Pregnancy
How to Prevent a Miscarriage (Debunking the Myths!)
When our editor saw that we were publishing an article about preventing miscarriage, she was understandably confused. After all, I spend more waking hours than I can imagine counting reminding women that their losses were not their fault. Nothing they could’ve done, I insist, could have prevented a miscarriage. So why would I—someone who has […]
Should You Worry About Cramping and Lower Back Pain in Early Pregnancy?
Quick! Think about early pregnancy signs…what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Morning sickness? Missed period? Fatigue? While each of these side effects is one of the better-known early pregnancy signs, they’re not the only physical indicators an expectant mother might be feeling. Cramping and lower back pain in early pregnancy are also quite […]
Must-Have Pregnancy Essentials for Each Trimester
Ahh, pregnancy. That beautiful time in a woman’s life where she has the opportunity to grow a human being right inside her body. It’s magical, it’s wonderful…it’s a little bit weird. While the ability to have a child is truly extraordinary, women tend to forget about the strange things our bodies will go through during […]
Ideas to Have the Perfect Drive-By Baby Shower
It was no surprise to me that my friend Christina, a gynecologic oncologist, waited until she was nearly 20 weeks pregnant to tell me she was pregnant. But I let the excitement get to me–even in a socially distant, pandemic world, I let myself hope for the best and planned (along with other hostesses) a […]
How to Avoid the Gross Drink & Take a Pregnancy Glucose Test at Home
I’ve always struggled with keeping my blood sugar stable–naturally prone to hypoglycemia, it’s common for my blood sugar to spike, then drop way too low. So when it was time to take the glucose challenge test for gestational diabetes, I dreaded it for weeks. I’d heard horror stories of the disgusting, syrupy drink (Glucola), and […]
Why Racial Disparities in Maternal Mortality Make Patient Empowerment Essential for Black Mothers
Have you ever been in a medical situation where you wish you’d known how to advocate for yourself? Speak up? Be heard? This is why patient empowerment is so important. As women, many of us have stories we could tell about moments when we wished we’d spoken up for ourselves in doctor’s offices and in […]
How to Decide If You’re Ready to Have a Baby
Despite all the easy-to-find explanations for exactly when you should have a baby, the reasons to have a baby are actually entirely your own. You see, as women, most of us have been raised under a few basic assumptions, one of the most common of which is that we want to have children. As author […]
Pandemics, Pregnancy, and Planning: What You Need to Know from an Expert
Let’s be real right now. Pregnancy is a weird and scary enough process in the best of circumstances. Throw in a global pandemic, and many mamas are even more anxious than normal. Who can blame them? They’re growing humans! Anxiety abounds. As a result, we’ve gotten lots of questions from women at all stages of […]
Black Maternal Mortality Rates Left This Mom in Fear
I am writing this for my rockstar son, Chase, one of the most magnificent beings. And for everyone who has endured the trauma of delivering a child early, or of a medical system where black maternal mortality rates are astronomically high. Chase was born very early, at 30 weeks and 1 day. I experienced both […]