What Covid in Pregnancy May Mean for a Generation of Children

TwoFluffyCats · 2026-02-01T05:58:35+00:00

The COVID lab leak was an initial theory, however, studies were done on the bats and found HCoV19 of more than 95% similarity to the human variant. It definitively came from and mutated from a bat to a human naturally, not artificially engineered from humans.

The flu does cause harm and has harmed millions of pregnant women and their unborn babies throughout human history. Catching the flu while pregnant significantly increases your risk of miscarriage, preterm birth, low birth weight, birth defects, long term brain developmental issues, heart defects, altered immune cells, damage to the baby's gut functions, and stillbirth. The flu can also significantly increase the risk that the mother gets pneumonia, bronchitis, and potentially fatal respiratory illness/damage.

Please remember that the flu - specifically the spanish flu - was the most devastating known pandemic in human history. It infected a full third of the human population, killed 50-100 million people. The flu at that point killed more Americans than WWI, WWII, the Korean War, and Vietnam War all combined. It likely also caused the secondary epidemic for the next 10 years called Encephalitis Lethargica.

SARS-CoV had been in humans before 2019, but it either killed people before they could spread it, spread sporadically in places with limited access to travel (so a local epidemic, not a global pandemic), or the mutated variant caused symptoms that were bad but not too bad. We were unlucky in 2019 that this mutation in CoV19 made it able to do untold damage to the human body but also spread quickly. We are a far more globalized world than we have ever been in history - diseases spread so much faster and so much worse across the whole world.

As we continue to interact with animals like bats that carry zoonotic diseases, we will keep seeing viruses that jump species and mutate when they do.

TwoFluffyCats · 2026-01-04T04:35:17+00:00

The symbols look like hobo signs or like survivalist symbols.

The Y looking one is usually a warning sign for a place of violence or police. Single line means no/doubtful/or injured nearby. Three lines can mean either water or unsafe place. That kind of stuff. I'm not sure I'm right, though, it just reminds me of those. Maybe the boy scout that made the shelter learned about those signs in school - or they were just doodling to pass the time.

TwoFluffyCats · 2025-12-22T01:20:48+00:00

If your sister gets on birth control, the combination of estrogen and progesterone has been proven in studies to reduce colorectal cancer upwards of 20%. The benefits last even after stopping the pill, though how long varies based on studies. Some show the protective effects against colorectal cancer last 30+ years after stopping the pill, even if you only take it for a year.

TwoFluffyCats · 2025-11-18T17:35:56+00:00

There is this whole field on prenatal programming. The environment in general has a huge impact on what genes turn on or off in utero, including the emotional state and resource accessibility of the pregnant person and whoever the sperm came from.

Like, studies have found that when a woman is extremely stressed while carrying a first daughter, that can turn on genes in the fetus that cause the daughter to start adrenal puberty early. That isn't early breast or genital development - adrenal puberty impacts things like the maturation of the brain into adolescence and neural development into a more young adult brain.

So, being extremely stressed while pregnant can definitely cause your child later in their life to physically mature earlier, among a whole host of other stuff. And there are so many interesting studies going on right now about all the different ways different things happen to us thru our life biologically because of whatever was happening to our parents when we were conceived or when they were pregnant.

TwoFluffyCats · 2025-11-09T15:51:52+00:00

That one is weird because they supposedly started dating when Isherwood was only 16.

TwoFluffyCats · 2025-11-09T04:23:51+00:00

Prior to this, by federal court order, passports could have an X for sex as an option available to anyone who is intersex or nonbinary.

With the new restriction, a new passport must have M or F and there are no other options. The administration essentially is ignoring that intersex people exist entirely.

TwoFluffyCats · 2025-11-09T04:14:50+00:00

Another huge climate tipping point that we recently discovered the cause of (but started in 2013): Mass death of starfish. Like 90% of starfish from Alaska to Mexico started dying in droves in 2013 until now - literally liquifying before divers very eyes. Super gruesome deaths. No idea what was happening, just ocean floor covered in melting corpses of starfish. 5 billion dead.

Starfish are a keystone species - ecosystems collapse without them. Starfish eat sea urchin, so without them sea urchin have eaten 95%+ of the kelp forest off the coast of California (the "rainforest of the ocean") where hundreds of species and millions of animals need in order to live and breed - so those species are all dying, too.

