Just a Mom- HMN

Nancy Massoto of Holistic Moms Network just posted her introductory remarks at their conference (I think in NJ). So moving and beautiful. Except I don't think I would have "just smiled" at the man who called HMN "just a mom's group."

This is worth a read! A great reminder of how I want to approach parenting.

I'm a member of my local HMN chapter and I've really enjoyed attending the monthly meetings. Though I missed this month's, which was about vaccinations. Definitely a hot topic. I prefer evidence-based medicine myself, and I'm fairly confident in the science that supports vaccinations for most virus and bacteria based illnesses. I'm a little skeptical about the efficacy of this year's flu vaccines after learning that last year's didn't protect against the right strain of flu virus. And I'm as concerned as anyone about long-term effects of additives and preservatives in vaccines. At the same time, I'm not going to lose my children to whooping cough (and there are children in the area who have succumbed because they weren't vaccinated).

But don't get me started on pharmaceutical greed and pushing out their products that people don't need to make a profit, and the need to educate ourselves as consumers. Very difficult for a layperson to sort out the real science from the pseudoscience and the paid shills.

Anyhoo-- I'm really glad there's a group like HMN around, especially here in the suburbs where it's not so easy to find a group of like-minded parents who share their knowledge and experience on living more healthfully. Ah, suburbs and city planning, the fodder for another post!