Mama Melinda’s Interview with Franklin Goose

by moonmavis828 on January 21, 2011

Q. How did Earth Mama Angel Baby begin?

I started studying herbal medicine many years ago. I’m a nurse, BSN and have always believed that pregnancy is a natural, normal state of wellness. I also believe that the common discomforts associated with childbirth and postpartum recovery have been supported by women using plant medicine, very safely, for a very, very long time. Morning sickness, heartburn, hemorrhoids, cracked nipples, etc. can all be safely supported with herbs.
I didn’t originally intend to start an organic herbal manufacturing company. Every single product I formulated was created to help support friends and family for one problem or another. So it was created over time. After my own personal experiences during pregnancy and breastfeeding, I realized there were no safe, organic products available to women that combined traditional plant medicine with evidence-based research.

Q. What was your biggest inspiration?

My inspiration was the plants themselves. I spent over two years every day in the garden tending plants, drying, macerating, blending and formulating. I learned how to make soap, salves and how to blend herbs to maximize their efficacy. And I got to play in the dirt – nature is pretty inspirational!

Q. What is your favorite product?

Ach! That’s like asking me who is my favorite child! I love them all, of course. And they are always, always being refined, revised and improved every time we have newer empirical knowledge or research information. But I will say that I still have a jar of Angel Baby Bottom Balm that is almost 10 years old (and it is glorious) – it was the first balm I formulated and still pretty spectacular. I’ve seen the ingredient list on other people’s products, but over the years I’ve done very little to alter the original formula. It’s safe and it works!

Q. Why is it so important to have zero toxins in your products?

I’m a nurse, and my job is to help people but to first do no harm. Earth Mama Angel Baby’s mission is to provide safe products that work. Safety is always our #1 priority. Because after all, if our products are formulated for the most fragile, precious population, then we know they are safe for the whole family. That’s why we go through the effort and expense of organic certification – to make sure we’re doing everything we can to ensure the safety and integrity of each raw material in every product.

Q. Why are your products in amber color jars?

The jars we use are amber and are also UV protected to keep the volatile oils and herbs safe from being degraded by light. Our products never contain synthetic preservatives so it’s important to protect them in the safest way possible.

Q. What is the most important thing you’ve learned during your time at Earth Mama?

That my strength is in the garden and in the lab. I love my job, and the thing that continues to bring me the greatest joy is hearing the constant positive feedback about how we helped comfort some woman’s pregnancy nausea or helped a mama produce more milk to feed her baby, or comfort the terrible pain of a baby’s diaper rash. That makes the hard work worth it.

Q. How did Healing Hearts begin?

People acknowledge that women who have lost a baby have a broken heart. But in our experience, we know that they are also postpartum women, who often have had episiotomies, hemorrhoids, C-section wounds and sometimes even breast milk. We feel strongly that as we nurture a woman through her pregnancy, we also want to be there to help her heal physically and emotionally after a loss. To do less would feel like we were abandoning them.

Q. Is there anything new and exciting we can look forward to in 2011 from Earth Mama?

Ooohh good question. Earth Mama always has something up our sleeve. Stay tuned!

Thanks to Michelle for the giving us the opportunity to share a little bit about Earth Mama Angel Baby! Be sure to visit Franklin Goose for all of your organic baby and family needs.

Tagged as: about Mama, interview