Notes from an Empowered Mommy

I'm a mom of 3 under 3 and founder of EmpoweredMommies.com. I remember expecting my first child and being bombarded by tidbits of information that at times seemed to completely contradict one another. As a novice mom, this created a sense of uncertainty throughout my pregnancy. I didn't fully understand what my options were so I did not know the right questions to ask. I felt I had to be resigned to accept what came along. Fortunately, I had a great obgyn who respected my opinions and concerns and I gave birth to a healthy little girl. But I wished I knew then what I know now. I would have worried less and enjoyed my pregnancy more! Similarly when it came to caring for my newborn. Differing newstories and information circulating around on a wide array of topics such as vaccines, newborn care, and breastfeeding left me feeling quite confused and disempowered at times.

So as I prepared for my second and third pregnancy, I vowed to surround myself with supporting women and fellow moms with whom I would exchange advice, recommendations and credible resources based on each of our own personal experiences. It's amazing what a difference it all made! Rather than focusing on the rare exceptions and fear-ridden birth and newborn care stories, I was able to learn to trust my body's ability to give birth, maternal instincts and read up on information that wasn't sensationalized, misstated, unfairly biased or exaggerated. I was able to break through common misconceptions and myths and take back the reigns of my pregnancy, birth experience, and baby care without fearing the worst because of lack of knowledge or understanding of my options.

And it was when I started blogging for my local newspaper's moms site, that I learned about the power of online mom communities. This is what motivated me to create this site with which I hope to bring together a national community of moms who can help each other avoid feeling out of control and overly worried during such a special moment in their lives.