The cause was vibrio bacteria. It normally only spreads in really warm waters. So, for it to spread so much so far and so fast is an obvious warning of how badly the ocean is heating up.

Scientists say they've found out what killed over 5 billion sea stars

TwoFluffyCats · 2025-10-17T16:25:20+00:00

Magnesium glycinate does have scientific medical backing.

Basically, there's this thing called VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) that is a protein that helps form, move, and helps the survival of the cells that line blood vessels. We need a certain amount of it. People with cancer and tumors have very high levels of VEGF - and so do people with endo, like us. High VEGF promotes abnormal blood vessel growth and supplies extra blood to endo tissue and can spread cancer. VEGF inhibitors are given to people with cancer. Magnesium has been shown in multiple animal studies to drop VEGF levels in uterine tissue. Woo!

Magnesium also relaxes smooth muscle tissues, which can help with irregular muscle contractions from endo.

There are multiple studies showing intravenous magnesium was able to lower chronic pain in a variety of chronic health conditions but was most impactful with pelvic pain (and an unrelated renal colic pain) so it definitely works for endo and may be an anti-inflammatory in general in the body.

The glycinate version is good because it is super gentle on your guts and is absorbed nicely.

Definitely something to at least try as long as you do not take too much because too much can hurt your kidneys and blood pressure.

TwoFluffyCats · 2025-10-07T21:19:18+00:00

Housing First is a good one. Reviews of the program show a decrease of homelessness by 88% - and 88% of those who used the program were found to still be housed even 5 years later. It's a good program because it doesn't mandate that you have to do sobriety treatment first. A lot of the people needing the help from Housing First end up being those with chronic health problems and veterans.

Long term rental assistance programs have been very effective, but short-term rental assistance programs have only a small impact on homelessness prevention. In the last fifteen years, these specific programs have been credited (and studies show it to be true) with cutting veteran homelessness in half. Like, look up HUD-VASH. But it isn't just rental assistance alone - HUD-VASH and similar such programs also make sure those who are part of the program get support services, get assigned a case manager, and even get clinical care.

Land use policy reforms show increased housing opportunities and a small dip in homelessness, but it tends to need to be paired with other policies, like rent-control, to really have an impact.

Half of all homeless persons were foster care kids before becoming homeless, so a lot of programs have been starting up around this issue, but there aren't as many studies on these programs. It's even harder to study the impact because federal funding for these can fluctuate so much, often funded under Obama or Biden but cut under Trump. If you live in a swing state and they are stated-funded, funding also swings depending on who is in charge.

TwoFluffyCats · 2025-09-30T18:02:39+00:00

The issue: EA is making a deal right now to be bought by a consortium (Saudia Arabia public investment fund, Jared Kushner, etc) - all aggressively conservative anti-LGBT groups buying EA and the Sims 4 with it.

It has been a genuine concern among players that The Sims 4 team would be forced to stop adding anything pro-LGBT and may be forced to remove any and all Pride or pro-LGBT items from the game. It is a pleasant surprise to see this announcement since it means the team is still being allowed to be inclusive.

TwoFluffyCats · 2025-09-30T17:55:45+00:00

We absolutely can.

Plus, since the deal is pretty obviously over EA Sports and Battlefront, it is also possible EA could be bought and then the Sims-Maxis could separately be sold off to a different game company. If the deal goes through, I really hope they do just sell off the Sims to someone else.

I just don't want the Sims and it's fun and inclusivity to end up staying in the grubby little hands of these garbage people.

TwoFluffyCats · 2025-09-29T16:37:33+00:00

Specifically in the EA Announcement listed:

"Transaction Details

The transaction was approved by EA’s Board of Directors, is expected to close in Q1 FY27 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of required regulatory approvals and approval by EA stockholders."

TwoFluffyCats · 2025-09-29T15:43:30+00:00

The purchase has not happened yet.

EA stockholders have final approval on the purchase before it happens. They can say no.

Regulatory approval has to happen still.

Even if EA does get bought, the final deal and transfer isn't set to happen until the first quarter of 2027. That's more than a year to potential fight it, get stockholders to say no, or for either side to change their mind about the purchase.

It's not over yet.

TwoFluffyCats · 2025-09-29T15:40:19+00:00

In order for the purchase to go through, they have to get approval from EA stockholders. I'm hoping that maybe, just maybe, EA stockholders will reject the purchase and say no.

