This Mother's Day...
Three Things Thursday
Three Things Thursday highlights three things I am paying attention to as an epidemiologist each week. There has been a constant flow of news this week — from measles to avian influenza and mpox to cancer. Mother’s Day is also this week, and I’d like to focus our attention there for this week’s three things.
My journey to becoming an epidemiologist took place at the same time as I became a mother. I gave birth to my daughter, the artist, at (what should have been) the start of the 3rd semester of my Ph.D. program. I was studying for my Ph.D. comprehensive exams during her first three months of life. When I should have been reading books like The Very Hungry Caterpillar and One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish to her, I was reading Rothman’s Modern Epidemiology and Moore & McCabe’s Introduction to the Practice of Statistics to her. And then I defended my dissertation (three years later) on the day my son was due. Yes — I got dressed up while 9 months pregnant and defended my dissertation (45-minute presentation followed by 1.5 hours of questioning).
I literally became an epidemiologist and mama at the same time.
And because I am both an epidemiologist and a mom, I know that many individuals need to be honored and celebrated this Mother’s Day, alongside individuals who have given birth, adopted, or helped to raise a child. We also need to stay engaged and up-to-date on the latest news to fight misinformation and ensure that our kids and communities are healthier tomorrow than they are today. And finally, I know that we all need to advocate for healthy communities so that our children can grow up in environments that will promote, support, and sustain their health.
Hoping this post helps to educate and empower you
to be healthy and create healthy communities.
Public Health Data & Mother’s Day
This Mother’s Day, to spread kindness, let’s remember to celebrate those individuals and families who have experienced —
Miscarriages, stillbirths, or neonatal deaths.
Because of amazing public health data collection, we know that between 10-20% of all pregnancies end in a miscarriage; there is one stillbirth for every 160 live births in the US; and more than 20,000 babies die each year in the US before reaching their first birthday.The loss of a mother.
Every two minutes, a mother dies from a preventable cause related to pregnancy and childbirth. We are also losing our mothers to cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and violence.Struggles with infertility.
~17% of people globally struggle with infertility.The death of a child.
Gun violence, drownings, cancer, and overdoses are some of the leading causes of death. The proposed federal budget eliminates funding to conduct research and design strategies to reduce these deaths.
These are grim statistics that cannot be ignored (even as we celebrate moms).
This Mother’s Day, we need to extend extra kindness to those who may be grieving on this holiday. And we need to acknowledge and celebrate those who may not have the official title of mother, but serve as moms to our children. Aunts, friends, nurses, teachers, and caregivers should be celebrated this weekend for the love and support they provide to our kids.
Funding Cuts & Policies
The Trump Administration is defunding/eliminating studies on Alzheimer’s care for women, uterine fibroids, and pregnancy risks, all because they focus on gender.
“Researchers say threats to federal research funding and President Donald Trump’s promise to eliminate any policy promoting ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ are threatening a decades-long effort to improve how the nation studies the health of women… or improve treatments for the medical conditions that affect them. Agency employees have been warned not to approve grants that include words such as ‘women…’”1
This could mean that we stop learning about and investigating ways to prevent maternal deaths, infant deaths, endometriosis, uterine cancer, breast cancer, heart disease, and stroke. Additionally, research and services to protect and prevent violence against women have stopped.
On top of these cuts, recent research shows that women who live in states that ban abortions are significantly more likely to die during pregnancy, while giving birth, or soon after the birth of their child, compared to those who live in states where abortion care is legal and accessible. As summarized by the Commonwealth Fund —
“A mother’s risk of dying was nearly twice as high in the banned states. In some states, the risk was even higher. Mothers in Louisiana, for example, were three times as likely as mothers in supportive states to die during pregnancy, childbirth, or soon after giving birth.”
One of the consequences of abortion bans (which are written by politicians and not written or supported by medical providers) is that bans lead to fewer reproductive health services, including prenatal care, contraception, and emergency obstetric services. Additionally, in states with bans, there are fewer healthcare clinics and limited Medicaid expansion, which reduces access to healthcare.
In states with abortion bans, doctors may delay or withhold necessary care for complications like miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, or preeclampsia due to legal fears. These delays or denials of care cost women and children their lives.
The dismantling of public health programming is costing women and children their lives. And the “pro-life” movement and policies to ban abortions are costing women and children their lives.
This is unacceptable.
We all need to advocate for more research, more prevention, and policies that save lives, not increase the death rate.
Fighting for the Future
This Mother’s Day, I will be focusing on the future. I will be thinking about what I can do to ensure my children grow up in healthy communities. I want them to live in a healthier and safer world than we have today.
When I first started studying environmental science in college (which is where I was first introduced to epidemiology), I remember my teacher/mentor mentioning The Seventh Generation principle…
This should be our focus this Mother’s Day.
We must fight misinformation to ensure the health of our children…
We must advocate for policies that save lives…
We must form coalitions to create effective policies and programs…
We must fight for healthcare for all and preventive medicine…
We must speak up against the dismantling of public health…
to ensure that, in seven generations,
mothers and children can lead healthy lives and live in healthy communities.
What else can you do?
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Epi(demiology) Matters is written by Dr. Becky Dawson, PhD MPH — an epidemiologist, teacher, mom, wife, and dedicated yogi. She is a tenured professor at Allegheny College, Research Director at a community hospital, and an exclusive contributor (all things health & medicine) at Erie News Now (NBC/CBS). Her goal is to create healthy communities for all. She writes Epi Matters — first & foremost because epidemiology does matter (to all of us) and she hopes that each post will help to educate and empower readers to be healthy and create healthy communities.
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Quote from 19thnews.org