Author: Mariah Z Leach

Mariah is a writer, patient advocate, and mom of three living with rheumatoid arthritis and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. After learning firsthand how challenging and lonely it can be to face pregnancy and parenthood with chronic illness, Mariah became passionate about supporting people with chronic illness who are or want to become parents. She launched her private Facebook support group, Mamas Facing Forward, in 2015. Today the group connects parents and parents-to-be with chronic illness from all over the world. In 2018, she added this website, dedicated to collecting and creating resources that focus on pregnancy and parenting with chronic illness.

Mamas Facing Forward Stay Home Summer Camp was a project I developed during the isolated summer of 2020. For each theme I provide a menu of options to choose from, including: virtual learning resources, easy craft & snack ideas, simple activities, books, and movies/TV. Trust me, whether you do it for a full week or just for a day, there’s something magical about doing a bunch of activities that all share the same theme. In fact, even though my kids will be traveling and attending regular summer camp this year, they’ve also requested some Stay Home Camp – so stay…

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Mamas Facing Forward Stay Home Summer Camp was a project I developed during the isolated summer of 2020. For each theme I provide a menu of options to choose from, including: virtual learning resources, easy craft & snack ideas, simple activities, books, and movies/TV. Trust me, whether you do it for a full week or just for a day, there’s something magical about doing a bunch of activities that all share the same theme. In fact, even though my kids will be traveling and attending regular summer camp this year, they’ve also requested some Stay Home Camp – so stay…

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Mamas Facing Forward Stay Home Summer Camp was a project I developed during the isolated summer of 2020. For each theme I provide a menu of options to choose from, including: virtual learning resources, easy craft & snack ideas, simple activities, books, and movies/TV. Trust me, whether you do it for a full week or just for a day, there’s something magical about doing a bunch of activities that all share the same theme. In fact, even though my kids will be traveling and attending regular summer camp this year, they’ve also requested some Stay Home Camp – so stay…

Read More

Mamas Facing Forward Stay Home Summer Camp was a project I developed during the isolated summer of 2020. For each theme I provide a menu of options to choose from, including: virtual learning resources, easy craft & snack ideas, simple activities, books, and movies/TV. Trust me, whether you do it for a full week or just for a day, there’s something magical about doing a bunch of activities that all share the same theme. In fact, even though my kids will be traveling and attending regular summer camp this year, they’ve also requested some Stay Home Camp – so stay…

Read More

Mamas Facing Forward Stay Home Summer Camp was a project I developed during the isolated summer of 2020. For each theme I provide a menu of options to choose from, including: virtual learning resources, easy craft & snack ideas, simple activities, books, and movies/TV. Trust me, whether you do it for a full week or just for a day, there’s something magical about doing a bunch of activities that all share the same theme. In fact, even though my kids will be traveling and attending regular summer camp this year, they’ve also requested some Stay Home Camp – so stay…

Read More

Mamas Facing Forward Stay Home Summer Camp was a project I developed during the isolated summer of 2020. For each theme I provide a menu of options to choose from, including: virtual learning resources, easy craft & snack ideas, simple activities, books, and movies/TV. Trust me, whether you do it for a full week or just for a day, there’s something magical about doing a bunch of activities that all share the same theme. In fact, even though my kids will be traveling and attending regular summer camp this year, they’ve also requested some Stay Home Camp – so stay…

Read More

Mamas Facing Forward Stay Home Summer Camp was a project I developed during the isolated summer of 2020. For each theme I provide a menu of options to choose from, including: virtual learning resources, easy craft & snack ideas, simple activities, books, and movies/TV. Trust me, whether you do it for a full week or just for a day, there’s something magical about doing a bunch of activities that all share the same theme. In fact, even though my kids will be traveling and attending regular summer camp this year, they’ve also requested some Stay Home Camp – so stay…

Read More

Mamas Facing Forward Stay Home Summer Camp was a project I developed during the isolated summer of 2020. For each theme I provide a menu of options to choose from, including: virtual learning resources, easy craft & snack ideas, simple activities, books, and movies/TV. Trust me, whether you do it for a full week or just for a day, there’s something magical about doing a bunch of activities that all share the same theme. In fact, even though my kids will be traveling and attending regular summer camp this year, they’ve also requested some Stay Home Camp – so stay…

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I was thrilled to be invited as a guest on Amber Tresca’s About IBD Podcast. While I don’t personally live with IBD, we talked about how the experiences of chronic illness patients have so much in common – regardless of the actual diagnosis – particularly when it comes to parenting with a chronic illness. Amber asked me to share how being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis led to starting my blog, From This Point. Forward, which eventually led to the patient advocacy work I do today. It was my own experiences with pregnancy and motherhood that lead to creating the Mamas…

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In February 2020, the American College of Rheumatology released its first-ever guideline on managing the reproductive health of patients with rheumatic diseases. This means, for the first time ever, rheumatology healthcare professionals have an official set of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines to turn to when deciding how to counsel patients who are or wish to become pregnant. The guidelines provide vital background knowledge, recommendations for reproductive health issues, and additional information for diagnoses where pregnancy is considered more complicated, such as systematic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). The recommendations are separated into six categories: ContraceptionAssisted Reproductive Technology (Fertility…

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