So, about me…

I am a scientist . . . I am a mother. In my days before children, I was a believer in the wonders of medical technology and pharmaceutical innovation. It was amazing to ponder the potential scientific and technological developments that could impact Western medicine and benefit humanity. Scientists and physicians are more and more willing, and able, to try to “play God” in our ever-evolving culture of scientific innovations which has resulted in some amazing, valuable, and useful information, therapies, and treatments.

It was not until I became a mother that some of my ways of thinking about medicine began to change. While it was appreciably cool what we could do as scientists, it became quickly clear to me that it might not be cool to inject too much science and technology in natural human processes such as birth, infancy, and childhood.

As my years of motherhood begin to accrue, our family has had a few health issues and hurtles to tackle that have challenged me to further consider and carefully weigh each and every health care choice.

Our health issues are thankfully quite minor in the grand scheme of things, but they have awakened my motherly intuition and have challenged my scientific way of thinking about many health-related issues. These experiences have caused me to appreciate my love of science and my science education from an entirely new perspective. My education has equipped me with the tools to help me understand the science behind Western medicine and my intuition tells me when to question Western medicine. Broken bone - yep, mainstream medicine - x-ray, cast, etc. Chronic childhood constipation – a little more to think about than giving a laxative long-term. . .

The concept of The Science Mom was born a few years ago as I began trying to meaningfully merge my maternal intuition and my knowledge of science. This blog will reflect on my evolution as a mother and a scientist, which has now extended beyond questions of health and medicine to include nutrition, urban farming, self-sustainability, and working toward becoming an eco-conscious family.