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Asus DB31 Review: Asus DB31


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Asus DB31 review: Asus DB31


Asus DB31 review: Asus DB31

The Asus Zenbook was one of the first entrants in the new ultrabook category when it launched in late 2011. We liked that original system, despite a few serious flaws, as the all-metal design marked it as a direct competitor to the MacBook Air.

Since then, ultrabooks have become both more common and less expensive. Asus now makes several UX variations, including three that we are reviewing, the UX31A, UX32A, and UX32VD. At $779, the Zenbook UX32A is the least expensive of the current crop, but for good reason.

The UX32A still has a previous-generation Intel Core i5 CPU. That generation of chip is known by the code name Sandy Bridge, as opposed to the latest generation, released in the second half of 2012, and known as Ivy Bridge. The UX32A is also missing other Intel improvements, most notably the HD 4000 integrated graphics, which offer improved gaming performance in other notebooks.

By way of comparison, the 13-inch Asus Zenbook UX32VD comes alluringly close to being an ultrabook without compromise. For $1,299 it includes an Intel Core i7 CPU, a full HD 1,920x1,080-pixel-resolution display, and a discrete Nvida 620M GPU. That model is the closest hybrid of a 13-inch ultrabook and a full-power mainstream laptop to date, and easily my favorite of this collection of Zenbooks, despite its higher price.

The UX31A is a more upscale design variant, thinner with a more unibody chassis, which skips the GPU, but keeps the high-res screen and Ivy Bridge internal hardware. But at about $1,079, it doesn't make the most compelling value case.

If you just love the Zenbook look and feel, then this third version, the UX32A, is a way to get it for under $800, albeit with outdated components and some performance compromises. If your ultrabook needs are that basic, there are many other worthwhile options out there to consider at around the same price.

Asus Zenbook models compared


CPU GPU Storage Display Price
UX32VD 1.7GHz Core i7-3517U Nvidia GeForce 620M 500GB HDD/24GB SSD 1,920x1,080 $1,299
UX32A 1.4GHz Intel i3-2367M Intel HD 3000 320GB HDD/32GB SSD 1,333x768 $779
UX31A 1.7GHz Intel Core i5-3317U Intel HD 4000 128GB SSD 1,920x1,080 $1,079

Asus Zenbook UX32A specs

Price as reviewed $779
Processor 1.4GHz Intel Core i3-2367M
Memory 4GB, 1,333MHz DDR3
Hard drive 500GB 5,400rpm / 32GB SSD
Chipset Intel HM76
Graphics Intel HD 3000
Operating system Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Dimensions (WD) 12.8x8.8 inches
Height 0.2 - 0.7 inch
Screen size (diagonal) 13.3 inches
System weight / Weight with AC adapter 3.3 pounds / 3.8 pounds
Category 13-inch

The look and feel of the Zenbook line has changed little since last year. The tapered aluminum design of the original Zenbook was both minimalist and the most Air-like of the early ultrabooks (at least until the Dell XPS 13 came around). But it also had a few design miscues. The lid on the original Zenbook was notoriously hard to open. That's been fixed in the UX32A, and the touch pad also feels more responsive than the older models', especially after a last-minute software update from Asus, although it's still one of the system's weak points.

The original Zenbook was thinner and lighter than this version, but both the more tapered Zenbooks (such as the current UX31A) and this one have a sharp front lip that can be murder on the heels of your hands, depending on your typing style. Ergonomics aside, the solid-feeling aluminum body is not as streamlined in its construction as a MacBook, but the parts fit together well, with minimal screws and seams.

The keyboard was a weak point on the original Zenbook, with shallow, clacky keys. The UX32A and UX32VD both have a slightly thicker and heavier body, and that extra depth lets the keyboard have a little more space. Keystrokes on the UX32A feel more like they do on a standard laptop than on the thinner, more tapered UX31A (which is more like the original 2011 Zenbook). The keyboard is also backlit, a must-have feature on any modern ultrabook.

The large but finicky clickpad on that original UX31 was one of our main problems. If you make sure to install the latest touch-pad drivers (version 1.0.26), which are available via Asus Live Update if not preinstalled on the system, the touch-pad experience is much improved, but it's still nowhere near as intuitive or responsive as a MacBook trackpad -- a Windows-wide problem. There is, however, a decent set of multitouch gestures, demoed and controlled by the Asus Smart Gesture software app. One nice feature is that you can set a two-finger tap to indicate a right-click, a very Mac-like move that I've seen popping up in a few Windows laptops lately.

