pregnancy

image credit: Staci Sheets

 The Things I Didn't Know About My Rainbow Baby

A year and a half later, in 1995, I would give birth to my first living child — the child that the world considered my first child, that is really my second child. No one used the term “Rainbow Baby” in 1995; the designation didn’t exist. Even if it had, I had no “Rainbow Baby” to name because no one had heard the name of the baby before the Rainbow. The thing you don’t know about having a Rainbow Baby, until you have a Rainbow Baby, is the baby that is made after a baby is lost feels like so much more than just a baby.

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Listen, a vagina is not an artificial waterway for babies to be born.

Let's Talk About Genitals: The Term Birth Canal Is The Actual Worst

The way we as a society discuss genitalia is already messed up and confusing. When the word “vagina” is used to mean everything from, well, “vagina” to “vulva” to “the entire female reproductive system — yes, even including the ovaries,” it’s no freaking wonder we don’t know how to talk about this stuff.

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Image: YouTube screenshot via Cosmopolitan

Why It's Not OK To Laugh At The Woman Claiming She's "Pregnant With Baby Jesus" 

Mentally ill people are real, even if they have a hard time grasping what is "real" and what is not.

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http://www.diydoula.org/

DIY Doula: Self-Care Before, During, & After Your Abortion


During an election season that has centered on issues of reproductive health, the Doula Project’s forthcoming Zine,

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“It’s a 24/7 job that I can’t walk away from. Can I handle that?”

Can You Be A Good Parent If You Have A Mental Illness?

I’m a person who needs to know the facts. I bring a notebook with me to every doctor’s appointment. I record important meetings. The research list for my memoir is pages long. Why should pregnancy be any different? And so the research began.

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She may have feelings she needs to process privately. (Image: Thinkstock)

Ask Erin: How Do I Tell My Friend Who Just Miscarried That I’m Pregnant?

She’s made all the mistakes, so you don’t have to…Ask Erin is a weekly advice column, in which Erin answers your burning questions about anything at all.

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Your partner, spouse, baby-daddy (or mama) unfortunately gets pushed to the bottom of the list of things you want messing with your vagina. (Image: Thinkstock)

Sex After Childbirth: 7 Things You Really Should Know

Once your doctor or midwife has cleared you for sex and you’re feeling ready to get back in the saddle, so to speak, there are a few things you’ll need to mentally prep yourself for.

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If I stop taking my medications, what will my life become? (Image: Thinkstock)

I Have A Mental Illness; Should I Have Children?

I live with bipolar II disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, ADHD, and complex PTSD. I take Effexor, Klonopin, Depakote, and Adderall. I knew I needed to talk to my psychiatrist about what changes I’d need to make before we could try to have a baby. The chances that none of these medications would affect a growing fetus was impossible in my mind. But I never expected what Dr. G told me.

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