Tuesday, Mothering announced that they would no longer publish a print magazine. They will continue as a web source of information and support for natural parenting.
This week we mourn the loss of the magazine that has literally helped me find direction in my life as a woman and mother.
Mothering magazine has helped me learn to be a better, more patient mother. It has inspired me to start a business. It’s made me feel accepted and supported in my less than conventional ways of parenting. Needless to say, it has had a profound affect on me since I started reading it more than 6 years ago now.
My oldest daughter was born in 2005, and I came across my first print magazine in my midwives’ office during my pregnancy. I was immediately attracted to the images of parents holding and carrying their babies in slings. The images of breastfeeding mothers inspired confidence in my own ability to nurse my babies, and, importantly, nurse them confidently in public (I don’t know that this would have happened without Mothering). I adored the stories, sense of community, and even the ads. In fact, it was these ads of the small, mostly mother-owned businesses in the USA that inspired me to start Parenting By Nature. There wasn’t any business quite like this in Canada 6 years ago, and at the time I had to order my first baby sling – the sling that started it all – from an online business in the USA.
I’ve spent many hours on the Mothering website and forums and will continue to support them in this way. I also truly believe they have much opportunity to reach many, many parents via their website and online. I thank them dearly for everything they have brought to my life. Thanks to Mothering, I’ve never felt alone.
Tamara Champion
I agree with you Tamara – thanks for saying this. I also found in Mothering Magazine the support I needed for the parenting choices I made. Thanks to Mothering I never felt wrong or out of step with the rest of the world, because I knew there were others out there who felt as I did. I am sad the magazine will disappear, but happy that they will continue to publish articles and provide resources on the web.