09/04/2026
"One of the biggest misconceptions I encounter is that because I'm taking a CFTR modulator, my cystic fibrosis no longer affects my life. The reality is that while modulators have transformed my health and given me opportunities I never thought possible, they haven't erased my disease. My body is still healing from pregnancy and delivery while managing a chronic illness that requires daily attention. Each day is a balancing act.
There have been days when I've felt guilty for leaving the NICU to go home and complete my treatments. Days when exhaustion made me question whether I was doing enough. Days when I wished my body didn't need so much care while my heart wanted to be somewhere else. I've learned that caring for myself isn't taking time away from my babies — it's investing in the mother I want to be for them.
As more people with CF become parents, I hope we continue to talk about what happens after pregnancy. Thanks to groundbreaking therapies, more of us are reaching milestones that once seemed out of reach. But motherhood doesn't erase CF, and CF doesn't disappear after delivery.
The postpartum journey deserves more attention, research, and support, especially for parents balancing their own health while caring for medically complex or premature babies.
To anyone else with CF who finds themselves navigating postpartum recovery, a NICU stay, or simply the overwhelming transition into parenthood, I hope you know this: you are not alone."
