Author: Mariah Z Leach

When I originally started looking for information on planning a pregnancy while living with rheumatoid arthritis, the very first place I looked was the Arthritis Foundation, since I knew they were a trusted resource with medically-verified information. While they did have a few articles on the subject back then, I always wished for more. So I’m super exited to share that now there is a lot more! The Arthritis Foundation recently launched an entire hub of their website dedicated to family planning, pregnancy, and parenting!! There are some great pregnancy planning topics, such as: family planning; genetic risks; preparing for…

When she was just six-years-old Rikki Stinnette’s mom was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. This life-changing diagnosis not only impacted her mother, it also altered the course of Rikki’s life. Based on her own experiences as a child, Rikki was inspired to write and direct a short film, and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to review it. (You can also check out Rikki’s article where she shares four reasons that having a mom with RA made her a better adult!) In a little more than ten minutes, Revenge of the Electric Cart took me on an emotional roller coaster…

A friend of mine was walking through target the other day when she came across this book: Horizontal Parenting – How To Entertain Your Kid While Lying Down by Michelle Woo. It sounded right up my alley, so I bought a copy to review! This book is aimed at parents in general – because every parent has days when they just want to lie down. But I do love that this book (and the fact that it’s for sale in a mainstream place like Target) normalizes the fact that all parents have their own bodies and their own energy levels.…

Sometimes kids need help understanding chronic illness and disability, as well as recognizing and processing their own feelings. We hope these topics are an ongoing discussion in your family, and we love to review children’s books that may help you along the way! Some Days: A Tale of Love, Ice Cream, and My Mom’s Chronic Illness By Julie A. Stamm Mariah Z Leach received a free digital version of the book from the author. She was not compensated for this review and all opinions are her own. This is a story about Wyatt and his mom, Rosie. Wyatt explains that…

Sometimes kids need help understanding chronic illness and disability, as well as recognizing and processing their own feelings. We hope these topics are an ongoing discussion in your family, and we love to review children’s books that may help you along the way! What Does Super Jonny Do When Mom Gets Sick? By Simone Colwill Mamas Facing Forward purchased a copy of this book to review, and then gave it away in a raffle on Instagram. All opinions in this review belong to Mariah Z. Leach. Jonny loves to play superhero. When his mom gets sick and needs to go…

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…

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,…