A business made just for mothers is gearing up for its annual Christmas campaign. The Mama Coach is a Canada-wide business comprised of registered nurses dedicated to providing services to new mothers and this year it is getting ready to provide an entire Christmas to a deserving mother in each city the group operates in. “We just want to help make motherhood a little bit easier,” said Marina MacLeod, a mama coach based in Calgary. Leading up to December, the company, with the help from Mamas for Mamas, a non-profit charity started in Kelowna, is selling bracelets, tank tops and sweaters, with all profits going to helping moms out at Christmas. Until Dec. 7, friends and family can nominate a new mother from their community who they think might be struggling this Christmas. Moms are also allowed to nominate themselves. Last year, there were no nominations from Cochrane though six Calgary and area families received a little Christmas joy. In their first round of the Christmas campaign in 2017, the nurses of The Mama Coach raised $16,000. This year they are hoping to double that. “This is so important because we, as registered nurses in our business, we go into mommies houses and help them,” MacLeod said, adding they provide assistance with lactation, sleep, allergies and provide education on infant and child CPR. MacLeod said she has been a nurse for 15 years and when she decided to have her first child she thought it was going to be easier. “I thought, ‘no problem, motherhood will probably be simple,’” she said. “I had my first baby and of course nothing goes right – I had an unscheduled c-section ... I had problems breast feeding, it was very painful.” To make matters worse, MacLeod said she was living in Edmonton during all this, away from her family and friends. “You kind of feel lonely at times and you don’t know who to reach out to,” MacLeod said. The Mama Coach is one way for a woman to find support within her community if she feels alone, MacLeod said. “It’s finding your tribe and building your community. Social media can be scary, it can be judgemental. We want to create a non-judgemental community for moms to come to and get support,” MacLeod said. “Last year helped a pregnant mom who had her third baby and who lost her husband tragically ... We were able to get gifts for her and her kids and also provide support for free when her baby came.” Another family from last year’s Christmas campaign was a young couple with newborn twins suffering from a rare metabolic disease requiring them to use an expensive formula. For more information, to buy products to support the campaign or to nominate a mom, visit www.themamacoach.ca/christmasformamas.