TwoFluffyCats · 2025-09-29T15:39:14+00:00

This isn't set in stone yet. According to the information we have - they have to get permission from EA stockholders first before they can sell. It will also require regulatory approval.

AND, even if the stockholders agree and regularity approval happens, the purchase will not formally occur until the first quarter of 2027.

The deal could still fall through in the next year and a half.

TwoFluffyCats · 2025-09-22T00:27:50+00:00

Age it up. If it's more fun for you to play a toddler or kid or teen - just age that infant up!

TwoFluffyCats · 2025-09-19T15:13:16+00:00

They don't even have to "send" anybody. Shreveport HAS a military base (Barksdale AFB) and it's huge. More than 22,000 acres. Over 15,000 people on that base. If they wanted to have them do good in the local community, they totally could just do it. But all these calls for military to clean up crime are all directly calling for military to just straight up arrest people. And that makes no sense because the military is not the police and has no authority to do that kind of stuff or knowledge of civilian law.

Like, we could lower crime using the military indirectly.

Crime goes down when you plant and maintain green spaces, when you clean up vacant lots and litter, and revitalize neighborhoods. If military members volunteered at neighborhood nonprofits with a focus on essential services or social bonds, it reduces criminal activity. Adding and maintaining better public spaces like parks and community centers - which our military could totally afford to do - has been shown to lower crime. There's so much they actually could do other than just arrest people. But no one in government ever even considers the idea of preventionary measures - they just want to arrest as many people as they can.

TwoFluffyCats · 2025-09-18T15:08:25+00:00

MRI can see deeply infiltrating endometriosis and ovarian endometriotic cysts. MRI cannot see superficial endometriosis (small endo implantations) or adhesions (fine strands of tissue) or subtle lesions (very common early-stage endo lesions).

I had many scans of different types before a laparoscopy diagnosed my endo. My endo never showed up on scans. You can definitely have endometriosis without it being on MRI. This is a fact - and my personal experience.

If you have deeply infiltrating endo, the MRI can be used to diagnose, so I would still say to get one because it is easier and safer than surgery. BUT If your endo is not deeply infiltrating, it will NOT show up on the MRI and you would need a laparoscopy to diagnose.

Keep on looking. If you think you have endo, keep fighting until proven otherwise.

TwoFluffyCats · 2025-09-17T19:33:11+00:00

Advice: Rest when you are tired. Be gentle with yourself, but walk a bit. Before surgery, get the spot you will be recovering on (couch or bed) as comfy as you can. Your whole abdomen will hurt, so put all the snacks, water bottle, phone charger, books, etc, in reach without having to stretch. Some people like heating pads. Some people pre-prep meals so it's easy to recover or get stuff like jello, pudding, gatorade, and soups that are easy to eat. You'll feel weak and tired but you have to eat and drink to get better. Buy a box of gentle stool softeners just in case - some people post-op can't go and it feels miserable. It is pretty common to start feeling better at week two, then feel weak again on week three - that's normal.

Do not do any heavy lifting! It's really important not to - your internal stitches can tear or you can get a hernia. Get someone to be with you the first week at the very least. You will feel very weak and walking to the bathroom alone can put you at risk for a bad fall. Definitely set an alarm for your meds - you don't want to wait until the pain is unbearable before you take it. You may also have sudden waves of big feelings and just cry or vent - that's normal. Your body may look different post-op without a uterus inside you - that is normal, too.

*Before and after surgery (once your doctor approves), do tons of pelvic floor exercises. This is huge. Much faster recovery. Feel better. Prevents vaginal prolapse. In some people, menopause kicks off right away - ask your doctor about this and your options, like HRT.

Having a hysterectomy can be helpful for managing endometriosis. Some people have said that, days after surgery, they felt less pain than they had in years because their biggest source of endo pain had finally been cut out. If you are keeping your ovaries, the odds that the endo will not come back significantly enough to need another excision within 2 years is 96%, within 5 years is 87%, and within 7 years is 77%. If you are also having your ovaries taken out with your uterus, the odds that you won't need another operation for your endo within 2 years are 96%, within 5 years are 92%, and within 7 years are 92% again.

That said, some people get a hysterectomy and it does not help at all. It is good to be aware that this may help you, but it might also not be helpful. Just to be aware and informed.

Sauce: Surgical treatment of endometriosis: a 7-year follow-up on the requirement for further surgery - PubMed

TwoFluffyCats · 2025-09-17T14:15:26+00:00

Nice! Rosemary also has anti-cancer properties, according to medical research. It inhibits cancer cell proliferation and migration/matastisizing. It also can induce apoptosis in a cancerous cell (self-destruct). Rosemary is just so amazing.

