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Episode Mariah
Podcast

Tips for Pregnancy and Postpartum with Rheumatoid Arthritis

June 17, 2021
5 min read
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On Episode 37 of the Arthritis Life Podcast, Mamas Facing Forward founder Mariah Leach and Arthritis Life founder Cheryl Crow share their best tips for pregnancy and postpartum with rheumatoid arthritis, including their own personal journeys.

This episode includes discussions about:

  • How to decide whether or not to have children while living with a chronic illness
  • Tips for comfortable sex with chronic pain
  • Frequently Asked Questions about pregnancy with rheumatoid arthritis, including how to find out which medications are safe
  • Cheryl and Mariah’s experiences with childbirth and C-sections
  • How frequent is the postpartum flare-up and how can it be prevented?
  • Advice for feeding a newborn with rheumatoid arthritis, including discussions about ergonomics, breast versus bottle feeding and “fed is best.”
  • Practical tips for managing the physical and energy demands of new babies including diapering, clothing, baby wearing and more! 

This is part one of a two part series – later, Mariah and Cheryl will share tips for parenting toddlers / “big kids” and managing mental health as chronically ill parents!

Episode Mariah

Medical disclaimer:

All content found on Arthritis Life public channels was created for generalized informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Speaker Bios:

Mariah Leach is a writer, patient advocate, and mom of three living with rheumatoid arthritis. After learning firsthand the challenges of facing pregnancy and motherhood with a chronic illness, Mariah has become passionate about supporting women with chronic illnesses who are or want to become mothers. She launched Mamas Facing Forward in 2015.

Cheryl Crow is an occupational therapist who has lived with rheumatoid arthritis for seventeen years. Her life passion is helping others with rheumatoid arthritis figure out how to live a full life despite arthritis, by developing tools to navigate physical, emotional and social challenges. She formed the educational company Arthritis Life in 2019 after seeing a huge need for more engaging, accessible, and (dare I say) FUN patient education and self-management resources.

This episode is brought to you by Rheum to THRIVE, an online support group and education program Cheryl created to help people with rheumatic disease become more confident, supported and connected. 

Episode links:

Episode breakdown:

1:00 – Mariah’s intro & experience getting diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis during law school. 

2:20 – Why Mariah created Mamas Facing Forward, a website and online community with resources for pregnancy and parenting with chronic illness.

6:00 – Tips for people with rheumatic disease who are deciding whether or not to get pregnant and/or become parents with chronic illness.

8:50 – Discussion about concerns people sometimes have about passing their condition on to their children.

11:30 – Children growing up with a parent with chronic illness comes with some downsides but also some positives.

12:00 – Discussion about sex with chronic illness, with brief discussion about adoption and surrogacy.

15:00 – Infertility can be more prevalent in people with rheumatic diseases and NSAIDs can affect fertility.

16:48 – Pregnancy FAQs:  which medications are safe while pregnant?

19:40 – Myths versus fact around rates of remission during pregnancy for rheumatoid arthritis and the postpartum flare up..

22:35 – Continued discussion about postpartum flare-ups of rheumatic disease symptoms. 

23:45 – Cheryl’s experience with conflicting advice from the Rheumatologist versus OBGYN when pregnant. The importance of finding valid sources of information like MotherToBaby. 

26:00 – Gestational diabetes is more common in people with autoimmune diseases, but also it’s good to remember that pregnancy complications can occur for anyone even without chronic illness.

29:10 – Childbirth and Cesarean (C section) recovery with rheumatoid arthritis: Cheryl and Mariah’s experiences.

32:33 – Cheryl and Mariah’s postpartum feeding experiences, including struggles with breastfeeding and guilt from not being able to breastfeed as long as they wanted to. 

37:00 – Cheryl describes “combo feeding” – combining breastfeeding with formula supplementation. 

38:50 – The importance of looking at the breastfeeding choice in the *context* of the person with a chronic illness’s life and the child in the context of a family system. For example, formula feeding could allow the mother to go back on medications that allow her to perform the physical and energetic demands of motherhood. 

43:25 – Mariah and Cheryl’s advice about how to cope with the physical demands of the newborn stage – ergonomics, bottles, conserving energy and more!  When to seek additional help from an occupational therapist and/or Certified Hand Therapist (CHT).

49:20 – Mariah and Cheryl share tips for diapering (including a cloth versus disposable discussion), clothing for baby, baby wearing tips and more practical advice for new parents with rheumatoid arthritis or chronic pain.

55:13 – Research on the needs of women with rheumatic disease postpartum – Mariah explains research she did on Mamas Facing Forward and presented at the American College of Rheumatology conference in 2020. She explained how the group provided community and hope, along with practical advice. 

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