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ISSUE 52: JANUARY 2023

Editors’ Note

Dear Readers,

We hope your year is off to a great start and wish you a happy and healthy 2023! As you can see below, December and early January have given us some frightful news about being pregnant in Louisiana and some hopeful news about the national reproductive rights landscape. Our spotlight article this month highlights the role of socioeconomic class in mediating access to postpartum support.

As always, our newsletter is full of opportunities to learn and get involved. If you have any feedback or things you'd like us to include, please reach out to Kelsey at klain@tulane.edu. 

Sincerely,

Kelsey Lain, School of Liberal Arts, '23
Clare Daniel, PhD, Newcomb Institute, Tulane Unversity
Aliyah Daniels, ReproNews co-founder and editor emeritus, Class of 2018
SPOTLIGHT ARTICLE

Rich Mom, Poor Mom: The Economics of Newborns 

Kelsey Lain, School of Liberal Arts '23

Since prehistoric times, birthing people have had some form of companionship or assistance during labor. Over millennia, birth workers have been integral and culturally significant in human societies and evolution. From doulas to midwives, these workers were the primary providers of maternal health; however, the American maternal healthcare system (along with many others) has deviated from traditional practitioners. Beginning in the 1800s, the modern obstetrics and gynecology industry systematically cut out and regulated midwifery into obscurity, especially targeting Southern Black birth workers. By the 1980s, only 1.1% of births were attended by a midwife in the United States. Whether or not this shift has been beneficial is debatable. The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate in the developed world with 84% of related deaths being preventable. Likewise, the amount of preventable birth complications is rising. Notably, other developed nations have a maternal healthcare system where midwives are the main providers. Over 90% of U.S. births today occur in hospitals. While the average post-partum recovery period lasts about six weeks, most hospital stays only last about 3-4 days due to insurance and cost limitations. For those who want longer and more intensive care, another option exists in post-partum retreats. 

Confinement, a period where new parent and child are sequestered at home, is not a new phenomenon. Typically, community members, such as female relatives or birth workers, were the ones who tended to the newborn-mother pair. Social support is crucial for positive postpartum outcomes; those with less social support are at higher risk for postpartum depression as well as a lower quality of life. As we’ve witnessed throughout the pandemic, social bonds and connections can be difficult to maintain, especially for the working class and the disabled. Like the old adage goes, it takes a village. However, access to a village is oftentimes a privilege that not everyone can afford. 

Postnatal hotels are common in Asia, but the concept has only been recently introduced in the United States. The Boram Postnatal Retreat is the first of its kind in America, located in a five-star luxury New York City hotel, costing upwards of $1,400 per night. There are several amenities in which new parents can partake: baby bootcamps and workshops, a 24/7 care team, a mother’s lounge, round-the-clock food service and meals, and therapeutic services. At Boram, these postpartum luxuries are marketed as a “fourth trimester,” essentially extending the pregnancy period. The economics of the U.S. childcare industry expand beyond post-partum retreats. For $200 - $250 per night, a night nanny can take care of a baby’s needs and establish them on a sleeping schedule. For roughly $500 a week, a personal postpartum chef can come to your home and prepare meals to promote lactation.  For up to $10,000, a consultant can suggest a baby name based on family business or genealogy.   

For most new parents, these luxury services act as an obvious class differentiator, but economic stratifications are prominent throughout the birthing and newborn economy. For example, the formula shortage has exacerbated costs and made the product widely inaccessible. However, wealthier parents are able to attain formula via a black market. The formula shortage is just one example of the crisis in this country.

Although the current landscape seems dismal, there are solutions to this inequity. Doula and midwifery groups frequently offer sliding scale fees for local parents, especially targeting those within low-income communities. However, this burden should not be on birth workers alone. Wider systemic change should be implemented to combat this gap. Longer and universal maternity and paternity leave, affordable healthcare and childcare, and support for independent nurse-midwives are essential to support both new parents and new babies.  
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND RESOURCES
Conceiving Equity 2023
See "Events" section below for further details.
Abortion, Every Day (Podcast)
"Louisiana hospitals refused to treat a miscarrying woman: 'We're praying for you'"
Call for Manuscript Submissions
"Mental health disparities during reproductive and perinatal periods are critical and timely areas of inquiry. Evidence suggests that limited and disparate access to reproductive healthcare is linked to adverse mental health in birthing people. Therefore, it is critical to assess how poor mental health is associated with a lack of access to equitable and necessary reproductive healthcare and resources, especially as it relates to financial strain, racial and ethnic disparities, immigration, legal sanctions, war, and global health crises. It is also vital to examine mental health during the perinatal period as it relates to disparities in healthcare during gestation, labor and delivery, and after childbirth.