In the UX32VD and UX31A models, the display has been upgraded to an IPS screen in full HD, with a 1,920x1,080-pixel native resolution. In this less-expensive model, you're still stuck with a 1,366x768 native resolution. Most 13-inch laptops, including some very expensive ones, have 1,366x768-pixel screens. That's fine for $800 or so, so it's not out of place in this configuration. That said, an upscale ultrabook could really benefit from at least a 1,600x900-pixel display, which feels to me like the sweet spot for a 13-inch laptop. The screen itself looked decent, and was thankfully not excessively glossy, which often causes annoying glare from nearby lights.

Audio through a speaker grille at the very top of the keyboard tray was predictably thin, despite the Bang & Olufsen ICE Power branding (which you'll find on all three Zenbooks). Audio volume controls are mapped to alternate F-key functions, so you'll need to hit, for example, Fn+F10 to mute the sound.


Asus Zenbook UX32A Average for category [13-inch]
Video HDMI, Mini-DisplayPort (plus VGA via dongle) HDMI or DisplayPort
Audio Stereo speakers, headphone jack Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks
Data 3 USB 3.0, SD card slot 2 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0, SD card reader
Networking Ethernet via dongle, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, optional mobile broadband
Optical drive None DVD burner

With dual video outputs and three USB 3.0 jacks, the UX32A makes good use of its slightly thicker body to fit in more ports. Going all-3.0 is especially impressive considering the $779 price (thank the Intel HM76 chipset). Ethernet is still relegated to an external dongle, but this system does include Intel's Wireless Display feature, which enables you to send the screen image to a TV or other monitor via a $99 sold-separately receiver box.

The other two Zenbook laptops we're reviewing for summer 2012 have made the jump to Intel's third-generation Core i-series processors, but not this one. That puts the UX32A at a considerable disadvantage. The $1,299 UX32VD has a 1.7GHz Intel Core i7-3517U along with a 500GB hard drive/24GB solid-state drive (SSD) combo drive, and Nvidia GeForce 620M graphics. The $779 UX32A has a previous-generation 1.4GHz Intel i3-2367M CPU, 320GB HDD/24GB SSD, and Intel HD 3000 graphics, and the $1,079 UX31A has a 1.7GHz Intel Core i5-3317U CPU, 128GB SSD, and Intel HD 4000 graphics, plus a slightly thinner body.

Of those three, the UX32VD is the most expensive, but also by far the most universally useful. It was also much faster at running our benchmark tests, beating out the other two Zenbooks, but falling behind an Intel Core i5 MacBook Air. In everyday use, I found all three to be more than responsive enough for common computer tasks, from social networking to working in Microsoft Office to running Photoshop. But there's definitely a difference between Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge performance.

If you're at all interested in gaming, the UX32VD is the Zenbook for you. Even then, the Nvidia GeForce 620M GPU is an entry-level part, and not great for high-detail settings at full 1,920x1,080-pixel resolution. The Intel HD 3000 integrated graphics in the UX32A ran our very forgiving Street Fighter IV test at 1,366x768 pixels and only 19.9 frames per second, making it not very well suited for anything beyond simple casual games and maybe a few vintage games.

All three of the Asus Zenbook models we tested had solid battery life, to varying degrees. The UX32A ran for 5 hours and 16 minutes -- decent if not spectacular -- in our video-playback battery drain test, while the UX31A ran for 6 hours and 16 minutes. The UX32VD has higher-end components, so it may be forgiven for only running for 5 hours and 13 minutes. Some other ultrabooks can run for 1 to 2 hours longer, but all these times should get you through a full day if you close the lid and put the laptop to sleep when not actively using it.

Asus offers a one-year mail-in warranty on each of these ultrabooks. The Asus Web site can get a little confusing to navigate, but 24-7 phone support is available at 888-678-3688. The simplest way to find the Asus support section for your specific model is to ignore the frustrating pop-up navigation menus and simply type the model number into the support page search box.

The Asus Zenbook UX32A shares a chassis with the UX32VD model we also reviewed, but little else. It's stuck with an older CPU, lacks the graphics and battery-life advantages of Intel's new Ivy Bridge platform, and has a lower-resolution screen. That said, if you love the look and feel, which is nicely MacBook-like, this model is about $500 less.

Find out more about how we test laptops.

