When Policy Falls Short, Science and Community Pick Up the Slack
Wellness Debrief No. 002 strikes a balance between doom and gloom and positive leaps forward in health and well-being—maybe that’s a side effect of Libra season.
Wellness Debrief No. 002 strikes a balance between doom and gloom and positive leaps forward in health and well-being—maybe that’s a side effect of Libra season. To start, many of these stories remind us that health is about power, access, and the systems we’ve built (or failed to build) to care for one another. This edition looks at the brutal realities faced by pregnant women in ICE detention, the persistence of misinformation about autism and Tylenol, and the ripple effects of economic policy on Millennial and Gen Z life expectancy.
At the same time, I’m featuring stories that spotlight the doctors working outside government channels to build a better, evidence-based future for public health, the researchers pushing forward on Alzheimer’s and teen suicide prevention, and the reproductive health advocates working to expand access to high-quality care.
Let’s get into it.
What I See As a Midwife for Pregnant Women in ICE Detention (The Cut) — Pregnant women are being held in cold, cramped cells and being fed the hyper-processed foods that RFK Jr. and MAHA regularly condemn as unsuitable. They’re losing weight when they should be putting it on. They’re contracting communicable diseases like COVID, not being given any medication to help with the infection, and not being provided with proper prenatal care. There’s a lot to keep track of right now regarding the news, but we cannot forget that these policies have a tangible impact on the health and well-being of real people.
A Fact-Check on Trump’s Claims About Tylenol and Autism (NPR) — Let me be clear: No scientific study has definitively linked acetaminophen usage during pregnancy to a child having autism. The keyword is DEFINITIVELY. I think this paragraph sums everything up really well:
Another influential study, one of the largest and best controlled, was published in 2024, and it analyzed the records of over two million children in Sweden. It initially found a small link between acetaminophen use in pregnancy and autism. But the researchers knew that genes have a powerful effect on autism risk, and they wanted to control for this. Since siblings share genes and also other commonalities such as the same home environment, they did an analysis that compared siblings who had been exposed to acetaminophen with those who had not. And when they did that, the link between autism and acetaminophen disappeared.
Getting a coronavirus vaccine will be different than years past. What to know. (The Washington Post) — The updates I’m about to lay out are all pending review by the CDC’s acting director. The CDC vaccine panel has recommended that everyone get a COVID vaccine, regardless of their age or health conditions. But you will need to chat with a medical professional first. This doesn’t mean you’ll need a doctor’s appointment; you can also talk to the pharmacist at your local drugstore. Should these changes be approved, you’ll be able to walk into a pharmacy and get a COVID vaccine, like you would a flu shot.
American Millennials (and Elder Gen Z) Are Dying Young (Vice) — Thanks, Ronald Reagan! The Reagan Administration ushered in neoliberalism, which led to the slashing of U.S. social programs and worker protections and the deregulation of industries, and has led to people dying younger than they otherwise would. Nearly every subsequent administration has either maintained or accelerated the process of dismantling our social safety net. Since Millennials and Gen Z are the first generations to be fully raised under this economic system, we feel the brunt.
The Doctors Building a Public-Health Universe Outside the Government (WSJ) — A team of public health experts is fighting back against the ideological decisions being made by the U.S. government. I’m logging this as good news. But I am a bit concerned for people who live in red states that won’t take the recommendations from these experts seriously, as California is, for example, and use them to craft evidence-based health guidance.
With CDC in chaos, scientists and physicians piece together replacements for agency’s lost work (AP) — Medical societies are also breaking away from the CDC’s recommendations and publishing their own.
Insurance Dynamics During Childhood in the Fragmented US Health System (JAMA) — Another study confirms that expanding Medicaid eligibility and funding is good for human health.
USDA cancels survey tracking how many Americans struggle to get enough food (NPR) — Well, this is unfortunate. “The Household Food Security Report provides yearly data on the lack of access to adequate nutrition for low-income Americans, and helps shape policy on how to combat food insecurity and hunger,” writes Jordan-Marie Smith. “The USDA’s announcement comes after Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law this summer, which expands the work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. This, in effect, will leave an estimated 2.4 million Americans without food aid.”
The Hidden Link between Racism and Alzheimer’s Risk (Scientific American) — The African American Dementia and Aging Project is a really cool study in Oregon investigating dementia in Black Americans. The goal is to understand what drives cognitive decline in Black Americans, which happens at a higher rate than in other racial groups, and find solutions. It seems like the drivers of Alzheimer’s can be controlled—for instance, quitting smoking and improving family-supportive policies would help protect the aging brain. Another would be working to improve the air quality in Black neighborhoods. You can read more about the impact of air quality on Black populations in a piece I wrote for HuffPost in 2018.
You can also check out Controversial New Alzheimer’s Drugs Offer Hope—But at a High Cost and Can Diet and Exercise Really Prevent Alzheimer’s?
‘Not Just About Abortion’: Amidst Federal Attacks on Planned Parenthood, Georgia Clinics Fight Maternal Mortality and Postpartum Neglect (Ms. Magazine) — Independent clinics in the South are working to expand access to reproductive health care despite the attacks on it from the administration. The Feminist Center Georgia Initiative is working to pass the Reproductive Freedom Act, which will expand abortion access and expand how midwives are licensed—a move that would help address maternal mortality.
Academic researchers see a boost in interest — and innovation — around endometriosis (AAMC News) — The headline explains it all here. This is GREAT NEWS!
Launch of maternal wellness center to strengthen care at Booker T. Washington Community Center (The Journal-News)
We Can Stop Teen Suicide (Scientific American)
What can happen if you let people wear their germy shoes in your house (The Washington Post)
What It’s Like to Get Your Period in Prison (The Prison Journalism Project & The Guardian)
Doctors and women are turning to a new metric as the ultimate indicator of longevity—and a powerful motivator for transformation (Women’s Health)
The New STIs: Mycoplasma, Ureaplasma, and the Things No One Tells You (Vogue)
What happened when a doctor and an AI model both tried to solve a medical mystery (The New Yorker)