Chronic Illness,  Rheumatoid Arthritis,  Self Care

The Storm After the Calm: 8 Lessons Learned After A Tumultuous Postpartum Experience With Rheumatoid Arthritis

Having a baby while managing a complex autoimmune disease: about as tiring as I look in this picture, but also as happy/sweet as Charlie looks.
Having a baby while managing a complex autoimmune disease is tiring at times, but also sweet and joyful.

I was recently honored to share my pregnancy and postpartum journey with the popular and helpful website Autoimmune Mom, and it is now housed on the American Autoimmune and Related Diseases Association site. The full story can be found here.

The post details my journey from a relatively tranquil pregnancy to a postpartum “storm” due to my chronic illness issues (including rheumatoid arthritis). It includes three sections after Charlie’s birth: 

Survival, Mastitis and Flare-Ups (0-3 months)

Feeling Like I “Almost Got This,”or Wayward Optimism (4-16 months)

The New Normal: Accepting that life/parenting/my health is now in a permanent state of flux (16 months to present).

The gist of the post is that therapy has been crucial for my adjustment to being a mom with chronic illness. I hope everyone can be as fortunate as I have been in finding a therapist who can support them during this complicated journey!

 

 

 

 

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  • Stefanie

    Hello Cheryl,
    Thank you for your honest and open post about the postpartum period. I think it is something that many moms with RA (or hopeful-to-be-moms!) worry about and I really appreciate reading about your personal journey during this time period.

    Stefanie

    • Cheryl Crow

      Thank you so much for your kind words! I really can’t emphasize the importance of getting help enough. Even if I didn’t have RA to manage, I still would have needed/benefitted so greatly from help adjusting to being a parent. It is just wonderful that there are people out there whose entire job it is to help you function and feel better and help you reframe any disordered perceptions that might be holding you back from feeling the best you can. I wish you luck during your journey as well!

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