefront of the personal care industry, particularly in the baby sector. It used to be that the selection of baby products available was quite limited. Today, that is not the case as moms are clammoring for aromatherapy products..."

10 Uses for Essential Oils in the Home
By Jill Black
"When guests first enter your home the first thing that greets them is the aroma. Essential oils can create a homely atmosphere add 6-8 drops of your favourite scent to water in a diffuser or place the drops directly into a bowl of boiling water..."

Affording Organic: Can You Afford Not to?
By Carol Laliberte
"Organic food, or food grown without the use of chemicals such as pesticides, is in most cases more expensive than food grown with pesticides and chemicals, or conventional food, as it is commonly referred to. So do you buy less food and go organic? Pick and choose which organic foods you buy?"

Hemp: A Diverse & Vital Eco-Product
By N. Glenn Perrett
"One easy way to lessen our impact on Mother Earth is to use products that have less of an impact on the environment. Several years ago I heard many positive things about hemp, Everything from comfortable, durable clothes to paper is made from this incredible plant. I decided to learn more about hemp and to test some of the products made from it..."

Healthful Herbs & Herbal Teas
By N. Glenn Perrett
"Growing organic vegetables and herbs is good for your health and the health of the environment. We have several organic vegetable gardens and an herb garden. By growing our own vegetables we are able to avoid harmful pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers..."

My Untamed Yard: The Power of Weeds
By Melody Sanislo
"Living in a rental house in what I like to call an 'extreme lawn-care' (perfectly manicured at all costs) neighborhood has had its challenges for my family. Landscapers crowd our street every weekday for an extended season..."

Come My Children and Eat From My Gardens
By Vicki Johnston
"Three year old Luke had ear chronic ear infections. Fortunately his mother was willing to take him off of processed dairy. Of course, the infections totally disappeared... When he was older he wanted to try eating more of the processed fare of his friends and lunches from the school cafeteria. His mother and I both noticed how much more susceptible to illness he became when these impurities crept back into his diet..."

Vaccination Resource Guide
From Natural Family Online
"A special vaccination guide helping parents sort through questions and facts about childhood vaccinations...a hotly debated issue. The government claims all is well in the vaccinated world, while opponents make their own claims of horrifying side effects and immunizations gone awry..."