inKLine Media

By Rose Marina

Elegant Mommies Maternity Clinic. (Photo by Rose Marina).

In a less than a year, Elegant Mommies Maternity Clinic has emerged as one of SL’s most popular child birth and care facilities.

While it is rewarding for its owners, the maternity isn’t a guaranteed Linden magnet unlike chatter tends to suggest.  In addition to the emotional commitment it requires, the costs can run to fairly sizable proportions.

In order to open the business, the founding owners of Elegant Mommies, Dr. Cadah, Keeno, and Ka’reth pooled their money to cover the initial investment, which hovered around the ballpark of $1000 USD.  When considering lands costs, payroll and equimpent, Cadah estimated that it takes about $500 USD a month to run the clinic.

“This is so not the business you want to get into if you were looking to make money off of it,” said Cadah. “There’s a couple of other clinics out there that do make loads of money. That’s their goal. And everyone is pretty much herded through the motions like cattle. That’s not what we want here.”

But there is a much bigger reward at stake: providing emotional catharsis for the many parents who are unable to realize child birth in real life. With that sense of responsibility in mind, the owners try to provide the hospital and the patients with the most realistic experience possible.

Elegant Mommies also stands out because it does not offer its services exclusively to human avatars.

“The one thing I have found to be unique to our clinic is that we cater to everyone including vamps, nekos, mermaids, fairies, elves, dragons, etc. You get the idea. We are very furry friendly and don’t find it to be our job to dictate how others here in SL choose to display their personalities. There are lots of clinics who are only human friendly. We even have a birthing tree for elves fae and caves for goreans,” Dr. Cadah said.

Their packages also provide patients with a wide variety of options to choose from such as: pregnancy packages, water birth, natural childbirth, c-section, breast feeding lessons, pediatric care, vision care, dental care, physicals for school, a spa, tai chi and yoga.

By offering programs and packages that include activities post-birth, Elegant Mommies is able to incorporate each new family into its own.  To express their gratitutde, patients often invite staffers to weddings, baptisms, house warmings, etc., Cadah says.

“You really become emotionally involved with your clients,” says Cadah. “If it had just been a business, I would have hung it up a long time ago.”