Pregnancy in the pandemic: a thread (1/ a lot). The NHS has finally changed its guidance to say women should be allowed to have their partner there 'at all times': scans, in labour ward from the start and not just for 'active labour'. I gave birth 8 days ago.

I found out I was pregnant with my first child on the day the UK went into 1st lockdown. Many people asked me how my pregnancy was going over the past few months. I’d say: “it’s not an easy time to be pregnant!” Most would reply: “it’s never an easy time!” Sure... but a pandemic?

I love the NHS. My doctor mother gave all her working life to it, my brother is now set to do the same. This is not a criticism of most of its staff who - long before Covid happened - have been people I championed in many of my columns.

But the major problem over the past nine months has been access to in-person care. Before I was 38 weeks pregnant (technically full term though I didn’t deliver until 40 weeks and 6 days), I had seen a midwife in person twice. You can’t check blood pressure over the phone.

Nor can you be measured or examined, and the midwife is less able to spot signs of big problems (eg issues like domestic violence, which can start/ flare up in pregnancy). One of my phone appointments lasted about 5 minutes; another I missed because they only called 5 hours late

Dronepunk: “Flashback”

[CW: Torture, Violence, Firearms, Waterboarding, Vomit, Enhanced Interrogation, Blood, Implied Drug Use, Military Forces, Hypnosis]
[The DronePunk Collective is a creation of @Foresgard and all work here considered non-canon]
1/

Riot_0204 came to. No, not 0204, the person who she was once before she became who she is now. She was bound to a chair, naked. Cable ties at wrist and ankle, cutting into her bare flesh. A bag over her head was pulled off abruptly.
2/

There were two others in the room. DPM uniforms, no insignia or rank marks. One male, armed with a FN rifle. The other, female, was pulling up an improvised crash cart made from a tool trolley.
3/

Through her dimmed perception, she could see the prefab walls and blackout curtains. A headache bright bulb was illuminating over her head. A uniform in tatters on the floor beside her. One eye was bruised shut, saving her half the light.
4/

The female officer slammed a fist into 0204’s stomach. Questions washed over, barely registering.
The mantra trained in came out. Name, Rank, Number… Dead Name. Dead Rank. Dead Number. Dead Person. They don’t live anymore, new life lives in that body.
5/

good morning! while we wait for @AusPublicHealth to begin their weekly update, here are some things you might've

APH Director Stephanie Hayden starts out talking about the new portal system that pre-registers people for the vaccine, tho the site was down earlier. Not sure if that's still the case.

She stress that vaccine supply is still very limited at the moment.

Says there is not enough vaccine for the entire community yet simply "because we don't have it."

.@MeaEscott says we can't vaccinate ourselves out of the current surge, and we can still take measures to protect ourselves.

Says "we're all frustrated by the number of vaccines available" but protective measures will have to continue until that supply grows.

First Q is about positivity rates in school-age children.

Escott: I'm concerned about positive rates in young people. The situation is different from earlier: Positivity rate is 4x as high as fall and now we have a new variant.

Says it "will be a struggle" to control outbreaks

South African doctors are tough. We are used to extreme conditions. Making do with little. Going the extra mile for our patients. We have faced surge after surge of trauma patients hit our depts every weekend, managing the wounded, bleeding, critically injured. A thread 1/

I trained in the early 2000s. When SA didn't have ARVs for patients dying with HIV/Aids. In 2003 as a med student we marched so that South Africans could have access to ARVS. Millions of South Africans died due to the slow rollout of ARVS in the early 2000s 2/

As an intern, as ARVs were just being initiated, countless patients died - too sick to be started on ART, it was too late. As an intern at Bara, I remember certifying 8 patients dead in a night. Some patients were my own age - 24. 3/

ARVs made a huge difference. Life expectancy increased. Child-headed households decreased. More patients living a normal life. The #Covid19SA pandemic has reminded me so much of that pre-ARV era - the helplessness, being overwhelmed with patients and lacking resources 4/

Although we always get nervous when being exposed to HIV, we feel reassured that there ART prophylaxis. With #COVID19 HCWs are at high risk of getting sick, and also severe illness. We have continued to face this fear all year 5/

A lot of people are asking about @NightingaleLDN and the current response. Having spent a lot of time there during the last wave, we are proud of all the energy that went into the response. The NHS in London has adapted and changed since the first wave, with hospitals such as 1/

vastly increasing critical care capacity. It was always clear that care would be better delivered within the confines of an established NHS hospital although at the time this capacity was just not there. With the creation of a 170 bed critical care unit 2/

the current efforts are in bringing all that new resource online to help people needing critical care, and this is progressing. One of the challenges @NightingaleLDN was around public information, and this was tricky to overcome. The other challenge in 3/

providing staff was also well documented. NHS staff, especially in the numbers needed to staff a critical care bed are not ‘spare’ when an incident hits and all hospitals, Nightingale or not, are grappling with the staffing challenge. This current wave is huge, and who knows 4/

if the resources of @NightingaleLDN will be needed, even if in a different operating model. It would be silly to say this won’t happen, as the new variant wave is shocking for us all. But the focus on firstly using the additional new capacity within @NHSEnglandLDN is the 5/

Endowment for the Arts - because of it
6. $300,000,000 for the Endowment for the Humanities/ because no one even knew that was a thing
7. $15,000,000 for Veterans Employment Training / for when the GI Bill isn't enough
8. $435,000,000 for mental health support