System configurations:

Asus Zenbook Prime UX32A
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) w/ SP1; 1.4GHz Intel Core i3-2367M; 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,333MHz; 64MB (Dedicated) Intel HD 4000; 320GB Hitachi 5,400rpm

Acer Aspire S5-391-9880
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) w/ SP1; 1.7GHz Intel Core i5-3317U; 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,333MHz; 128MB (Dedicated) Intel HD 4000; 256GB Lite-On IT SSD (2x RAID 0)

Asus Zenbook Prime UX32VD
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) w/ SP1; 1.9GHz Intel Core i7-3517U; 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,333MHz; 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 620M / 64MB (Dedicated) Intel HD 4000; 500GB Hitachi 5,400rpm

Apple MacBook Air 13.3-inch (Summer 2012)
OS X 10.7.4 Lion; 1.8GHz Intel Core i5; 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz; 384MB (Shared) Intel HD 4000; 128GB Apple SSD

Asus Zenbook Prime UX31A
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) w/ SP1; 1.7GHz Intel Core i5-3317U; 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz; 64MB (Dedicated) Intel HD 4000; 128GB Adata XM11 SSD


Source

https://nichols.my.id/how-to-cook-yellow-lentils.html

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Apple Watch Series 5 Vs. Fitbit Versa 2: Best Smartwatch To Give As A Gift


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Apple Watch Series 5 vs. Fitbit Versa 2: Best smartwatch to give as a gift


Apple Watch Series 5 vs. Fitbit Versa 2: Best smartwatch to give as a gift

The Apple Watch Series 5 starts at $399 (£399, AU$649) and makes an ideal gift for an iPhone user who wants to keep an eye on their health and fitness goals, or get notifications from their phone. But the Fitbit Versa 2 costs half as much and has many similar features, plus it works across Android and iOS. I've been wearing both these watches for a few weeks to determine which one is better at tracking workouts, getting notifications and has the best battery life. 

Read more: Best gifts for people who are obsessed with CrossFit

Angela Lang/CNET

A versatile hybrid that's equal parts smartwatch and fitness tracker, the Versa 2 adds a few improvements over the first version that make it a good option for Apple and Android owners alike. Like the Apple Watch, it too has an always-on display, but the battery will last more than twice as long. Expect at least five days between charges if you don't have the always-on display active. It also gives you built-in sleep tracking, Alexa support and Spotify control on your wrist.

Read the Fitbit Versa 2 hands-on.

All-day comfort so you can go from the office to the gym

The Apple Watch comes in two sizes (40mm and 44mm) while the Versa 2 just comes in one size. I have a fairly small wrist and found both of these watches very comfortable to wear all day. With the Versa 2, I hardly had to take it off at all because I could use it to track my sleep.

Want a wide range of finishes and straps to choose from? You'll find the biggest selection with the Apple Watch. Everything from aluminum and stainless steel to the more expensive ceramic and titanium finishes that cost upward of $800. The Versa 2 has three aluminum color finishes with a variety of straps.

apple-watch-2-vs-fitbit-1
Angela Lang/CNET

The Versa 2 gets a much nicer color AMOLED display than the first generation Versa and it's easy to see in bright sunlight when the brightness is turned to max. (The always-on display could be a little brighter for me during outdoor workouts, however.) Notifications and on-screen prompts are clear and legible.

The Apple Watch uses a color LTPO OLED Retina display. It also has Force Touch, so you can press on the screen to register different options.

They're both water-resistant to 50 meters (164 feet) so you can use them to track swims and they'll be fine if subjected to occasional splashes. 

Fitbit still makes its straps pretty difficult to swap in and out, as they have tiny toggles, whereas the Apple Watch is simpler with a button to slide the strap in and out. The charging dock for the Versa 2 is also a pain. Not only is it not backward-compatible with older generations of Fitbit watches like the original Versa, the cord doesn't tuck underneath the dock neatly so it's next to impossible to get your watch to lie flat on the dock when it's charging.

Smart features put the Apple Watch a step ahead

If you like customizing the look of your watch face, the Versa 2 has a lot more options to choose from than the Apple Watch, including third-party watch faces. There's even a Bitmoji watch face that changes expressions depending on your activity or time of day (my personal favorite).

Both have an always-on display and, thanks to the latest Fitbit OS 4.1 update, the Versa 2 now gets the option of a color always-on display, like the Apple Watch. But the Apple Watch only makes it through one whole day with a little extra to spare when I have the always-on display active. That's with a 40-minute workout thrown in and regular use throughout the day getting notifications from my phone. The Versa 2 makes it two-and-a-half days with always-on active and the same usage. That goes up to five-and-a-half days when the display is set to raise-to-wake.

apple-watch-2-3

The always-on display on the Versa 2.

Angela Lang/CNET

Being smartwatches, both support voice assistants, though they handle that in a different way. With the Versa 2 you get Alexa support to control smart devices, check the weather, start a workout or set reminders. There's no speaker, so you'll have to read the screen to check responses. And it's kind of slow.

With the Apple Watch closely integrated with Siri, you can speak the wake word or hold the button to summon the assistant. You'll be able to hear Siri talk, send text messages, speak responses and do most of what Siri offers on your phone.

