Happy Mother’s Day! My mother, Edna, has been my mentor and greatest teacher from the beginning. Edna never played by anyone else’s rules, only her own. I realize how lucky I am to have had a role model like my mom. She wasn’t selfish, but she also wasn’t willing to sacrifice her soul’s desires. If you ask her, she will tell you that she cherished every stage with us, despite some very tough circumstances.

I am also grateful for my two beautiful, talented, fun, and precious daughters. Annie and Kate: You are both treasures. I am proud to be your mom.

The Miracle of Motherhood Your Way

From the moment I gazed into the eyes of my firstborn child, Annie, I was enchanted. Given what I teach now (and how I practiced medicine), I think you will find this ironic: Up until the moment that I actually went into labor, I treated my impending motherhood in a detached clinical way and managed to stay totally immersed in my career. Talk about a mind-body split! Then happily, suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, at age thirty-one, my innate nurturing and mothering skills were awakened in me as I went through the process of labor and birth.

Even though I had spent much of the five years prior to Annie’s birth delivering babies and marveling at how infinitely varied were the ways in which their mothers responded to them, I was completely unaware of what my own response would be. I share this with you, because every woman, no matter how maternal she is, has doubts. And every woman arrives at the place she needs to be for herself and her family at the right time. And that includes women who never have children of their own.

Like my mother, I had not been particularly interested in babies, but I always knew I wanted to be a mother someday. One of the things that amazed me at the time was that I instantly had the urge to have a whole lot of children. I was thrilled with my ability to create this beautiful baby, a fact that both surprised and delighted me, given my prior take-it-or-leave-it attitude toward babies. I was caught up in the wonder and abundance of biologic creativity at that moment in a way that I will never forget.

Click here to continue reading this month's blog.

Mother-Daughter Wisdom

Before I gave birth to my first child, I was unaware of my own internal blueprint for motherhood. Nor had I ever given much thought to how each woman’s mothering blueprint is shaped by the way she herself was mothered. I wrote Mother-Daughter Wisdom to shine a light on this important truth and to give women a blueprint for raising a healthy, whole daughter. Not all of us had great role models or role models that were suited to us. I incorporated much of what Edna taught us in Mother-Daughter Wisdom, so that those who were not raised with a formidable, female presence could benefit from her strength.

If there is a new mom or new grandmother in your life, I encourage you to share Mother-Daughter Wisdom with her. It makes a great Mother’s Day gift for women of all ages.