Rebecca Minkoff gives a shout out to Latham Thomas in Lucky Magazine

NY Fashion Week veteran Rebecca Minkoff is expecting her first child and showing a fierce Spring 2012 collection this week. She is a mama glow icon with fabulous taste and personal style. She is also a huge advocate of women trusting their bodies wisdom for birth. I applaud Rebecca for that stance. Rebecca is keeping calm, cool, flexible and zen with the help of prenatal yoga in her life and here she tells Lucky Magazine that it's one of the essentials in getting prepped for the show. It's a pleasure to work with Rebecca. Check out the post here Lucky Magazine
To see what Rebecca's up to check her out on www.RebeccaMinkoff.com

Latham's Blog on Crazy Sexy Life: Slow Birth

Slow Birth is ecologically attuned midwifery/doula care with respect to the balance of nature.

Over the years, the Slow Food movement has benefitted from a lot of traction in the sustainable food community. Everyone speaks about slow food, the ecology of mother Earth, where our sacred food comes from, how it’s been cultivated, even the soil composition. The food justice and sustainable food movement prides itself on preserving just food for all.

Because I’m in the birth business, it got me thinking about how this concept applied to a new type of birthing model, one that is ages old but getting lost in the fast-paced world we live in. That concept is slow birth.

Slow Birth references labor and maternal care practices that are respectful and honor the inner ecology of the woman, her sacred anatomy, her innate wild wisdom and her attuned rhythms. It respects that birth can take time.

Like Slow Food, slow birth is about going back to the basics, celebrating what’s natural. That doesn’t mean without sophistication. It does, however, mean listening to the sophisticated rhythms of the body and acknowledging that you don’t always need technological support. The body is highly sophisticated and undergoes a host of processes to bring forth a baby.

The time of birth cannot be predicted, and this phenomenon of uncertainty leaves medical practitioners uneasy. So many women have the experience of being encouraged to take medications to “move things along.” With their haste to speed up their labor via drugs, they alter the woman’s internal hormonal ecology, and she can become disconnected to what is happening in her body and start to mistrust. No one can govern the female body but the woman who lives in that body. When practitioners take a position to modulate the normal course of a woman’s labor (without good reason to do so) they perform an act against nature. The connection to the Slow Food movement is strong here: The widespread use of agro-chemicals in farming are also an act against mother nature.

There is also the issue of unnecessary medical waste that is accumulated as a result of the technocratic birth model (which mirrors the inorganic waste, chemical compounds and natural resources wasted from industrial farming methods). Midwifery care is less expensive and less invasive, and midwives respect the mother/baby dyad. Organic farming is less expensive, uses less energy and the produce tastes better. We have a lot to say about this when it comes to our food, but what about when it comes to our wombs? We have to work with women and their bodies, not against them. We have to work with mother nature’s rhythms, not against them.

In my labor support work as a doula (Greek for “one who serves”), I strive to work with the mother and keep her in the hormonal flow and in a rhythm with her baby. We use breathing techniques, visualization, sound, movement, essential oils and therapeutic touch to help her labor comfortably. When a woman trusts her body and has proper support, she can have an empowering birth – no matter what the outcome. If Slow Food is a movement that takes us back to the land with respect and honor for sustainable food, then Slow Birth takes us back to the womb with respect and honor for the sacred process of birth.

For more information on how to optimize your health, visit TenderShootsWellness.com

1st Annual Mama Glow Film Festival sponsored by wellNEST

I'm excited to announce my new baby- the Mama Glow Film Festival sponsored by , WellNEST, The Ash Center for Comprehensive Medicine, my company Tender Shoots Wellness & more...

The Mama Glow!™ Film Festival at WellNEST was created by Latham Thomas, along with Haley Binn, mother and contributor for Hamptons Magazine, and Rachel Paletsky, an advocate for integrative alternative medicine practices and founder and creative director of WellNEST and WellNEST Studio.

The idea of creating a positive culture of birth that is empowering for women and families resonates with Haley, Latham and Rachel. They decided to showcase two films that have taken a tremendous stance in bringing awareness to maternal health and birth options. With gratitude they welcome you to their first annual event honoring women and innate wisdom of the female body. We welcome you in joining them in shifting towards a healthier consciousness around birth.

Join us: Saturday, August 20th, 2011 5pm
at wellNEST Studio 51 Division Street
Sag Harbor, NY

To Purchase Tickets
contact wellNEST: 631.899.4600 or email: Emily@wellNEST.com
$50 advance purchase/$65 at the door
seating is limited- tickets based on availability
a portion of the proceeds go to- Every Mother Counts

We are screening
Christy Turlington's film- No Woman, No Cry
David Belle's Madamn Tizo.

Following the film Haley Binn will moderate a panel discussion.

Our generous sponsors include:
wellNEST, Tender Shoots Wellness, The Ash Center for Comprehensive Medicine,
Pure Essentials, Mamatini, Kiki De Montparnasse, Rebecca Minkoff, Jay Kos, GAIAM,
Basq,Belly Bandit, G-Diapers, Plum Organics, Tata Harper, Nibmor, EGG by Susan Lazar, Moms & the City, Diva Moms, Hot Moms Club & Cord Blood Registry, The Bump, Choices in Childbirth, Dapple, Girly Girl Army, Juicy Naam

Prenatal Wellness Series at Equinox Fitness

Join me for a prenatal wellness series at Equinox Fitness this month. Please reach out to Sara Ohm to confirm your spot. This is a unique offering including spa services, a prenatal lecture on nutrition, and a baby fair. Contact Sara Hom- sara.hom@equinox.com