Of course, you'll also be able to customize what notifications come through from your phone on both of these watches. However, you will only be able to respond to notifications from the Versa 2 if you're on Android, not iPhone. Both allow you to accept and reject calls from your wrist, regardless of what phone you're tied to, but if you have the Versa 2 you won't be able to take the call on your wrist because there's no speaker -- you'll need to grab your phone.

For me, the biggest advantage that the Apple Watch has over the Versa 2 when it comes to smart features is built-in connectivity, both GPS and cellular, which means you can leave your phone at home and take calls, send messages or stream music on the go when doing an outdoor workout, for example. (It does come at an extra cost, however.) With Emergency SOS you'll also be able to call emergency services from your wrist and share your location, plus alert your emergency contacts. The Apple Watch Series 5 also offers a built-in compass.

Both offer music storage, although it's more complicated to pull across music to the Versa 2 from a computer than it is to use the seamless transfer offered between the iPhone and Apple Watch. You can also pay with your wrist thanks to Fitbit Pay and Apple Pay on the Versa 2 and Apple Watch respectively.

I've been testing the Apple Watch and Versa 2 primarily with an iPhone and definitely feel the Apple Watch was the faster of the two when it comes to syncing and transferring settings. Occasionally, I have noticed integrations with third-party apps such as Spotify and Snapchat for the Bitmoji face require me to log in and sync again through the Fitbit app.

Read about some of the other features offered in WatchOS 6 on the Apple Watch.

Fitness tracking is Fitbit's forte, but Apple has ECG

I have used both of these watches during a number of different workouts (Pilates, indoor spin class, outdoor runs and outdoor bike rides) and have been impressed with the results from both. During my outdoor run, for example, both gave fairly consistent results when it came to tracking my heart rate, although I did find the Apple Watch updated my heart rate slightly faster. I haven't yet tested these watches against the gold standard in consumer heart rate tracking, a chest strap.

The Versa 2, however, can show you what heart rate zone you're in during a workout, such as cardio or fat burn, which I appreciate. Only the Apple Watch offers you on-wrist cadence tracking so you can see your steps per minute, plus pace alerts for running that can notify you if you fall below your chosen pace. You can see your pace on the wrist for the Versa 2, but you won't get alerts.

Both watches can track plenty of different workouts and automatically detect certain activities like running or walking. I find it easier to see and interpret the data from my workouts using the Fitbit app rather than trying to search for it across the Activity app or Health app on iPhone.

Fitbit also offers the Coach app (you'll need to download and sync it across to the watch from the Fitbit app) which puts three free workouts with visual guidance on your wrist. This hasn't changed since the first Versa but it's still a nice touch for those who might not have time for a full workout. You can pay for a Fitbit Premium subscription ($9.99 a month in the US) to get more workouts.

104-fitbit-versa-2

Sleep tracking on the Versa 2.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Sleep tracking is only available natively on the Versa 2 and I really like how Fitbit shows you a breakdown of your different sleep stages, such as REM and deep sleep, plus gives you a sleep score out of 100. Thanks to the latest OS 4.1 update, you can now see your sleep score on the Versa 2 and the watch now has a feature that vibrates to wake you at the optimal time in your sleep cycle (within 30 minutes of your alarm). Fitbit calls this smart wake.

Unfortunately the app won't tell you much about how to improve the sleep score (apart from some standard prompts to go to bed on time) unless you have a Fitbit Premium subscription which has more advanced sleep tools and analysis.

I also found that there was sometimes a variance between how I felt and the sleep score: For example, one night I got 8.5 hours of rest and felt great in the morning, but my sleep score was in the low 60s. The sleep score does take into account your restoration, which is sleeping heart rate and how much you toss and turn during the night. (Maybe I'm an overly active sleeper, because my restoration score showed a lot of restlessness.)

The Apple Watch helps you keep tabs on your daily activity using a ring-based system, which hasn't changed since the first generation. On the Versa 2 you can find your daily metrics in the Today section by swiping down from the main screen.

As for health and heart tracking in particular, the Apple Watch Series 5 pulls ahead. With a built-in ECG (electrocardiogram) that's FDA-cleared, the watch can also detect high, low and irregular heart rates and notify you accordingly. It also has fall detection. Both watches offer menstrual cycle tracking, although you can't log details on the Versa 2 like you can on the Apple Watch. Instead, you'll need to do that in the Fitbit app.

Which one's right for me?

Considering the Versa 2 costs half as much as the Apple Watch Series 5, if money is your concern, then this is the watch for you. Especially because it works across Android and iOS. It also has a wide range of activities that it can track and the Fitbit app makes it really easy to see your fitness metrics.

