A large body of research going back decades indicates that stress of the type Bascom experienced can affect the fetus, causing physical and psychological harm that lingers throughout the child’s lifespan. With its chaotic response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the United States has unwittingly subjected more than a year’s worth of newborns to conditions resembling an enormous experiment on the long-term effects of stress during pregnancy.

cw: article contains a lot of anti-fat bias

1. Anxiety or panic attacks that occur in what would be considered normal situations
2. A feeling of shame; an innate feeling that they are bad, worthless, or without importance
3. Suffering from chronic or ongoing depression
4. Practicing avoidance of people, places, or things that may be related to the traumatic event; this also can include an avoidance of unpleasant emotions
5. Flashbacks, nightmares, and body memories regarding the traumatic event
6. Addiction and eating disorders in an attempt to escape or numb negative emotions
7. Sleeping issues including trouble going to sleep or staying asleep
8. Suffering from feelings of detachment, or feeling "dead inside" (This is perhaps the most devastating of the signs, because it creates a feeling of loneliness and isolation.)
9. Dissociation as a real disconnect in situations and conversations
10. Hypervigilance (a constant feeling of being on guard)
11. Suicidal thought or actions
12. Uncontrollable anger; acting on it
13. Self-harm, cutting, and mutilation
14. Not being able to tolerate conflicts as they once would have
15. Unexplained or irrational fears of people, places, or things

The death of Carrie Ann Lucas is inspiring people to start the Medical Abuse Hotline.

This has been needed for a long time and is long overdue.

Carrie Ann Lucas's blog post documenting how what became her end-of-life care cost her ability to speak, and endless trauma and medical errors.

Carrie Ann Lucas died because United Healthcare didn't want to pay $2k for a life-saving antibiotic. Instead, what turned into her end of life care cost over $1million.

Because they denied an antibiotic that should never have cost so much in the first place.