The views expressed in this interview do not necessarily reflect those of The Cradle. Consult with your physician or health care professional before following any of the advice contained in this article.
rom growing up surrounded by a flower, vegetable, and herb garden to creating the company Motherlove, Kathryn Higgins has devoted her life to working with plants in order to provide natural, organic, herbal products for pregnancy and beyond.
The Cradle: What was the inspiration behind creating Motherlove?
Kathryn: In the early '70s, I was creating concoctions for baths and skin care with herbs from my gardens. I also had a teepee in the Colorado foothills surrounded by fields of wildflowers and edible and medicinal herbs, which I gathered.
When pregnant with my first child, I made teas, oils, baths, and liquid herbal extracts from these herbs to support my pregnancy and childbirth. These creations became the "seeds" for Motherlove products.
Throughout the 1980s I also taught several classes – wild, edible, and medicinal plant identification walks, herbal medicine-making, and body care classes. A local storeowner who attended my classes asked to carry these products I was making and giving to friends. It was time to give my newfound business a name: Motherlove, named for the niche market of products, as well as for Mother Earth, who gives us all these beautiful healing herbs. By the time I was pregnant with my third daughter in 1990, I was selling several products around Colorado, and Motherlove Herbal Company was born.
The Cradle: What is your company’s credo?
Kathryn: Motherlove is dedicated to crafting the finest quality, safe and effective organic products for pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, and babies, with integrity and reverence for our planet.
The Cradle: How are you eco-friendly?
Kathryn: Our products use certified organic ingredients with no parabens or preservatives.
We support organic farming. We buy recycled packaging and office supplies. Our products are packaged in recyclable jars and bottles. Our marketing materials are printed on 100 percent recycled paper. We buy wind-power credits for our facility. Our products and ingredients are not tested on animals.
Also, Motherlove is the leader in herbal extracts to increase breast milk, and breastfeeding is very eco-friendly. Not only is it the best food for your baby, it is the most economical and environmentally friendly choice, as it takes more resources to produce infant formula, and then the empty cans end up in the landfill!
The Cradle: What are Motherlove’s most popular products?
Kathryn: Our More Milk Plus liquid in the vegetarian capsule is our most popular product, along with the same formula as a liquid extract with a dropper (it is the best-selling breastfeeding supplement in the US according to SPINS data report).
Our most popular body care product is the Nipple Cream, which is lanolin-free and the only one that has the USDA Organic seal.
The Cradle: How can herbs aid pregnant women, or those trying to conceive?
Kathryn: For infertility, using nutritional tonic herbs can assist in building the reproductive system. These include raspberry leaf and red clover, two herbs that in combination have been used in folklore to promote fertility.
Drink teas with nettle and alfalfa, two herbs that are very high in nutrition, including folic acid and trace minerals needed by the hormonal system. And try herbs that help to regulate your menstrual cycle so you know exactly which days you are fertile. Herbs that are considered hormone balancers include vitex, dong quai, sarsparilla, and red clover.
For morning sickness, drink ginger tea or "ginger beer," or take ginger capsules (ginger tea with milk and honey will also help raise blood sugar).
And for low milk supply, fenugreek is the herb most often recommended by lactation consultants and has been used for generations around the world to increase milk supply. Blessed thistle and milk thistle are not only given to increase milk, but they are excellent liver-support herbs. Anise, dill, and fennel seed increase milk supply and are great digestive herbs. And, nettle and alfalfa are both high in nutrition, including many trace minerals. Since dairy animals are fed alfalfa hay, goat’s rue helps develop mammary tissue for women who have low milk supply due to PCOS or breast reduction surgery. Women adopting a child have also been able to breastfeed with the help of goat’s rue.
The Cradle: What is up next for you and Motherlove?
Kathryn: Motherlove has always been focused on what are now the current trends – organic, eco-friendly, breastfeeding, and giving back.
I created the Nurturing Life Foundation, [which is] wholly funded by Motherlove product sales. [We’ll continue to] give back over 10 percent of our after-tax profits to help pregnant and breastfeeding women and create opportunities for children.
We will continue to research information pertaining to our market and educate consumers on the benefits of breastfeeding, personal care ingredients that are safe, and ways that companies and people can walk gently on the planet. We are constantly updating our educational website on these issues and more.
And our new product this year is Breast-Ease for engorgement, sold in a blue jar with four oversize teabags to make into a compress.
From my kitchen to natural food stores, pharmacies, and hospitals nationwide, as well as internationally, Motherlove has a ”word of mouth” life of its own now! I will continue to listen to our customers' feedback for new product ideas and suggestions and try to always stay ahead of the curve.
rom growing up surrounded by a flower, vegetable, and herb garden to creating the company 
The Cradle: What was the inspiration behind creating Motherlove? 