For runners, or those who want to leave their phone at home and stream music on the go, make calls or send messages, the Apple Watch with built-in LTE is the clear choice. It also has the benefit of ECG in certain countries.

Also, now that Apple has reduced the entry price of the Apple Watch Series 3 (which also has GPS and an LTE option) to $200, it's another good option for Apple users who want the tightest integration with an iPhone.

Originally published earlier this year.


Source

https://nichols.my.id/how-to-fix-restart-to-repair-drive-errors-on-windows-10.html

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Incase's ARC Bag Collection Will Handle Your Tech-carrying Needs With Eco-friendly Materials


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Incase's ARC bag collection will handle your tech-carrying needs with eco-friendly materials


Incase's ARC bag collection will handle your tech-carrying needs with eco-friendly materials

Incase, which designs bags and other protection for creatives, announced a new collection Thursday that puts a focus on using sustainable and recycled materials. Called ARC, short for "A Responsible Carry," the collection consists of three backpacks and a tote: the Travel Pack, Commuter Pack, Daypack and Tech Tote. All of the bags are made from recycled polyester with a polyurethane coating to protect them from wear and weather.

The shoulder straps and the back panels on the backpacks use eco-friendly Ortholite Impressions memory foam. The foam's open-cell design helps with breathability and moisture and also fights bacteria growth. Incase used nylon lining throughout the collection that helps inhibit bacterial growth as well. 

The backpacks all have a well-organized tech compartment on the outside at the top. It has elastic straps for cables, a stretchy mesh pocket that's perfect for earbuds and a slip pocket that runs the length of the compartment. Behind that slip pocket is a zippered pocket lined with RFID-blocking material. The tote has a similar tech storage compartment that also has RFID blocking.

incase-a-r-c-pr1

The ARC collection is currently three backpacks and a tote.

Incase

I had a chance to test out two of the four bags in the lineup, the $229 Travel Pack and $199 Commuter Pack. (My first impressions on those are below.) Prices for the UK and Australia weren't immediately available but those prices convert to £165 and AU$315 for the Travel Pack and £145 and AU$270 for the Commuter Pack.

The $129 Daypack is a trimmed-down version of the Commuter Pack but can still fit a 16-inch laptop and a 13-inch tablet. The Tech Tote, $79, fits a 13-inch laptop, has quick-access front and back pockets, and can be carried by its cushioned top handles or on your shoulder or across your back with its removable shoulder strap.

Incase ARC Travel Pack

incase-arc-travel-pack-01
Josh Goldman/CNET

The Travel Pack is a small suitcase that also has room for your tech. If you regularly take a second set of clothing for your commute, e.g. gym clothes and shoes, as well as a laptop up to 16 inches and a 13-inch tablet, too, this would be a great fit. It is compact and slim but it can actually fit quite a lot.

Organization inside and out is spot-on. The main compartment butterflies open and there are zippered mesh dividers to help keep your packing tidy. A separate, expandable shoe compartment accessed from the front keeps your clothes clean and has room and then some to fit my size-12 shoes (11 in the UK and Australia). 

Using the shoe storage does eat into your internal space but you can open a zipper that wraps around the body to give you a couple of inches of additional storage space. There are compression straps on the outside to help cinch things down, however they look sloppy compared to the overall clean look of the bag. Similarly, with no way to secure the shoulder straps to the bag's back panel, the shoulder straps simply sag and flap around when you carry the bag by its side handle.

One of the bag's best features, an internal water-bottle pocket that's accessible from the outside, helps keep the outside of the bag looking tidy. It also lets you put the bag down on its side without the water bottle getting in the way, and it would make sliding it under an airplane seat easier as well. 

There is a separate laptop-and-tablet compartment at the back of the bag with a YKK weather-sealed zipper. However, unlike the company's EO Travel Backpack, the compartment doesn't fully open and lie flat to make passing through airport scanners easier. There are also no loops on the zippers to add a lock to secure your tech or other belongings in the backpack. 

Incase ARC Commuter Pack

incase-arc-commuter-pack-01
Josh Goldman/CNET

While the Travel Pack is a mixed bag for me, the Commuter Pack is a winner. Again, organization is great, but this time the bag's design is more all-around thoughtful. For example, the zippered pockets on each side can be used to hold a water bottle or umbrella but can also be used to simply secure small items. It's also a good place to charge your phone on the go. And when they're not in use, there's no saggy pockets to look at.

The main compartment has plenty of room for a lunch, headphones, books or whatever, and there's a large slip pocket for files, too. There is also a set of elastic tie-down straps similar to what you'd find in a suitcase that are perfect for holding a jacket. Just like the Travel Pack, you'll find a separate laptop-and-tablet compartment with a weather-sealed zipper. The laptop sleeves are lined with faux fur to protect your tech and feel amazing to boot. 

