Tomorrow I'm headed to Chicago for HealtheVoices 18,
where I'll be presenting an update on the progress of the Mamas Facing Forward website! I
know it doesn't look like much has been happening on that site, but trust me
there's a lot occurring behind the scenes - so I wanted to provide a
little update!
For
starters, I wanted to let you know about the HealtheVoices Virtual
Experience - where you'll be able to tune in to my presentation on
Sunday morning as well as the other sessions at the conference!
As
for my "behind the scenes" progress, I worked with
a graphic designer to develop a logo for Mamas Facing Forward. We
discussed the mission and goals of the site and settled on a logo that
includes the image of held hands. This is meant to represent both the
relationship between mama and child as well as the connected nature of
the community of mothers with chronic illnesses supporting one another.
I've
also been researching and gathering as many of the existing resources
as I can find on topics related to motherhood and chronic illness.
Through my own research and with feedback from real moms in the Mamas Facing Forward Facebook Group, I've developed an outline for the main menu for the site. Each main topic (seen below in bold)
will have a drop-down menu with the sub-topics. Every article and
resource published on the site will be tagged to fit into one or more of
these topics. I'm also hoping to include a tagging system for resources
related to specific illnesses, so I can direct viewers to relevant
resources.
- ABOUT
- About Mamas Facing Forward
- Privacy Policy
- Terms and Conditions
- HealtheVoices Impact Fund info
- FAMILY PLANNING
- Genetics & inheritability
- Medication considerations
- TTC (trying to conceive) & intimacy issues
- Alternative parenthood paths (IVF, adoption, surrogacy, etc)
- PREGNANCY
- Treatment during pregnancy
- Preparing for baby
- Childbirth
- Postpartum
- KIDS
- Baby
- Toddler
- Big kids
- Teens
- Special needs
- LIVING
- Self-care
- Explaining diagnosis to kids
- Relationships
- Food & home
- Money & work
- Single motherhood
- Travel
- Seasonal
Recently,
I've taken a brief hiatus from working directly on the website to
conduct some first-hand research into the challenges faced by moms
living with chronic illnesses - by which I mean my own newest arrival is
still only three months old! She's finally started to let me sit at my
computer again, so I expect progress from this point forward (HA!) to be more
rapid! I hope to have the first version of the Mamas Facing Forward site launched soon!
In
the meantime, if you know of any great resources focusing on motherhood
and chronic illness, please send them my way so I can make sure the
links are included in my resource list! (Mariah@mamasfacingforward.com)
I'm also still searching for a reasonably-priced web designer to help me
with some of the technical details of building the site, so I'd
appreciate recommendations if you have them! And please feel free to
contact me if you might be interested in writing a guest post for the
site in the future - I have a small budget for this purpose!
If you'll be at HealtheVoices please come find me and say hello! I'd love to meet you in person!!
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