Mommy Too! Magazine : Celebrating Black Mothers, Black Moms, African-American Moms, African-American Mothers
Celebrating Black MothersArchive for mothers
Checking Your Thyroid During Pregnancy + Maternity Style
The second most likely diagnosed disease during pregnancy behind breast cancer is thyroid cancer. We don’t hear about thyroid disease very often, but an estimated 20 million people have been diagnosed with some form of thyroid disorder. Pregnant women with undiagnosed or inadequately treated hypothyroidism have an increased risk of miscarriage, preterm delivery, and severe developmental problems in their children.
The risk of hypothyroidism goes up during pregnancy and even after delivery, so the next time you have a prenatal visit, make sure to talk to your O.B. about your thyroid.
Click here to read, Thyroid Disease and Pregnancy, an online brochure from the American Thyroid Association.
Maternity Must-Have
If there is one thing that’s certain it’s this: Being pregnant is not the time to lose your sense of style. In fact, it’s the perfect time to push the limits of your style creativity. Thanks to forward-thinking, hip designers you can do that.
This 100% Make Love Not War funky maternity tee from Spunky Sprout will make your belly stand out in the crowd and put a little pep in your step when you’re out and about.
Find the tee on spunksprout.com. Price: $56.00
Moms of Color Spread Their Wings
Back in 2004 I remember penning an essay for Literary Mama called Unsung Motherhood. I was frustrated because there were painfully few blogs and sites for and about moms of color. I wrote:
What I am getting at is there is a noticeable dearth of positive information, resources, books, periodicals, and websites about black mothers on the Internet, save a few random, self-published sites by a minute smattering of black mothers and a few books that show up in online bookstore inventories. When I simply searched for print magazines for black mothers, I found nothing. That I can handle. But when I searched for websites tailored to black mothers, black mothering, and black motherhood (something that in my mind should exist), I found mostly academic studies and statistics about what is wrong with black mothers and how “bad” black mothering adversely affects black children.
That was then. Now more than five years later, things have surely changed. There are countless black mom bloggers, group blogs for mom bloggers of color, and sites geared specifically to moms of color. It’s a brand-new day and I am thrilled that I stuck around to see the transformation.
One of the newest blogs on the block is one you’re sure to love. It’s called Moms of Hue and was started by two extraordinary women, Renée Ross and Kristina Daniele. When you’re looking for a great group blog to read, I highly suggest adding them to your feed reader!
On the Net: www.momsofhue.com
Test Your IQ on Premature Birth Rates in the U.S.
As you’re probably aware, the infant mortality rate in the black community is 2.3 times that of white babies according to the Office of Minority Health. Researchers, doctors, and even our government cannot determine why black babies are dying at such alarming rates, but there is power in knowing as much as possible about infant mortality and knowing resources that are available to you in order to save your child.
Below are four questions about infant mortality I hope you will answer or either pass along to your readers. Answers are after the jump.
1. QUESTION:
What is preterm birth?
a. Preterm birth is childbirth occurring earlier than 39 completed weeks of pregnancy
b. Preterm birth is childbirth occurring earlier than 40 completed weeks of pregnancy
c. Preterm birth is childbirth occurring earlier than 37 completed weeks of pregnancy
How many babies in the United States are born premature?
a. 1 in 5 babies
b. 1 in 12 babies
c. 1 in 14 babies
3. QUESTION:
Which women are at the greatest risk of preterm birth?
a. Women who have had a previous preterm birth
b. Women who are pregnant with multiple babies
c. Women with a short cervix
d. All of the above
4. QUESTION:
True of False: Can preterm birth can be predicted?
We would love to publish your essays. We are accepting 300-400 word essays about motherhood and womanhood. Email essays to mommytoo {at} gmail.com for consideration. We can't wait to read your submissions.
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