Blogger Spotlight - The Mama Tao

This week's blogger spotlight is the awesome Mama Tao.  I love her blog.  Love, love, love.

How long have you been blogging?
I started The Mama Tao in March of this year

How did you choose you blog name?
My name was A)Supposed to look like a natural parenting blogger and B) was based on how my son used to say cow back when he was a biddy. He said Tao and I thought it was so cute. I was also nursing my daughter at the time and often said I felt like a Mama Cow. Thus the Mama Tao was born

What inspired you to start blogging?
I was inspired after finding Dr. Amy's blog, "Hurt By Homebirth" I started to wonder if certain people would believe anything they read on the internet as long as it seemed somewhat legit and was "Natural". It was right before April fools and we made a post about how eating babies’ first poop was good for mama. It was sort of a weak post looking back on it, but it actually took off and we have had people talk about it like it was real. We needed other stuff to put on the blog that made it seem more legit and people just kept sending in these funny posts. The first 100 posts were really a group effort. I think we had something like 89 posts in the first month.

What post are you most proud of?
I'd guess it would have to be "We Must Punish The Bad Apples". That post really gave the other side a good idea of what I was about and that we were really not all that different. Most people who are NCB are not really freaky about it. There were very few who can stomach the worst of it. Also many people are unaware (thanks to movies like Business of Being Born) of just how undereducated anyone who is not an OB or CNM is.

What post is your least favorite?
Looking back it would have to be one of the early ones. There are ones that are weak. It might even be the very first one about eating baby's poop. We have improved our game a bit.

What is your favorite blog/blogger?
Right now it's a toss-up between The Feminist Bragger, Zdogg MD and Dr. Amy's The Skeptical OB

What subject won’t you blog about?
The whole Circing or Intactivism movement. There are way too many sides and too much good and bad info on both. It's better just to stay out of it. I'm not saying that there is nothing about it on the blog, there might be, but it would only be about the rabid nature of those on both sides. It's a personal choice and no one will ever know where I really stand...except of course, my sons.

What do you find most challenging about blogging about your topic?
I think I get burned out a lot. I am blogging about a serious topic in a humorous way. Not an easy thing to do. While writing the satire I also do other posts that are serious and myself and the other Raptors (the name our group of mothers who are trying to stop CPMs has created) are always trying to reach out to mothers who have lost children. Sometimes they welcome it and other times they don't. Either way it is draining. Even with a mother who understand us and is on our side we spend most of the day crying and holding our kids--so thankful that they are here with us.

What is the ultimate goal for your blog?
I'd love to see CPMs taken out of the maternity care equations. They simply do not have enough education, and are not insured. This is never good when it comes to birth. I'd love to see women step away from them simply from learning that info, but I don't think it will happen. What I would love to see is homebirth only done by Certified Nurse Midwives, as I believe they are the only ones besides OBs who have enough education.

What do you want people to take away from reading your blog?
I'd hope that you get a good laugh and know that you are not alone. Everyone has a crunchy in their life and they can be very pushy. It's time to remember that we are the majority! Don't let the little guy push you around.

Make sure you go check out The Mama Tao, and go like her on Facebook. You'll find me there alot. The more I read what she writes, the more I learn. The more time I spend on the Raptors Facebook pages, the more respect I have for these women who are fighting for mamas and their babies.  Thanks for the interview, Mama Tao!