My favorite feature, though, is the hidden faux-fur-lined pocket on the top. It's a quick-and-easy spot to drop your phone or sunglasses, and it has a magnetic closure so stuff won't fall out. But the best part is that the pocket is accessible even when the pack is on your back. 


Source

https://ralinseanc.kian.my.id/

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Sugar Cravings During Pregnancy: How Much Sugar Is Too Much?


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Sugar cravings during pregnancy: How much sugar is too much?


Sugar cravings during pregnancy: How much sugar is too much?

In large amounts, sugar isn't good for you -- and that may be especially true when you're pregnant. 

What you eat during pregnancy fuels not only your body's arduous journey in growing a whole new human -- it can also set the stage for your child's health once they leave the womb. Too much sugar can affect a growing fetus and influence childbirth and beyond, especially if you're one of the many people diagnosed with gestational diabetes.

But before we get into the nitty-gritty of sugar, Dr. Gloria Bachmann, an OB-GYN and director of the Women's Health Institute at Rutgers University, says it's important to think about your general diet and overall health in pregnancy -- ideally before you're pregnant in the first place. Bachmann says that when you're contemplating pregnancy is the time to make sure you're eating the most nutritious diet you can, and that you're in the healthiest shape you can be in. 

"There are so many various diets available," Bachmann says. "And I think the one that's most important is the one that's well balanced." Eating enough protein, fats and carbohydrates is important, but part of a well-rounded diet is limiting sugar intake.

So, what are the sugar rules in pregnancy? Read on for advice on how excessive sugar intake can affect your pregnancy and how to satisfy your sweet tooth while you're expecting. 

Read more: Foods to avoid during pregnancy

How much sugar can I have?

Bachmann advises pregnant patients to keep their free sugar intake under 30 grams (a little over 7 teaspoons). Free sugar is added sugar, which includes the sweetness in fruit juices, desserts and other foods. Sugar that comes naturally in foods, including sugar in the cells of fruits and vegetables, doesn't count toward your intake because this type of sugar doesn't have a negative impact on health, according to the British Heart Foundation.

For scale, a packet of sugar you'd put in your coffee is typically 4 grams of free sugar. A pint of Ben & Jerry's "Cannoli" ice cream has 30 grams of sugar, or your total daily amount of free sugar. That's why it's especially important to make healthy swaps of your favorite foods -- say, a juicy orange for dessert instead of a cookie.

This is a general example of how much a person should eat in pregnancy, but your own limit may depend on other factors, including whether you've been diagnosed with gestational diabetes.

Read more: Why you feel bad after you eat sugar

gettyimages-1271701041
Cristina Pedrazzini/Science Photo Library/Getty Images

What is gestational diabetes?

Gestational diabetes occurs in about 2 to 10% of pregnancies, and it's diagnosed only in people who are "gestating" (aka pregnant). It happens when your body can't make enough insulin during pregnancy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There usually aren't symptoms of gestational diabetes, and you'll need to be tested to see if you have it. It typically develops between the 24th and 28th weeks of pregnancy, Healthline reported.

Blood sugar levels usually return to normal after a person's baby is born, per the CDC, but about 50% of people who have gestational diabetes will go on to develop type 2 diabetes. Gestational diabetes also puts the pregnant person's child at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in their own life and of being born early, which can lead to breathing difficulties according to the Mayo Clinic.

The high blood sugar levels that a pregnant person shares with the fetus can also cause the baby to get too big, Bachmann says, which can complicate pregnancy.

"The other problem with increased weight is that a vaginal birth may not be possible because the baby will be too big to get through the birth canal," Bachmann says, which will then make a C-section necessary.

Making sure you're healthy before getting pregnant can reduce your risk of gestational diabetes, as a lack of physical activity can increase your risk of developing it. People in larger bodies, people with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, as well as Black, Hispanic, Native American and Asian American people are also at greater risk of gestational diabetes.

If you develop it, gestational diabetes can be managed by keeping your blood sugar levels low by following a low-sugar diet or meal plan prepared by your doctor or dietician. If eating healthy and staying active isn't enough, your doctor may prescribe insulin or other medication, per the CDC. 

Can I have more sugar in the third trimester vs. the second, or vice versa? 

Nope, Bachmann says -- you should monitor and limit your sugar intake throughout your pregnancy, no matter which of the three trimesters you're in. 

Read more: Pregnancy timeline: What happens each month and trimester 

What about fake sugar? 