We invite manuscript submissions for inclusion in a special issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health titled "Mental health and healthcare disparities during reproductive and perinatal periods.'"
Doing Right at Birth: Apply to Become a Health Professional Champion
"We seek 15 healthcare professionals (including physicians, nurses, and social workers) to grow, spread, and sustain efforts to change reporting policies and provider practices in caring for birthing people who use opioids and other drugs.  To apply:  Please include a 1 page statement of interest and a resume or CV. The 1 page statement should include your reason for wanting to become a health professional champion, what changes you want to make/contribute towards (institutional policies/protocols, state policies, etc.), and any information about institutional barriers or support you anticipate. If you have institutional barriers, explain how support from this group could help people navigate the institutional barriers to change."
Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast Promotora Program
"PPGC is expanding our Promotora program in partnership with Latinx organizations throughout Louisiana. We’re working to train local New Orleanian Latinx leaders using the Promotora created VOICES (Volunteer, Open, Inclusive, Community Education on Sexuality) Program, which was created this year by our Promotora team.  Our sessions are delivered to audiences of 5+ people, virtually or in-person (when it is safe to do so). Find out more information by reaching out to our team at promotora@ppgulfcoast.org."

Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast Abortioncare Patient Navigation
"PPGC can provide financial support for travel, child care, food and other necessities for getting out of state. In the New Year, PPGC will also be launching a new initiative working with Black youth about ways we can make improvements in reproductive health."
Job Opening: Program Manager
"The Louisiana Public Health Institute is hiring for a Program Manager for the Family Health team. The Program Manager will be responsible for the successful planning and implementation of multiple projects in the Family Health team in collaboration with local and national partners."
 
Job Opening: Staff Attorney
"Lift Louisiana is looking for an enthusiastic, resourceful, and highly organized attorney with a commitment to reproductive justice. The Staff Attorney will support new and ongoing impact litigation, legal advocacy program development, and policy analysis. The Staff Attorney will work with outside counsel, pro bono counsel, and community partners, and will develop and maintain relationships with the local and national reproductive justice legal community. The Staff Attorney will also assist in drafting legislation, amicus briefs, proposed regulations, and position papers. In addition, the Staff Attorney may work across program areas and collaborate in litigating cases."
 
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: What You Should Know
"The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) is a landmark civil rights law that will ensure pregnant and postpartum workers are not forced off the job, and get the accommodations they need, without facing discrimination or retaliation in the workplace. 

Specifically, the PWFA guarantees workers the affirmative right to receive reasonable accommodations for known limitations stemming from pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions unless the requested accommodations would pose an “undue hardship” to the employer (similar to the familiar process in place for workers with disabilities). The law ensures that millions of pregnant workers, and those who have recently given birth, can protect their health without risking their paycheck. It is a major milestone for gender, racial, and economic justice across the country."
Call for Proposals!
"The second Black Feminist Health (BFH) Collaboratory will focus on the theme of Radical Health Futures. Our aim for the collaboratory is to work together to intervene in the present state of Black people’s health by moving away from scarcity and survival toward a holistic, community-built and love-centered definition of health and wellness for people of African descent. This year's collaboratory asks:
  • How do we redress the systemic health inequalities Black people bear through Black feminist practices, methodologies, and theories and find ways to stop settling for survival?
  • What steps can we take collectively today to bring to fruition a sense of wellbeing for Black people rooted in abundance and pleasure, and inspiring us to thrive as we put an end to the oppressive forces of racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and imperialism?
  • How can we use speculation as a critical Black feminist therapeutic methodology to heal the harms created by anti-Blackness in our everyday lives?
  • And how can critical Black feminist methodologies show us the path to reclaiming another trajectory for what Black people’s health can be?
Please submit a 250-word abstract, 100-word bio, and a 250-word statement on how you and your work engages with Black feminist theory or praxis [at the above link]. The submission deadline for abstracts is January 9, 2023 at 11:59pm PST."

Collective Rising Internship Application Open Until January 30!

"Applications are now open for the 2023 Collective Rising Internship Program! One of Collective Power for Reproductive Justice’s key programs, this paid 10-week internship brings you to the front lines of a movement that reaches beyond Roe to bring true access to abortion, contraception, and bodily autonomy to communities across the country.

Interns will participate in organizing, advocacy, direct service, community health, education, research, public policy and more. All interns receive a $4,500 stipend and complete an intensive internship training at the annual Collective Power conference."

