Guest Post at Mothering in the Middle - Midlife Mothers, Teenage Daughters, and Prenatal Care

I was recently contacted by Cyma Shapiro, creator of Mothering in the Middle, to see if I was interested in also writing for her readers. What an incredible opportunity! Cyma's work is "intended to celebrate midlife mothers — women choosing motherhood over 40 through adoption, in vitro, natural childbirth, surrogacy, fostering, guardianship and blending stepfamilies." Please take the time to check out the full blog! An excerpt from my guest post is below....Midlife Mothers, Teenage Daughters, and Prenatal Care "...When a woman becomes pregnant later in her fertility, if she was also pregnant earlier in her life, her child or children are likely teenagers during her newest prenatal care. Some of my favorite visits are when an older, often teenage, daughter attends a pregnancy test or prenatal visit with her mother. This event can only occur when a woman in midlife becomes pregnant, again. And in my community of patients, the automatic inclusion of both mother and teenage daughter initially begins under the guise of needing to ensure interpretation. Since I speak Spanish, both attendees of the visit are relieved and rest more comfortably in their chairs in preparation of an easier conversation. What this allows is a whole-room understanding of the visit, a connection with all of the people in the room, talking about bodies, health, and care.When this happens, when an experienced mother embarks on a new pregnancy and involves her teenage daughter, there is a different feeling in the room. An electric feeling. As a young woman witnesses her mother, pregnant with a sibling, engage in healthcare, as she herself is finishing junior high, entering high school, and thinking about her own sexual and reproductive life, there is a magic that happens..."