Earth Babies

By Sally Cameron

I fell pregnant while we were living in England so I started to look for information on homebirths and natural products in the UK. This led me to discover wonderful natural parenting products available overseas. Rachel was later born at home in Pretoria, South Africa. When I looked for products similar to those that I had seen in the UK, I couldn’t find anything, and yet I was sure that there must be other parents in South Africa who were also interested in the kind of products I was looking for.

I met Barbara at antenatal classes and when we spent time together after the birth of our children, she saw that I was using cloth nappies that I had brought back home from England. She was interested in them and in the other ideas that I had, and so we decided to start the company Earth Babies to provide these products here in South Africa.

We both had very small babies at this point but slowly we managed to resource fabric and design patterns for our products. After our first few strange looking nappies, we came up with a design that we liked and started making cloth nappies to sell, usually at night once our babies were asleep. This was very time consuming and involved many late night hours at the sewing machine. Husbands were even called in to help sew when times were busy. We gradually added more designs and products to our range but as we grew we realised that we could not keep up with making the nappies ourselves. We now have a small CMT factory in Pretoria helping us and it has really lifted an enormous burden.

We decided that our company should be an internet-based site so that it could be accessed by parents around the country, and products could be posted countrywide. It also helped to keep out overheads low. We followed the treads of similar types of companies in USA and UK where natural parenting Internet companies are prolific. South Africa is catching up fast with regards to Internet usage and e-commerce so we feel that we have positioned ourselves in an emerging market. Since we started our company, quite a few cloth nappy companies have come onto the market in South Africa.

We did not however want our company to focus purely on our products. We really wanted a large part of what we did to be about supporting mothers and giving them information about more natural approaches to parenting. It was only through other people sharing their ideas with us that we learnt about things like cloth nappies, elimination communication, extended breastfeeding, natural and home births. We, in turn, wanted to make the information available to others and so a large part of our Internet site is dedicated to articles and information about these topics. We also made a forum available on our website where parents can chat to each other, share ideas, and support one another in pregnancy, birth and parenting.

Barbara and I both want to be work at home moms. It is not always easy to balance working and mothering, but we just have to keep evaluating what our initial goals were and stick to that. The temptation to try and compete with larger companies and to grow too fast has been there, but this would mean a lot less time with our children, who remain our number one focus.

Barbara – “ I have always dreamed of being a mom, the reality of which has been more wonderful, more challenging and more time consuming than I could ever have imagined. I hope that Earth Babies can reach other moms on this amazing journey and somehow make it a little easier for them."

Sally - “I always knew that my dream job was out there and that I just had not found it yet. Who would have known that it would be owning my own company and being able to help other parents. Barbara and I joke now that we should have studied business and computers to do this job but I know that my background in nursing and midwifery has helped us, as has Barbara’s experience in the restaurant industry as an administrator and personal assistant. We feel like quite small fish is the big ocean but we will be the best most colourful fish we can be.”

Reinventing Our Birth Stories

by Rosalia Pihlajasaari



I trained as a doula in 2003 while expecting my second child, Skyla. I had a previous birth by necessary caesarean for my son Davin so I was aiming at having a VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarean). Upon having had a successful natural water birth with my daughter I decided to follow my bliss and become a doula. I also trained in America to become a Birthing From Within Mentor and childbirth educator.

Part of my training included leading a Birth Stories workshop that has taught me many things amongst which the fact that as life unfolds we become aware that few things are absolutely under our control. As you journey forward you encounter various experiences, good and bad, that assist you in becoming more fully YOU.

Birth is one of those thresholds in life when all your inner resources are challenged and called into action. Even as you stand on this threshold between maiden and mother and you do everything that is recommended, things still have a way of turning out differently from what you expected. Your memory of your birth experience is something that will walk with you for the rest of your life.

Whatever your birth experience is there is always something when you look back, that is bothering you or is causing you grief and sorrow. You are searching for answers to questions that you may not have fully formulated yet or perhaps are looking to place blame with someone or something. This will inevitably re-open any birth wounds leaving you vulnerable yet again. Birth wounds may come in all shapes and sizes. It may take the shape of an unwished for intervention or an unexpected emotion that arose due to lack of support from your partner. It may seem like something small and inconsequential but what ever it is it’s this memory that flavours your recollection of your birth.

