Parenting With Migraine: Recapping Our Parenting AMA
What does parenting look like when you live with migraine?
It can mean managing migraine attacks while caring for your child, navigating fertility and pregnancy, advocating for school accommodations, and learning when to ask for help.
That’s exactly what Peachy Day founder Sophia Fang and migraine coach Beckiee Frasca explored in our recent Parenting AMA. Beckiee brought both professional and personal experience to the conversation: she’s a migraine coach, lives with migraine herself, and is a parent navigating migraine alongside her child’s own health needs.
From fertility and pregnancy to screen time, pediatric migraine, 504 plans, and getting through a high-pain day as a parent, the conversation got real about what it takes to care for yourself while caring for someone else.
Here are some of the biggest takeaways from Sophia and Beckiee’s conversation, plus practical strategies you can use on your own migraine days.
Can migraine affect fertility and pregnancy?
For people living with migraine, fertility and pregnancy can add another layer of uncertainty to an already complicated condition.
Beckiee shared what it was like to spend nearly five years off preventive medications while navigating her fertility journey: two years of trying to conceive, followed by pregnancy, and then another two years of trying for a second child.
Each failed attempt came with its own emotional weight, made even harder when migraine attacks were part of the picture.
For anyone navigating fertility and migraine, Beckiee’s advice is simple: lean on your partner and treat it as a shared journey. You don't have to carry the emotional and physical weight of it alone, even when it feels that way.
If you're navigating migraine treatment while trying to conceive or during pregnancy, talk with your healthcare provider about which treatment options are appropriate for you.
How do I parent during a migraine attack?
Parenting doesn't stop when a migraine hits. Sometimes, you have to get creative.
For Beckiee, that can mean letting go of some of the expectations she has for herself as a parent. On the hardest days, screen time can become a tool rather than something to feel guilty about. Lower the volume, put on something that keeps your child occupied, and give yourself permission to focus on getting through the attack.
Getting through a migraine attack as a parent doesn't have to look perfect. It just has to get you through the day.
Beckiee also shared how children's books have helped her explain migraine to her son in an age-appropriate way. One of her favorites describes migraine as a monster that shows up when it wants to, helping reinforce an important message: migraine isn't anyone's fault.
She started reading these books with her son as soon as he was old enough to understand them.
Now, her son is showing early signs of pediatric migraine himself. His school is already working on a 504 plan, and Beckiee has encouraged him to learn how to advocate for himself.
Recently, he told his teacher that his ears were hurting during what may have been a migraine attack. The guilt that can come with passing migraine on to your child is real. But Beckiee offered a different way to look at it: kids today have more migraine treatments and resources available to them than ever before.
What school accommodations can help my child with migraine?
For children living with migraine, school accommodations can help make it easier to learn and participate when symptoms interfere with school.
One of the biggest themes in Sophia and Beckiee’s conversation was advocacy, both for yourself and for your child. Beckiee’s recommendation? Ask for accommodations before you think you'll need them.
Depending on a student's individual needs, accommodations may include:
Wearing sunglasses in class
Using earplugs or other noise-reducing tools
Having access to ice packs
Receiving extended time on tests
The migraine community has also made important progress in expanding awareness and access to accommodations through disability advocacy efforts, including work by the Headache and Migraine Disability Advocacy (HDA) community and Headache on the Hill.
And accommodations aren't limited to K–12. Support may also be available throughout higher education and into the workplace, depending on an individual's circumstances.
If migraine is affecting your child's ability to attend, learn, or participate at school, consider talking with their healthcare provider and school about what accommodations may be appropriate.
What should be in my migraine toolkit as a parent?
To close out the AMA, Sophia and Beckiee walked through what they’d actually want in a migraine toolkit as a parent.
The goal isn't to create a perfect migraine setup. It's to have a plan that makes the hardest days a little easier.
Start with physical comfort
Keep the basics within easy reach:
Ice pack or ice hat
Water
Blackout curtains
Sunglasses
Having these things ready ahead of time means one less decision to make when you're already dealing with pain or brain fog.
Build a migraine support network
When a migraine hits, knowing who to contact can save valuable time and energy.
Beckiee’s approach starts with a partner, then close friends, followed by the broader virtual migraine community.
Peachy Day's PeachyPals feature can also help by letting you send a one-tap alert to your support system when you need help.
Give yourself permission to step back
As Sophia and Beckiee discussed, there are going to be days when you simply can't do everything.
On high-pain days, it's okay to say no to extra work, plans, or responsibilities. Sometimes the best thing you can do is step away before you've completely run out of energy.
Taking care of yourself isn't taking away from your role as a parent. Sometimes, it's what allows you to keep going.
Use a migraine stoplight system
One simple way to plan around migraine is to match your day to how you're actually feeling.
🔴 Red day: Bed, dark room, and as much rest and solitude as possible. If you're solo parenting, it's okay if the TV helps keep your child occupied.
🟡 Yellow day: Take steps to prevent things from escalating, including using your medications as directed, and communicate your energy level with your partner or support system.
🟢 Green day: You're feeling better, but keep an eye on your bandwidth so you don't push yourself straight back into yellow.
The key is to decide what each day looks like before you need the plan. When you're dealing with pain and brain fog, you shouldn't have to figure everything out from scratch.
How can I prepare for migraine attacks?
The best time to make a migraine plan is before you're in the middle of an attack.
Based on Sophia and Beckiee's conversation, that plan might include:
Keeping your migraine comfort tools somewhere easy to reach
Knowing who you can call for help with your child
Talking with your partner or support system about what you need on red, yellow, and green days
Preparing age-appropriate resources to help your child understand migraine
Talking with your child's school about accommodations if migraine affects their education
Tracking your migraine patterns so you can better anticipate and prepare for difficult days
You don't need to predict exactly when a migraine will happen. The goal is to make the response easier when it does.
Migraine Care Shouldn't Feel Like a Full-Time Job
If you’re living with migraine, you deserve more than guesswork and rushed appointments.
Peachy Day is a migraine prevention app, designed to lighten your load. You can:
Log in 1 minute a day, even during attacks
Get personalized health insights on a color-coded calendar
Make the most of your doctor’s visits
Get migraine predictions to prevent future attacks
Build confidence in how you understand and talk about migraine
Our team brings together 125+ years of experience as migraine patients and 50+ years as headache neurologists, including the founder of Stanford and USC’s Headache Clinic.
Download Peachy Day for free on the App Store or Google Play. 🍑
