In the past week, two trending topics have been on our minds. The reaction to Serena Williams’ announcement of her retirement from tennis. And the concept of “quiet quitting”. Lots of folks in our circles are talking about these as priority and boundary setting for both mental and physical wellness.

As we’ve grown and learned these past few months, we’ve reflected on the part of our mission to put control of our health into our own hands and are asking ourselves these questions:

What role do topics around work wellness play in our mission?

Are our readers interested in topics such as burnout at work?

As more people are having these thoughts and conversations, let us know in the feedback form if you’d be interested in those topics as part of Eve Was Framed.

- Maggie Ruvoldt & Stephanie Majercik

The Tasting Menu

Stroke - What You Need to Know for Early Detection and Treatment
Fertility Fraud – Protecting You From Deception
The Fourth Trimester Continued - Emotional and Mental Health

Stroke - What You Need to Know For Early Detection and Treatment

Stroke is the 5th leading cause of death in women and 20% of us are expected to have a stroke between 55 and 75 and early detection and treatment are central to recovery.

Some of the increased risk of stroke in women can be from health conditions such as atrial fibrillation, preeclampsia, high blood pressure, and certain types of migraines. Other risks arise from smoking and from some medications or forms of birth control.

There are 5 terms about stroke you should be familiar with:

Ischemic stroke is by far the most common accounting for 82% to 87% of strokes. These are caused by a blockage in the blood supply to the brain.
You may have also heard of a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or ministroke. These are temporary and don’t cause permanent damage. However, they can be a warning sign for a future stroke. Although the symptoms are short-lived, if you suspect a TIA, seek medical help.
If you have unchecked high blood pressure you may be at risk for a hemorrhagic stroke. This occurs when there is bleeding from an artery into the brain.
If the cause of a stroke can’t be determined, it is called a cryptogenic stroke.
Brain stem stroke occurs when the blockage or bleeding is at the point where your spinal cord meets the brain.

Early treatment is important for stroke patients to decrease the likelihood of a second stroke and to recover from the physical after effects. The treatments vary based on the cause of the stroke or the areas of the brain and body affected and may include medication, physical therapy and occupational therapy.

Possibly the most important information for you to have is how to spot a stroke in someone. For this use think of the word FAST

Face - Does a side of their face droop when you ask them to smile?
Arms - When they lift their arms, is one drifting down?
Speech - Does their speech sound slurred or otherwise altered?
Time - Immediate treatment is needed. Call 911

To learn more or for other information and support, check out these resources:

The American Stroke Association for education and a general starting point.
For recovery and community, The American Stroke Foundation.
For recovery and support for patients and families, The Stroke Support Association.
For families and other caregivers, The Family Caregiver Alliance

Fertility Fraud – Protecting Your Family Against Deception

A family’s fertility journey is one that is deeply personal and vulnerable. Imagine seeking out fertility treatment to help you conceive a child and finding out years later that your doctor inseminated you with his own sperm – without your knowledge or consent.

Watching Netflix recently, we came across a documentary titled “Our Father”, which is the story of a fertility doctor in Indiana who in the 70s and 80s used his own sperm in place of donors or a woman’s husband to artificially inseminate women. As his children started to piece together their ancestry, they learned that there was no law on the books that would allow them to prosecute him for those crimes…which leads us to a new phenomenon in state legislation: Fertility Fraud Laws.

Fertility Fraud Laws aim to protect women from “doctor, clinic, or donor misrepresentation”, and include criminal and civil actions that the patient, spouse, or offspring can bring against the doctors, clinics, or donors. Ten states across the U.S. have enacted fertility legislation and another 7 have laws progressing through the system. That still leaves more than half of states with no protections for women, spouses, or children of fertility treatments that are mishandled.

So how did we get to this point? Between 1970 and 1990 fertility treatment in the US was largely unregulated, there wasn’t the access to genetic testing that we now have, and the nature of doctor-patient relationships during that time was much different than it is today. In fact, 2% of doctors in a 1988 report admitted that they used their own sperm in artificial insemination procedures. Today, this would be a huge violation with regard to informed consent, but at the time doctors may have just thought they were helping their patients have a child.

Cases like the one in ‘Our Father’ have been difficult to prosecute due to the lack of clear laws. Most Fertility Fraud legislation is relatively new – Indiana’s law was passed in 2019 for example – but are necessary to protect women and families from the violation and deception of these doctors and donors.

The Fourth Trimester Continued - Emotional and Mental Health

There is no “right” or “normal” when it comes to the myriad emotions you experience after giving birth. Following up from last week’s newsletter’s coverage on some of the unexpected physical aspects of recovery, we felt it was important to remind you that taking your mental and emotional health seriously is an important part of your recovery from giving birth.

For 40 weeks, your body has gone through an amazing transformation and that doesn’t stop with giving birth. It can take as long as six months for your hormones to balance after birth. Changes include:

Immediately after the birth (including delivering the placenta), levels of progesterone and estrogen drop dramatically.
Oxytocin rises both to stimulate contractions and to prepare breast tissue for lactation.
Your body prepares for breastfeeding by releasing prolactin

These changes as well as the changes to your life after giving birth give rise to a wide range of emotions from joy to anxiety and fear to empathy

Can we stop saying “baby blues”?

As many as 50% to 75% of people experience some level of sadness postpartum mood changes, mild anxiety, sadness or feeling overwhelmed. Discussing these with your healthcare provider is an important part of your recovery. And critical in the event you are experiencing a more serious condition. The two most common are postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety.

If those become more severe and persistent, you may have postpartum depression. You aren’t alone - 1 in 9 women experience postpartum depression.

What to look for: Panic attacks, excessive crying, hopelessness, guilt, and inability to make decisions or concentrate are all signs of a serious condition.

When to get help: If these last more than 2 weeks or are interfering with doing daily tasks and caring for yourself or your baby, you need to get help from a healthcare professional.

Lesser known than postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety affects between 11% and 21% of people.

What to look for: Physical symptoms can include nausea, inability to be still, changes in appetite, and a racing heart. Emotional and behavioral symptoms include obsessive thinking, repeatedly checking and rechecking completed tasks, and worst-case scenario thinking.

When to get help: Again, if these feelings are severe or interfere with your daily life, seek professional help.

Both of these disorders can be treated with psychotherapy and, if needed medications.

Can we all agree to share real postpartum experiences to eliminate stigma and know that you aren’t alone?

Medical Term of the Week

Afib or Atrial Fibrillation is an arrhythmia.

Wait, did we just define one medical term with another? Let’s try that again.

An arrhythmia is an irregular heartbeat and one of the most common is Afib. Women, especially those over 75 who have symptoms such as dizziness, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, or fainting should be screened for Afib. Untreated, it can be a cause of stroke.

The Latest

The more we talk about menopause (and other women’s health issues) the more we get comfortable talking and taking action. Reading Stacy London’s take on menopause and more about her company State of Menopause is the real talk we all need! (from Best Life)

We love a good day with our friends and that has be validated by a study that show girlfriends are good for our mental wellness (from HealthWomen)

The popular mindfulness and wellness app Headspace is moving into women’s education. (from The Drum)

20% of women will have a stroke. Do you know the signs?