Author: Mariah Z Leach

Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of motherhood with chronic illness is helping your children understand what is going on with your body and encouraging acceptance about how your illness may impact them. How can you help them develop empathy about what you’re experiencing, especially if your illness is invisible? Where’s the line between being honest and making them worry? What’s the best way to address their concerns in kid-friendly language? This is a topic that will likely need to be an ongoing discussion in your family – and sometimes reading a book together can help! CHILDREN’S BOOK REVIEW:…

Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of motherhood with chronic illness is helping your children understand what is going on with your body and encouraging acceptance about how your illness may impact them. How can you help them develop empathy about what you’re experiencing, especially if your illness is invisible? Where’s the line between being honest and making them worry? What’s the best way to address their concerns in kid-friendly language? This is a topic that will likely need to be an ongoing discussion in your family – and sometimes reading a book together can help! Ravyn’s Doll -…

Kids between the ages of 4 and 12 are building their own lives, with school, sports and hobbies. But they still need plenty of practical help and guidance from their parents, whether that’s playing taxi, checking up on homework, packing school and gym bags or managing their social calendars with play dates, birthday parties and extracurricular activities…Managing your kids’ lives can be challenging and overwhelming for any parent, but even more so if you’re living with a chronic illness like MS, diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis. Your health condition can limit your mobility, making it difficult to drop your kids off…

Infertility affects 1 out of 8 couples, however we know that both men and women with rheumatic diseases are more affected than the general public. This may be due to their diagnosis or medication side effects or other unknown issues. While we know infertility is unfortunately common, what isn’t known is how do patients think their condition or medications may affect their ability to have a child. We also don’t know the awareness of the treatments for infertility in those with rheumatic diseases or the barriers to accessing this treatment. This research will show us the patient experience of someone…

I was very excited to be invited as a guest on an episode of the Arthritis Life Podcast to discuss tips for pregnancy and postpartum while living with rheumatoid arthritis. Host and founder of Arthritis Life, Cheryl Crow, is also a mama living with rheumatoid arthritis – so we had a lot to discuss!! The episode includes discussions about: How to decide whether or not to have children while living with a chronic illnessTips for comfortable sex with chronic painFrequently Asked Questions about pregnancy with rheumatoid arthritis, including how to find out which medications are safeCheryl and Mariah’s experiences with…

In honor of Valentine’s Day, Mamas Facing Forward will be focusing the next two weeks on relationships and intimacy – and how these can be impacted by chronic illness. We’ll share a review of a book about sex and chronic illness, tips for talking to your doctor about your sex life, useful ideas for improving communication with your partner, and some of my own personal experience on managing chronic illness and my relationship. But when we share resources about relationships (or any subject, really!) we know that not every article will speak to every situation. While we always attempt to…

Missed the beginning of this series? Click here for Strategy #1 and Strategy #2! This article is based on a presentation given September 14, 2021 at “Rheum4You: Reproductive Health & Rheumatic Disease,” a webinar presented by Simple Tasks, the public awareness campaign of the American College of Rheumatology. I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) at the age of 25, and by far the biggest challenge I have faced since my diagnosis has been in becoming a mom. Today I have three children – ages 9, 7, and 3 – and all three of my pregnancies took place after being…

Missed the beginning of this series? Click here for Strategy #1! This article is based on a presentation given September 14, 2021 at “Rheum4You: Reproductive Health & Rheumatic Disease,” a webinar presented by Simple Tasks, the public awareness campaign of the American College of Rheumatology. I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) at the age of 25, and by far the biggest challenge I have faced since my diagnosis has been in becoming a mom. Today I have three children – ages 9, 7, and 3 – and all three of my pregnancies took place after being diagnosed with RA.…

This article is based on a presentation given September 14, 2021 at “Rheum4You: Reproductive Health & Rheumatic Disease,” a webinar presented by Simple Tasks, the public awareness campaign of the American College of Rheumatology. I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) at the age of 25, and by far the biggest challenge I have faced since my diagnosis has been in becoming a mom. Today I have three children – ages 9, 7, and 3 – and all three of my pregnancies took place after being diagnosed with RA. Because there wasn’t as much data available ten years ago, my…

I recently had the opportunity to be interviewed in AUCH.revista (translation: OUCH.magazine), a non-profit magazine for the Spanish community living with chronic illness. While I have always known there was a lack of chronic illness parenting resources, editor and creator of AUCH.revista, María González, has alerted me to the fact that even fewer resources exist for people living with chronic illnesses who don’t speak English. María is doing what she can to fill that gap for Spanish-speaking mamas. I recently had a chance to speak live with María on the AUCH podcast. Though the podcast is ordinarily conducted in Spanish,…