Instruments to improve the evaluation of perinatal services

"The Birth Place Lab has developed novel instruments to improve the evaluation of maternity care, measure respectful care, and measure provider attitudes to planned home birth."
FEATURED NEW RESEARCH
Abortion Onscreen in 2022, Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health, December 15, 2022

Accounting for First-Time Motherhood at Advanced Maternal Age: Risk, Temporality, and the Preservation of Stratified Reproduction, Sex Roles, December 7, 2022

Child Care Rescue: How States Are Using Their American Rescue Plan Act Child Care Funds, National Women's Law Center,  November 3, 2022

Addressing Maternal Health Disparities: Doula Access in Medicaid, Elevance Health, September 2022

Refreshing the Perinatal Periods of Risk: A New Reference Group and Nationwide Large-County-Level Analyses, Maternal and Child Health Journal, October 2 2022
NEWS ITEMS

Campus/Local



Bleeding And in Pain, She Couldn't Get 2 Louisiana ERs to Answer: Is It A Miscarriage?, NPR, December 29, 2022

Louisianans Are Paying More than $2K to Get Abortions Post-roe, According to Abortion Rights Groups, WWNO, December 5, 2022


National and International

Abortion Pills Can Now Be Offered at Retail Pharmacies, F.D.A. Says, The New York Times, January 3, 2023

Learning to Self-Manage Abortions Is Key in a Post-“Roe” Society, Truthout, December 31, 2022

Their Mothers Were Teenagers. They Didn’t Want That for Themselves., The New York Times, December 31, 2022

Fewer abortions, more vasectomies: Why the procedure may be getting more popular, NPR, December 20, 2022

Gen Z Is Re-Thinking College and Career Plans in Post-roe America: ‘I Want to Leave the Country’, CNBC, December 19, 2022

In North Carolina, more people are training to support patients through an abortion, NPR, December 19, 2022

Anti-abortion Group Seeks Total Ban in 2023 Legislative Session, 1819 News, December 16, 2022

We Are Not Prepared for the Coming Surge of Babies, The Atlantic, December 16, 2022

How Anti-Abortion Pregnancy Centers Can Claim to Be Medical Clinics and Get Away With It, Reveal News, December 15, 2022

States with more abortion restrictions have higher maternal and infant mortality, report finds, NBC News, December 14, 2022

Corporate America Thrives Where Abortion Is Protected, The Washington Post, December 14, 2022

Texas State Court Throws Out Lawsuit Against Doctor Who Violated Abortion Law, Texas Tribune, December 8, 2022

Because of Wisconsin’s Abortion Ban, One Mother Gave up Trying for Another Child, NPR, December 9, 2022

Alabama Case Over Mistaken Pregnancy Highlights Risks in a Post-Roe World, Reuters, December 6, 2022

A Woman Who Mistakenly Visited an Anti-abortion Crisis Pregnancy Center Said She Was Met with Pushback for Seeking an Abortion: ‘I Just Was Not Ready, and Words Can’t Make You Ready for That’, Business Insider, December 3, 2022

The Next Anti-Abortion Tactic: Attacking the Spread of Information, The New York Times, December 3, 2022

In the Aftermath of Roe, Telehealth Startups Rush to Fill the Abortion Pill Market, Fast Company, November 29, 2022
EVENTS

Campus/Local
Children's Advocacy Center - Hope House
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM CST, January 3, 2023
223 West 28th Avenue Covington, LA 70433
"This FREE class will be taught in person at Hope House, 223 W 28th Avenue in Covington, from 6-8PM. Any adult is welcome, regardless of whether they work with children, have kids of their own, etc. Registration is required, as free pizza and refreshments will also be provided. CEU credits are available. For every one adult that takes this free training, it is estimated that 10 children are safer and less likely to become victims of sexual abuse. Each class is taught by Hope House's trained facilitators.

For more information on Hope House, visit www.cachopehouse.org/prevention. If you have any questions, OR if you are interested in scheduling a private group training for 10 people or more at your place of business, please contact us at christy@cachopehouse.org or 985-892-3885 Ext 0."
Fit for a King 2023: "Shocking and Inhuman", Connecting Housing Injustice, Segregation & Health Inequity
Louisiana Fair Housing Authority
9:00 AM CST, January 11, 2023
"Fit for a King is the Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center’s annual tribute to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Each year, LaFHAC staff organizes the summit to honor the Fair Housing Movement and to continue to build the movement for fair housing across Louisiana. This year's virtual summit will feature a keynote address by noted author and journalist Linda Villarosa as well as panels exploring reproductive justice, homeownership and the racial wealth gap and updates on recent policy victories and the work ahead."
Birthing Justice Documentary Screening & Conversation
National Birth Equity Collaborative (NBEC)
6:00 PM CST, January 20, 2023
2601 Gentilly Boulevard New Orleans, LA 70122
"BIRTHING JUSTICE is a feature length documentary discussing the issues fueling the maternal health crisis within the African American community and advocating for best practices to enhance birthing equity for all women, especially Black women. Our filmmakers explore this national epidemic in four regions— Washington, D.C., Augusta, GA, several areas in Missouri, and California, interviewing those affected by current policies, i.e., birthing individuals and healthcare professionals, as well as those, such as birthing advocates, activists and policy makers, in the forefront of advancing policy change. We believe every woman deserves a beautiful birth story."
The Impact of Substance Use on Children and Families
Southern University School of Social Work Community Resource Center (CRC)
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM CST, January 26, 2023
6801 Press Drive New Orleans, LA 70126
"The talk will review the effects of substance use and brain development from conception to birth. Emphasis will be placed on psychosocial and physical growth that can be impacted by parental substance use and review the mental health issues that may arise. We will discuss the implications/protections from other systems, including schools, medical care, and child welfare. Lastly, what can families do once a substance use problem is identified."
Conceiving Equity
Newcomb Institute
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM CST, January 26, 2023
Qatar Ballroom, LBC
"Conceiving Equity is an annual program sponsored by Newcomb Institute’s Donna and Richard Esteves Fund for Reproductive Rights and Reproductive Health, the Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health at Tulane's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, the Mary Amelia Center for Women’s Health Equity Research, the Jane Wilson Smith Lecture Series at Tulane's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and the Kevin B. Yorn Gender and Sexuality Studies Fund in at Tulane's School of Liberal Arts.

