Women on the Frontline: A Changed Workforce and the Fight Against COVID-19.

COVID-19 is a worldwide pandemic, with frontlines that look drastically different than in past conflicts: that is, women now make up a sizeable majority of the health care workforce. American women have a long history of helping in times of hardship, filling positions on the home front vacated by men who enlisted as soldiers during World War I and similarly serving in crucial roles on U.S. military bases, on farms, and in factories during World War II. The COVID-19 pandemic has represented a novel battleground, as the first in which women have taken center stage, not only in their roles as physicians, respiratory therapists, nurses, and the like, but also by serving in leadership positions and facilitating innovations in science, technology, and policy. Yet, the pandemic has exacerbated multiple pain points that have disproportionally impacted women in health care, including shortages in correctly sized personal protective equipment and uniforms, inadequate support for pregnant and breastfeeding providers, and challenges associated with work-life balance and obtaining childcare. While the pandemic has facilitated several positive advancements in addressing these challenges, there is still much work to be done for women to achieve equity and optimal support in their roles on the frontlines.

The intergenerational effects of early adversity.

Early insults during critical periods of brain development, both prenatal and postnatal, can result in epigenetic changes that may impact health and behavioral outcomes over the life span and into future generations. There is ample evidence that these early stages of brain development are sensitive to various environmental insults, including malnutrition, childhood trauma, and drug exposures. The notion that such changes, both physiological and behavioral, can also carry over into subsequent generations has long been recognized, especially in the context of experimental studies. However, epigenetic mechanisms capable of explaining such phenomena were not available until relatively recently, with most of this research published only within the last decade.