A Boost For New Moms

September is Mommy Boost Month, a daily sampling of supports and services available in Victoria for moms and moms-to-be.

The goal is to provide a free taste of what's on offer in Victoria for moms. It's co-ordinated through the Elements of Health Centre, a Victoria clinic that specializes in women's health and offers acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine and massage therapy.

The month's fitness offerings include yoga and Pilates for the pre-and post-natal mom, along with stroller "boot camp" and stroller walk sessions. An "Itsy Bitsy" yoga class is geared to moms and babies aged three to six months.

There's also a lecture series, including one on how to deal with the picky eater, called from "Yuck to Yum," and another on gluten-free and dairy-free cooking for kids with allergies.

The talks, which take place at Santé Gluten-Free Café on Quadra Street and Camosun College, among other locations, also touch on subjects ranging from acupressure for labour to bladder health and parenting. Most start at 6: 30 p.m. and last an hour.

Stephanie Curran, Elements of Health practitioner of acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine with a special interest in women's health, hopes Mommy Boost continues as an annual event.

"Our vision was to just help support healthy options for families in our communities, by creating opportunities to come and have a sampling - or a taste - what the different recourses are," said Curran.

Men are welcome at many of the Mommy Boost events. But some sessions deal specifically with issues associated with women's bodies before and after childbirth.

Curran said her 11 years of practice at the health centre has just "sort of organically" steered toward women's health issues, largely centred on pregnancy, birth and fertility.

She said she has been lucky to build up professional relationships with a number of contacts and consulting experts - people who helped make Mommy Boost Month possible. "These are mostly the people I was referring patients to anyway."

The idea for Mommy Boost came from Amber Bosma, officer manager at Elements of Health.

Bosma hopes Mommy Boost Month allows mothers to make choices that suit them best - for exam-ple, yoga versus Pilates - at a time when many feel a little overwhelmed and alone.

"New motherhood can be quite isolating, even if you have many friends and great health practitioners," said Bosma. "You want to take care of your health, emotionally and physically, but baby comes first," she said. "This is just giving women a chance to get some information - it's a one-stop shop."

Anyone interested is invited to the website at www.elementscentre.ca/mo mmy-boost-month. Follow the links to a calendar listing the daily free offerings, times and locations.

Space for many of the Mommy Boost sessions is limited, so participants are asked to register in advance online at the website, or call Elements of Health at 250-383-2626.

rwatts@timescolonist.com

HELP FOR PERU

Organizers of Mommy Boost Month hope to help moms overseas as well as here at home.

They're asking for donations to help fund an elementary school in the Peruvian Andes called "Kusi Kawsay" devastated by flooding just over a year ago.

A contribution of any size will enter the donor at the end of the month in a raffle for prizes donated by local businesses.

But those who contribute $50 or more could win a 10-day trip for two to Peru, with tours of Cusco, Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley. The draw is set for Sept. 23.

Stephanie Curran, of Elements of Health Centre, said she visited Peru in 2008 and was moved by the experience.

"We thought because we are supporting families here it would be nice to support families in need somewhere else."