Author: Mariah Z Leach

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…

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…

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…

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…

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to represent Mamas Facing Forward at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting. Over the past six years of attending this meeting, it has been very exciting to see the topic of reproductive health gain more and more traction. I’ve seen the topic go from being a single, early morning session to being one of the main topics of conversation at the meeting with multiple posters and sessions. This year at ACR, I also had the opportunity to co-host the AiArthritis Voices 360 podcast. This podcast is produced by the International Foundation…

I was recently lucky to have the opportunity to travel to Atlanta, Georgia to attend the 2019 American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting (ACR). While it was my sixth year attending the conference, this was the first time I attended officially representing Mamas Facing Forward and as a Patient Partner with the Arthritis Foundation. I’m very glad to have had the chance to represent patients at this important conference – particularly those who are or want to become parents. I’m pleased to share that there were multiple sessions at ACR this year focusing on issues of reproductive health for rheumatic…

For many people, holiday plans include some kind of travel. In addition to the ordinary stress and chaos of travel, many of us with rheumatoid arthritis also need to figure out how to travel with medications that need to be refrigerated, like injectable biologic medications…Based on my personal experiences, I’d like to offer some tips for traveling with medications that need to be refrigerated. Whether you live with rheumatoid arthritis or IBD or another chronic illness, many of us depend on medications that need to be refrigerated. Traveling with kids in tow is already challenging enough – here are some…

My husband and I have been living with my diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis for more than seven years. Although the diagnosis is technically mine, I include my husband in that statement because my chronic illness has had a profound impact on his life as well as mine. Based on their shared experiences, Mariah Leach and her husband offer suggestions for how to support a partner who is living with a chronic illness. 6 Ways to Support a Partner With Chronic Illness Mango Health

When I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) at 25, I was faced with that daunting question, “Will I still be able to have a baby?” … It was one of the very first thoughts I had after being diagnosed with RA. My partner and I knew we wanted children someday, and as I went from being a successful dual degree graduate student to barely being able to walk, I worried a lot about our future. Chronic inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and more are often diagnosed or active during women’s childbearing…

If there’s one word that parents likely hear about 600 times a day it’s this one: why? Mariah Z. Leach, a mother living with rheumatoid arthritis…shares her best ideas for talking to your kids about having a chronic illness. In this article, learn strategies for talking to your kids about your chronic illness, including: being honest and reassuring, involving your whole family, connecting your diagnosis to the real world, using resources like children’s books, and connecting to the wider chronic illness community. How To Talk To Your Kids About Having A Chronic Illness Mango Health