"It could be that people are well or it could be that they relapse."
Vol 3, Issue 8: August 2023
Welcome back to the Lighthouse! Black August is coming to an end, but that doesn’t mean we should stop talking about the Black political prisoners and freedom fighters whose lives have been taken and those who are currently or formerly incarcerated. We can continue to follow the lead of organizations like the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) in calling for amnesty for protestors, support currently and formerly incarcerated political prisoners, continue to learn and share about Black liberation from Black leaders (Noname Book Club has a great Black August reading list!), and support abolitionist organizations.
It’s also the end of Fat Liberation Month, which is relatively new as a recurring recognition, celebration, and call to action. You can read more about the history on NAAFA’s site, as well as check out their resources and donate to support their on-going work in making a better future for fat people (like me!).
I’ve been dealing with some medical stuff this month (or rather, finally getting some answers on things I had accepted as “normal” for a long time!), so my energy has been particularly low, on top of allergies rearing up again. With that in mind, I’m going to stop here before my brain fully gives up!
Now, onto the newsletter!
The FDA approves the first pill specifically intended to treat postpartum depression
“Postpartum depression affects an estimated 400,000 people a year, and while it often ends on its own within a couple weeks, it can continue for months or even years. Standard treatment includes counseling or antidepressants, which can take weeks to work and don't help everyone.”
The FDA just announced that they have approved a first-of-its-kind pill — called Zurzuvae — specifically meant to treat severe postpartum depression (PPD). Sage Therapeutics, the company behind the pill, first developed a similar infused drug that was approved in 2019, but it’s costly and has to be given intravenously over three days in a medical facility, making it less accessible than Zurzuvae will ideally be. They’re aiming to make it commercially available starting in the fourth quarter of this year, so it could be here as soon as October. But as exciting as this is to see, I’ll admit that I’m a bit skeptical of the hype.
Don’t get me wrong, I think having more tools available to address such a serious issue is important. And I’m by no means anti-drug; I absolutely think that they can be wonderful additions to our care. But there are some things that give me mixed feelings on the announcement. For one thing, the approval was given based on just two studies, both done by the Safe Therapeutics themselves. And both only followed up with study participants up to 45 days after they began taking the medication, meaning we have don’t have any real evidence on long-term results and effects.
On top of this, I can’t help but see this as another example of looking to medication as an individualized solution for something that isn’t fully biological and certainly isn’t purely individual. As Catherine Monk, professor and chief of the division of women’s mental health in Obstetrics & Gynecology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, said, “we must address the social determinants of health in the causal pathway to postpartum depression and not let the excitement of a new medication overshadow these issues,” referring to the fact that there are many factors that can increase the likelihood of PPD, including poverty, lack of social support, and lack of time to rest and heal. Medications like this can certainly play an important role in giving more people options for care, and I hope this proves to be an asset as we continue to see rising rates of PPD. But I also hope we can focus on ways to ensure all postpartum people have the social, financial, physical, mental, and spiritual support they need, which I think would go a long way in addressing PPD in the long run.
See also: NPR looks at What we know — and don't know — about the FDA-approved postpartum depression pill. Postpartum Support International has a help line people can call if they need support, as well as other resources to find a mental health provider, support groups, mentorship, and more. I feel that it’s worth noting that Sage Therapeutics, after getting rejected by the FDA for Zurzuvae to be used broadly to treat clinical depression as well, announced they would be laying off about 40% of their workers. Had it been approved, this would have opened a much larger market for them, and I imagine that played a role in their decision to cut staff when it didn’t happen.
What's Happening at Lakeshore Liberation?
Nothing new to share this time!
What’s Going on in Reproductive Justice
Black Breastfeeding Week is just ending, but there are still so many ways to support Black lactation! Aside from checking out this year’s events and donating to support their work, here are some other resources to check out and donate to:
Black Mothers’ Breastfeeding Association (BMBFA) works to reduce racial disparities in breastfeeding success for Black families, through education, advocacy, directly supporting families.
Chocolate Milk Mommies does Mommy Meet-ups, virtual breastfeeding assessments, outreach to support both teen and adult moms, and breast pump rentals to help support Black mothers & families.
Nekisha Killings has curated a database of Lactation Support Groups for Families of Color in the US, which can be found here.