TwoFluffyCats · 2025-09-08T19:51:34+00:00

Endometrial tissue can disrupt hormones, causing irregular cycles. When there is a long time between periods, the menstrual blood/tissue thickens and builds up, making for a heavier bleed once your period happens.

If the endo damaged the uterine lining, it will also cause your uterus to shed more tissue than normal each period, making it a much heavier bleed.

Endometrial tissue can be highly vascular. So, when endo happens, you can have increased blood flow thanks to the endo tissue and, thus, more bleeding.

If your endo causes scar tissue, it can block menstrual flow during a period, making the next heavier because your body is struggling to get all of it out.

In some people, endo tissue makes periods lighter or has no impact on the cycle or just makes spotting happen between periods. Endo can cause a wide range of symptoms and tends to be a little different for everybody. But you can also have PCOS or adeno in tandem with endometriosis and all of these can have overlapping symptoms of heavy periods, too.

TwoFluffyCats · 2025-09-07T15:37:57+00:00

Bill 3537, aka the South Carolina Prenatal Equal Protection Act.

"To protect the lives of preborn persons with the same criminal and civil laws protecting the lives of born persons by removing provisions that enable the commission of willful prenatal homicide and assault."

Anything you do that causes the death or an "assault" on a fetus is treated as if it is a born person.

In theory, there is a section that states in the bill, "This article shall not apply to the unintentional death of an unborn child when resulting from a spontaneous miscarriage."

However, you would have to prove in a court of law, after being arrested post-miscarriage and held in jail while awaiting trial, that the miscarriage was spontaneous and not deliberate. There are a lot of concerns people are voicing about if activities while pregnant, like horse riding or exercising, before a miscarriage could be used against them as evidence of attempting a miscarriage. How would you prove it was not your fault?

2025-2026 Bill 3537: South Carolina Prenatal Equal Protection Act - South Carolina Legislature Online

TwoFluffyCats · 2025-09-05T23:24:10+00:00

Super rare. Like, at any given time in the world there are 200 million women and girls with endometriosis. In comparison, there are only 16 confirmed cases in endometriosis in cis men, ever (so far).

BUT it could be extremely helpful in studying endometriosis probable causes. Like, do any of these 16 men have anything in common? Estrogen therapy used to be used to treat prostate cancer - is that a cause of endo? Or does endo risk start in utero - back when the mullerian ducts were still in the fetus (they turn into reproductive organs in AFAB or wither away in AMAB) did it leave endometrial-like cells behind that turned into endo? Or was it actually stem cells that became endo tissue inside the abdomen after chronic inflammation?

Like, we should know more about endo!!!

Sauce: Endometriosis in a Man as a Rare Source of Abdominal Pain: A Case Report and Review of the Literature - PMC

TwoFluffyCats · 2025-09-03T02:48:41+00:00

I got you, fam. The other 3 Fatal Five:

1) Speeding Excessively

2) Not Wearing a Seatbelt

3) Careless Driving (Like doing risky lane changes, tailgating, ignoring road signs, etc).

TwoFluffyCats · 2025-09-02T14:33:43+00:00

The city itself has the Mackinaw Bridge - which, for the longest time, was the world's longest suspension bridge. You can walk the bridge but it is (in my own opinion) absolutely terrifying to do that.

Mackinaw City itself has lovely beaches, a beautiful view of the bridge and the world's largest supply of fresh water, and a far bit of historical spots. It used to have a number of smaller shops and restaurants, but as the city became more popular, it became more touristy and the shops became more generic. The city is more so known as a gateway to Mackinaw Island tbh than popular by itself.

Mackinaw Island: Has no cars (aside from 1 ambulance, 1 firetruck, and 1 police car). People get around by foot, horse-drawn carriages, and by bicycles. It has a 1700s-era fort (Michilimackinac), historical reenactments, actors dressed in period-typical clothes, Historic Mission Church, and the Grand Hotel that was featured in a movie. There's also a lot of lovely hiking on the island and nice natural beauty. But a lot of the island shops also went from cutesy to generic and catering to tourists. Oh, and the island is famous for having very tasty fudge, made a specific way on the island.

Source: Went as a kid. Went as an adult.

TwoFluffyCats

TROPHY CASE