Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
New NYC Guidelines: Bartenders Shouldn't Make Health Decisions For Expectant Mothers
The Associated Press: A Pregnant Woman Walks Into A Bar: You Must Serve Her In NYC
A pregnant woman shows up at a New York City bar and wants to go in and order a drink despite health warnings against consuming alcohol while expecting. Should the tavern serve her? It's against the law to refuse, under city Human Rights Commission guidelines released Friday. They center on expansive protections for pregnant workers but also say mothers-to-be can't be kept out of bars or denied alcoholic drinks just because they're expecting. "Judgments and stereotypes about how pregnant individuals should behave, their physical capabilities and what is or is not healthy for a fetus are pervasive in our society and cannot be used as pretext for unlawful discriminatory decisions" in public venues, the new guidelines say. (Peltz, 5/8)
The Kansas City Star: Surviving Infertility: One Woman’s 10-Year Journey To Motherhood
For 10 years, Jessica Strom’s biggest dream was to become a mother. But infertility kept that dream just out of reach. She found a silver lining in her work as a photographer, capturing beautiful images of moms and babies in the Kansas City area. She also volunteered to take photos of preemies in the neonatal intensive care units at local hospitals. (Gish, 5/8)
NPR: When Pregnant Women Get Flu Shots, Babies Are Healthier
Kimberly Richardson has never gotten a flu shot. Since she's healthy and considers the seasonal vaccines a "best-guess concoction" of the viruses expected to dominate, the northern California gym teacher and mother of two says she didn't want an "injection of something that may or may not keep me healthy in the long run." She's not alone. In an analysis of 245,386 women who delivered babies at Utah and Idaho hospitals over nine flu seasons, 90 percent said they didn't get vaccinated for influenza while pregnant. Those who did reaped benefits — their babies were healthier. (Landhuis, 5/7)
The Peninsula Clarion: Teen Birth Rate On Steady Decline In Alaska
The number of teenage parents in Alaska is continuing its downward trend. Nationwide, the birth rate among teenage women 15-19 years old has declined dramatically since 1991, from 61.8 per 1,000 teens to 24.2 out of every 1,000 by 2014, according to a May 3 bulletin issued by the Alaska Section of Epidemiology. In Alaska, the rate is higher than the national average — 27.8 per 1,000 teens age 15–19 years — but it has fallen significantly from 42.6 per 1,000 in 2008, according to the bulletin. (Earl, 5/7)