6-7pm: Reception and exhibit of poster presentations by Newcomb Institute’s Reproductive Rights and Reproductive Health interns, as well as advocacy activities provided by Tulane’s many reproductive rights/health/justice student organizations.

7-8pm: Dr. Kimala Price, Professor and Chair of Women’s Studies at San Diego State University, will deliver the 11th annual Roe v. Wade Lecture, “Reproductive Justice in a Post-Roe, Post-Dobbs World.”

Dr. Kimala Price is Professor and Chair of Women’s Studies and Co-Director of the Bread and Roses Center for Feminist Research and Activism at San Diego State University. She is the author of the book Reproductive Politics in the United States and has published several articles in academic journals such as Politics & Gender; Politics, Groups, and Identities; Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism; Women’s Health Issues; and Sexuality Research and Social Policy. Price has also written commentary for the Washington Post and The Conversation. Her ongoing research projects focus on reproductive policy and politics, the intellectual and political history of the reproductive justice movement, Black women’s reproductive justice activism, and the “queering” of reproductive justice.

Price has been actively involved in the reproductive rights and reproductive justice movements for nearly 30 years, including working for several national feminist advocacy groups and serving on the Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest in San Diego. She has a Ph.D. in political science and a graduate certificate in women’s studies from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a B.A. in political science from Newcomb College at Tulane University."

Upcoming National/Regional
Art for Abortion
Wisp
January 12, 2023
530 Lincoln Rd, Miami Beach, FL 33139, USA
"Support comprehensive sex education and abortion access for all with Wisp's live art event + raffle, featuring our art partner, Corinne Smith. Corinne will be creating an original work live at Showfields Miami alongside a raffle to benefit SIECUS and the Abortion Freedom Fund! Raffle tickets will be assigned automatically with event tickets, which you can purchase above.

Plus, get goodies to take home with condoms, Harmonizing Lube, and Balancing Wash, along with other goodies from other like-minded brands. Hope to see you there!"

BMHW 2022: “Building for Liberation: Centering Black Mamas, Black Families and Black Systems of Care"

Black Mamas Matter Alliance
April 11 - 17, 2022
"Founded and led by BMMA, Black Maternal Health Week is a week-long campaign held annually on April 11-17th that builds awareness, activism, and community-building​ to amplify ​the voices, perspectives and lived experiences of Black Mamas and birthing people. Since 2018, the activities and conversations hosted throughout the week have intentionally centered the values and traditions of the reproductive and birth justice movements. ​Visit here to learn more about Black Maternal Health Week and see highlights from previous years. "
See all events on the Tulane Reproductive Justice Calendar. This calendar is maintained by Kelsey Lain (Tulane School of Liberal Arts ‘23), so please email her your event information at klain@tulane.edu. 
JOBS AND INTERNSHIPS
*We have recently changed the Repronews Job Board. Click here to give anonymous feedback on the new format.
JOIN YOUR SCHOOL’S STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
Students United for Reproductive Justice, Newcomb Institute, Tulane University undergraduates
Big Easy EC, 24/7 Birth Control Delivery Service, Newcomb Institute
Students for Sexual Health Equity, Tulane University School of Public Health
Social Workers United for Reproductive Freedom, Tulane University School of Social Work
Medical Students for Choice, Tulane University Medical School
If/When/How, Tulane University Law School
Please click here to view Newcomb Institute's Post-Roe Resource Document.
Newcomb’s reproductive rights/health/justice-related activities are supported by the Donna and Richard Esteves Fund for Reproductive Rights and Reproductive Health, the Bonnie and William Chapman Fund for Reproductive Rights and Reproductive Health, and the M.B. and Edna Zale Foundation. Read about what our Reproductive Rights and Reproductive Health Interns are up to!






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