Bachmann says some artificial sweeteners are OK in moderation, including sucralose (Splenda) and aspartame. (People who have the hereditary disease phenylketonuria or PKU should avoid aspartame, because their bodies can't break down aspartame, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.) However, people who're pregnant should avoid saccharin, Bachmann says, which can cross the placenta and stay in fetal tissue. Many different foods can contain saccharin, including diet sodas, chewing gum, canned fruit, baked goods, vitamins and more, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. 

Similar to sugar, the "moderation" element may be key in artificial sweeteners. While many health experts seem to agree that most sweeteners are fine for most people when consumed sparingly, one study links low-calorie sweeteners to childhood obesity. If you're trying to cut back on sugar and find yourself turning to artificial sweeteners, talk to your doctor about when to replace the real stuff with artificial or low-calorie sweeteners.

Just like you, every pregnancy is unique. And once you become pregnant, it's an unreasonable ask to expect change overnight. This may be complicated further if you experience nausea or vomiting as a symptom of pregnancy. In terms of diet when you're trying not to throw up, Bachmann says to work with yourself, but that it's important you continue to eat things that include protein, fiber, calcium, carbohydrates and other fuel your body needs.

"It's always easier said than done -- if you have really severe nausea and vomiting in pregnancy, you really have to modify and see what you can tolerate," Bachmann says. "Try to stick to as healthy a diet as possible." 

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.


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Student Loan Company Navient Agrees To $1.86B Settlement


Student loan company Navient agrees to $1.86B settlement


Student loan company Navient agrees to $1.86B settlement

Navient, one of the largest student loan servicing companies in the US until 2021, reached a $1.86 billion settlement deal on Thursday with a coalition of 39 state attorneys general. In addition to canceling $1.7 billion in private student loans for almost 66,000 borrowers, Navient agreed to pay $95 million to borrowers who were unduly placed in certain types of long-term forbearances.

Though Navient isn't a lender itself, it managed the student loan repayment process on behalf of the US government. However, Navient chose to end its participation in federal student loan servicing at the end of 2021. Navient was accused of engaging in abusive and deceptive practices during that tenure, including targeting students the company allegedly knew would struggle to pay back loans

This settlement comes as federal student loan repayments continue to be paused due to the pandemic -- omicron's surge prompted another moratorium extension last month. Federal student loans are on pause until May 1. Moreover, the US Department of Education recently pushed to expand its Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, which will bring expanded relief to more than 500,000 student borrowers.

"Navient repeatedly and deliberately put profits ahead of its borrowers -- it engaged in deceptive and abusive practices, targeted students who it knew would struggle to pay loans back and placed an unfair burden on people trying to improve their lives through education," Josh Shapiro,  attorney general of Pennsylvania, said in a release.

Shapiro added that the settlement corrects corrects Navient's past behavior and puts in place "safeguards to ensure this company never preys on student loan borrowers again."

Navient didn't admit any fault in the settlement and "denies violating any law, including consumer-protection laws, or causing borrower harm," the company said in a statement. The student loan servicer said it's resolving the claims to save on legal costs. 

As part of the settlement, Navient agreed to "maintain servicing practices that support borrower success."


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TikTok Parents Are Taking Advantage Of Their Kids. It Needs To Stop


TikTok Parents Are Taking Advantage of Their Kids. It Needs to Stop


TikTok Parents Are Taking Advantage of Their Kids. It Needs to Stop

Rachel Barkman's son started accurately identifying different species of mushroom at the age of 2. Together they'd go out into the mossy woods near her home in Vancouver and forage. When it came to occasionally sharing in her TikTok videos her son's enthusiasm and skill for picking mushrooms, she didn't think twice about it -- they captured a few cute moments, and many of her 350,000-plus followers seemed to like it.

That was until last winter, when a female stranger approached them in the forest, bent down and addressed her son, then 3, by name and asked if he could show her some mushrooms. 

"I immediately went cold at the realization that I had equipped complete strangers with knowledge of my son that puts him at risk," Barkman said in an interview this past June. 

This incident, combined with research into the dangers of sharing too much, made her reevaluate her son's presence online. Starting at the beginning of this year, she vowed not to feature his face in future content. 

"My decision was fueled by a desire to protect my son, but also to protect and respect his identity and privacy, because he has a right to choose the way he is shown to the world," she said.

These kinds of dangers have cropped up alongside the rise in child influencers, such as 10-year-old Ryan Kaji of Ryan's World, who has almost 33 million subscribers, with various estimates putting his net worth in the multiple tens of millions of dollars. Increasingly, brands are looking to use smaller, more niche, micro- and nano-influencers, developing popular accounts on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube to reach their audiences. And amid this influencer gold rush there's a strong incentive for parents, many of whom are sharing photos and videos of their kids online anyway, to get in on the action. 