9. $30,000,000,000 for the Department of Education stabilization fund/ because that will keep people employed (all those zeros can be confusing, that’s $30 BILLION)
10. $200,000,000 to Safe Schools Emergency Response to Violence Program

11. $300,000,000 to Public Broadcasting / NPR has to be bought by the Democrats
12. $500,000,000 to Museums and Libraries / Who knows how we are going to use it

13. $720,000,000 to Social Security Admin / but get this only 200,000,000 is to help people. The rest is for admin costs
14. $25,000,000 for Cleaning supplies for the Capitol Building / I kid you not it's on page 136
15. $7,500,000 to the Smithsonian for additional salaries

16. $35,000,000 to the JFK Center for Performing Arts
17. $25,000,000 for additional salary for House of Representatives
18. $3,000,000,000 upgrade to the IT department at the VA
19. $315,000,000 for State Department Diplomatic Programs

JUST IN

"Our healthcare system is at a breaking point."

@MuhyiddinYassin

JUST IN

The government has decided to implement a Movement Control Order (MCO) for 14 days from 12.01am, 13 January 2021.

@MuhyiddinYassin @MKNJPM @KKMPutrajaya

The states under MCO are Penang, Selangor, Melaka, Johor, Sabah and the Federal Territories (KL, Putrajaya, Labuan)

"Social activities that involve large gatherings are not allowed."

@MuhyiddinYassin

"Interstate travel is not allowed nationwide."

@MuhyiddinYassin

You what now

Are they disrupting my menstrual cycle because my body does that just fine I do not DO NOT need a startup for that

“You’ve been doing your period all wrong: an LA company smashes menstrual taboos.”

Okay first off I have kids. One does not survive toddlers if they’re squicked out by bodily fluids.

Second off what are they selling, I’ve only read the headline but they’re selling something

Wait they want me to do more chores

With two kids and unwashed dishes and a laundry mountain I’m supposed to buy new underwear that’s hand wash

This is...a product for a very specific kind of person who bleeds and that person is not me

God imagine being that ad exec “okay so we need to make women think they need this. It’ll make everything a bit harder and they’ll be doing more chores and also we need to tell them that they’re not attuned enough to their bodies. We’ll need that by the end of product Dev.”

I... WHO DOES NOT KNOW THAT THEY ARE FLOWING

Like what am I to learn from that excepting that I shouldn’t wear white pants SPECIFICALLY SO I DON’T HAVE TO SPEND AN HOUR SCRUBBING BLOOD OUT OF MY CLOTHES

NOW I HAVE TO ADD RITUALS TO AN ALREADY ANNOYING WEEK OF MY LIFE

First Ascended Master self evident of 10 temporary symptoms.

Astral leaving and return to physical body at will.

You can hand pass through own body and take out unwanted items from body and body heal like wolverine at will.

Chakra energy can split and focus at will.

Enlightenment Light appear with presence within heaven.

Few People Know a Contact From Above Occurred HERE in the USA in the Early 1920's. The Couple Contacted were Both Medical Doctors (Sadlers). This Multi-Year Contact in Chicago Resulted in Documents completed in 1935. An Event (WW2) Caused the First Publication Delay Until 1955.

My uncle passed away from cancer when I was 16 years old.

I’ve since spent 100’s of hours researching how to avoid and fight cancer naturally.

Here’s what I found:

1) Boost your stem cells

Your body slowly regenerates using stem cells.

Foods that promote stem cell growth:

• Seafood & fatty fish
• Berries (black, blue, raspberry)
• Broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts

More stem cells = lower chance of cancer

Fasting is also a viable option for increasing your stem cells.

You could do a 24 hour fast once a week.

Or go extreme like my business partner @taylinsimmonds

And fast for 4-7 days at a time.

I’ll stick with 24 hours tops ;)

2) Hack DNA repair for longevity

To amplify DNA repair:

• Sleep 7+ hours
• Exercise regularly
• Try intermittent fasting

Natural DNA repair prevents your cells from mutating.

Eat foods that amplify DNA repair:

• Greens
• Mangoes
• Greek yogurt

The best cancer cure is prevention.

OK folks, I've decided to take a little time and give you some tips on achieving "Total Self Awareness" and reaching "Bliss", during meditation... The entire exercise requires the quieting of the mind.. If you're new at it, being macho and attempting to meditate..cont

8 superfoods that will 10x your body mass:

1. Red Meat

Red meat is an excellent source of protein that aids in weight gain and muscular development.

It has leucine and creatine, which are substances important for increasing muscle building.

Protein and fat found in steak and other red meats contribute to weight gain.

2. Starchy Foods

Potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, whole grain bread, oatmeal, whole wheat pasta, and brown rice are high-carbohydrate foods.

Carbohydrates, which have a protein-sparing effect, are essential for muscle growth along with proteins.

3. Eggs

Eggs are a powerhouse of protein, zinc, vitamins A, D, B 12, phosphorus, and folate.

Egg protein has a high biological value, which makes it the ideal post-workout snack.

There are 90 calories, 6.7 grams of fat, and 6.1 grams of protein in one large scrambled egg.

4. Fatty Fish

Essential fatty acids and proteins are abundant in fatty fish like salmon.

They aid in weight gain and immune boosting.

The finest source of omega-3 which is important for weight gain is found in these fish.

I have created a step-by-step guide to building a #CorsiRosenthalBox. Thank you @JimRosenthal4 & @CorsIAQ for approving it. Displaying it in waiting rooms, offices, schools, and libraries will help more people stay safe this season. Please DM me if you need a PDF or another size.

Also, thank you to @LadyScorcher and @amandalhu!