Black Exclusively Pumping Mamas is a Facebook group for Black mothers who are pumping only and are looking for advice and support.
Extreme heat could impact the effectiveness of birth control and pregnancy tests, affecting both individual users as well as organizations that distribute them.
Descendants of Henrietta Lacks won a settlement over the use of her stolen cervical tissue, taken without her knowledge or permission over 70 years ago. Aside from the massive profit that has been made off of her cells, medical information about her was also used and released without her or her family’s consent. Truthout’s Kwolanne Felix reports on this story, as well as how it intersects with the long history of the US medical system exploiting Black people while giving them worse treatment.
A federal appeals court imposed limits on the use of mifepristone (one of the medications used for medication abortion, as well as early miscarriage management) that would severely limit access to it. As Prism reports, “Under the new restrictions, pregnant people will not be able to access the abortion pill by mail. […] Use of the pill has also been limited to 49 days into their pregnancy, which is down from the previous 70 days.” While it doesn’t immediately go into effect and is subject to approval by the US Supreme Court, it’s very likely this will be appealed to the Supreme Court, where it’s uncertain what will happen. But as of now, it’s important to remember that abortion pills are still available to be shipped to all 50 states.
A look at what it’s like for doctors in Wisconsin to follow an 1849 abortion law in 2023.
What’s Going on in Wisconsin
This is specific to my fellow Sheboygan folks, but I wanted to highlight some cool things the Mead Public Library recently shared about in their newsletter! The first is that they offer free home delivery for qualifying cardholders, for reasons like illness, disability, or rehabilitation that make it difficult to get to the library. The second is that they offer Memory Caregiver Kits, which are “designed to help caregivers engage with people who are experiencing dementia.” There are a variety of kits available, for early, mid, and late stages of dementia. If you haven’t before, it’s worth browsing their site to get a feel for the other free services Mead offers!
Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe citizen Michael Witgen’s Pulitzer finalist, “Seeing Red: Indigenous Land, American Expansion and the Political Economy of Plunder in North America,” explores the ways that colonization happened in the Midwest, which ended up being more about exploiting the land and Indigenous people for profit than simply trying to remove them. You can learn more about the book in the interview he did with WPR about the Indigenous history of our area.
What I've Been Reading
The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) is one of those things that sounds good in theory — who doesn’t want kids to be safe, after all? — but would actually just give a select few people power over determining what is “safe” for kids. As Sarah Philips says over on Teen Vogue: “KOSA authorizes state attorneys general to be the ultimate arbiters of what is good or bad for kids. If a state attorney general asserts that information about gender-affirming care or abortion care could cause a child depression or anxiety, they could sue an app or website for not removing that content.” Sometimes when it comes to limiting access to things using vague language like KOSA does, we have to consider what the worst people would use it for to determine if it’s worth it.
In the midst of attempts to ban books across the country, rooted in anti-queer and racist ideologies, libraries have faced backlash through legal threats, defunding, and more. If you’ve ever wondered how you can help, For the People created a Library Defender Resource Center packed with information on how you can make a difference in your community!
WNDR Outdoors started the Fat Bearable Blog, where they aim to, “help reduce anti-fat bias outdoors, provide education and tools on how to increase inclusion and equity outdoors for larger-bodied people, and to empower anyone who has ever felt excluded in outdoor spaces.” They already have a couple of great posts up!
What I'm Watching
While I continue my trek through the Sluggish archive, I’m always finding fun new things. For example, a video called why you stopped reading, which looks at exactly that topic. As the exact right audience for this video (someone who used to read a lot as a kid but tapered off severely as an adult), it was a great and insightful watch!
What I'm Listening To
I really enjoyed this recent Vibe Check episode, where Sam Sanders talked to Emily King about her new album, which was produced by her ex-partner after they just ended their long-term relationship.
Places to Donate To
A 12-year-old Chicago boy, Fred Elouga, tragically drowned in Lake Michigan recently. A family member is raising money to help cover funeral costs/related expenses.
Ruchell Magee was a political prisoner for 67 years and was only recently released. You can donate to the fundraiser set up for him, to assist with his re-entry and help cover his medical expenses and other necessities.
An online acquaintance of mine is dealing with oral cancer and the (expensive) treatments that come with that. If you’re able to, you can follow this link to help cover these expenses!
Questions? Comments? Suggestions?
Feel free to share them below or contact me directly.