Traumatic or disillusioned experiences can affect you in all aspects of your life including your parenting and successive pregnancies and your relationship with your partner or other people. Working through and resolving past trauma is the key to more successful future relations and experiences.

I work with mothers to access their inner resources of love and forgiveness and gently move from a birth memory that causes pain and grief to a place of letting go and exploring better memories that can serve them fully in their lives. Through sensorial mediums such as art and journaling each mother can awaken her inner healer and begin to see her birth through new eyes. This will free her to see strength and power where she previously saw failure. She will also be able to create new empowering beliefs about herself as a birthing woman, mother and individual.
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Rosalia is a doula, Birthing From Within childbirth educator and mentor, breastfeeding facilitator, Reiki master and massage therapist. You can contact Rosalia at rosalia[at]birthing.co.za to find out when her next Birth Story Workshops are being held. You can visit her website at www.birthing.co.za

Bosom Buddies

By Mel Novitzkas



When I trained to be a Doula, I needed as much practical experience as possible. I did births at Mowbray Maternity, Stellenbosch Provincial Hospital, Hottentots Holland Hospital, Tygerberg Hospital, and the very swanky Vergelegen Medi-clinic.

I was horrified at the ridiculous difference between state and private.

At the state hospitals woman arrive in a taxi all alone, often in labour, mostly in pain, and always afraid. They birth alone, nameless except for the general title of “Mama”. There is no privacy, no dignity. At one state hospital they are all given morphine although not consulted or informed of risks to baby. Epidurals are non-existent. Even gas is no where to be seen except the scar on the wall where it was once in use. No birth balls, no water, no choice. And then they leave with their infant and often nothing else, not even clothes or a blanket, in the crowded taxi back to the townships.

At the private hospital mothers receive a nappy bag filled with goodies they don’t actually need. And the state moms? Nothing! This will just not do!

And so the non-profit, Bosom Buddies was ‘born’.

Bosom Buddies aims to have all mothers with their newborns, who birth at a State Hospital , to experience a warm & caring welcome into the world. No newborn will go home without being warmly dressed and wrapped snuggly in a blanket.

So what can you do to help?

Not too much about their birthing experience yet. But, we do make gorgeous nappy bags for the moms and their newborns. We fill them with a Babygro, vest, booties, warm knitted jersey and a cosy hat. We throw in a blanket, sanitary pads and a few disposables. When funds allow we include toweling nappies, a snappi and waterproofs. (I hope to have this in every bag soon) We also include a baby product such as Vaseline or powder and sometimes toothpaste and toothbrush for mom. We attach a beautiful handcrafted card to the bag and the gift is ready.Just before we hand out the bags we pop in a packet of crunchies or muffins. Sadly the hospital we visit is high risk so we often have stillbirths. We make sure we have a plain bag filled with pads and toiletries and something pretty for the mom. We attach a sympathy card and just sit and hold them a while. We also take care of the mothers of the prem babies who kangacare for their tiny ones for weeks or months till they are strong enough.

The following resources are needed:

• Fabric for the bags
• Fleece fabric for the blankets
• Wool for the jerseys
• Babygros and vests in newborn & 0-3 months size
• Disposable nappies
• 4 Terricloth nappies with 1 snappi and 2 waterproofs per bag, 1 pkt nappy liners
• Surgical spirits and cotton buds for cord care
• Baby products such as Vaseline, aqueous cream, powder & shampoo
• Sanitary pads for the mother (one of our biggest needs)
• Suitable snacks and beverages for the kangacare mothers who stay in the hospital for extended periods with their premature infants
• Financial sponsorship to make all this possible

We rely solely on volunteers to run the operation and visit the mothers. The beauty of the project is that the needs are specific and unique so everyone has something to offer in the running of BB.

The following are areas where you can commit your time, skills & energy:

• Sewing of the bags (material is provided)
• Knitting jerseys, hats & booties
• Packing of the bags (done weekly once a week)
• Baking of suitable goods for the bags
• Collection of infant clothing & other goods from suppliers & sponsors
• Attending hospital visits (Mondays or Thursdays at 9.00am)
• Marketing BB to potential sponsors and obtaining funding
• Praying for BB and the mothers and babies
• Making cards

When we have enough practical help and financial & product sponsorship we will be able to cover each mother as well as get the project started in other areas. This is our hope.

For further information, please contact Mel
Check out Mel's blog: www.bosombuddies.typepad.com