The increase in the number of parents who manage accounts for their kids -- child influencers' parents are often referred to as "sharents" -- opens the door to exploitation or other dangers. With almost no industry guardrails in place, these parents find themselves in an unregulated wild west. They're the only arbiters of how much exposure their children get, how much work their kids do, and what happens to money earned through any content they feature in.

Instagram didn't respond to multiple requests for comment about whether it takes any steps to safeguard child influencers. A representative for TikTok said the company has a zero-tolerance approach to sexual exploitation and pointed to policies to protect accounts of users under the age of 16. But these policies don't apply to parents posting with or on behalf of their children. YouTube didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

"When parents share about their children online, they act as both the gatekeeper -- the one tasked with protecting a child's personal information -- and as the gate opener," said Stacey Steinberg, a professor of law at the University of Florida and author of the book Growing Up Shared. As the gate opener, "they benefit, gaining both social and possibly financial capital by their online disclosures."

The reality is that some parents neglect the gatekeeping and leave the gate wide open for any internet stranger to walk through unchecked. And walk through they do.

Meet the sharents

Mollie is an aspiring dancer and model with an Instagram following of 122,000 people. Her age is ambiguous but she could be anywhere from 11-13, meaning it's unlikely she's old enough to meet the social media platform's minimum age requirement. Her account is managed by her father, Chris, whose own account is linked in her bio, bringing things in line with Instagram's policy. (Chris didn't respond to a request for comment.)

You don't have to travel far on Instagram to discover accounts such as Mollie's, where grown men openly leer at preteen girls. Public-facing, parent-run accounts dedicated to dancers and gymnasts -- who are under the age of 13 and too young to have accounts of their own -- number in the thousands. (To protect privacy, we've chosen not to identify Mollie, which isn't her real name, or any other minors who haven't already appeared in the media.)

Parents use these accounts, which can have tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of followers, to raise their daughters' profiles by posting photos of them posing and demonstrating their flexibility in bikinis and leotards. The comment sections are often flooded with sexualized remarks. A single, ugly word appeared under one group shot of several young girls in bikinis: "orgy."

Some parents try to contain the damage by limiting comments on posts that attract too much attention. The parent running one dancer account took a break from regular scheduling to post a pastel-hued graphic reminding other parents to review their followers regularly. "After seeing multiple stories and posts from dance photographers we admire about cleaning up followers, I decided to spend time cleaning," read the caption. "I was shocked at how many creeps got through as followers."

But "cleaning up" means engaging in a never-ending game of whack-a-mole to keep unwanted followers at bay, and it ignores the fact that you don't need to be following a public account to view the posts. Photos of children are regularly reposted on fan or aggregator accounts, over which parents have no control, and they can also be served up through hashtags or through Instagram's discovery algorithms.

The simple truth is that publicly posted content is anyone's for the taking. "Once public engagement happens, it is very hard, if not impossible, to really put meaningful boundaries around it," said Leah Plunkett, author of the book Sharenthood and a member of the faculty at Harvard Law School.

This concern is at the heart of the current drama concerning the TikTok account @wren.eleanor. Wren is an adorable blonde 3-year-old girl, and the account, which has 17.3 million followers, is managed by her mother, Jacquelyn, who posts videos almost exclusively of her child. 

Concerned onlookers have pointed Jacquelyn toward comments that appear to be predatory, and have warned her that videos in which Wren is in a bathing suit, pretending to insert a tampon, or eating various foodstuffs have more watches, likes and saves than other content. They claim her reluctance to stop posting in spite of their warnings demonstrates she's prioritizing the income from her account over Wren's safety. Jacquelyn didn't respond to several requests for comment.

Last year, the FBI ran a campaign in which it estimated that there were 500,000 predators online every day -- and that's just in the US. Right now, across social platforms, we're seeing the growth of digital marketplaces that hinge on child exploitation, said Plunkett. She doesn't want to tell other parents what to do, she added, but she wants them to be aware that there's "a very real, very pressing threat that even innocent content that they put up about their children is very likely to be repurposed and find its way into those marketplaces."

Naivete vs. exploitation

When parent influencers started out in the world of blogging over a decade ago, the industry wasn't exploitative in the same way it is today, said Crystal Abidin, an academic from Curtin University who specializes in internet cultures. When you trace the child influencer industry back to its roots, what you find is parents, usually mothers, reaching out to one another to connect. "It first came from a place of care among these parent influencers," she said.

Over time, the industry shifted, centering on children more and more as advertising dollars flowed in and new marketplaces formed. 

Education about the risks hasn't caught up, which is why people like Sarah Adams, a Vancouver mom who runs the TikTok account @mom.uncharted, have taken it upon themselves to raise the flag on those risks. "My ultimate goal is just have parents pause and reflect on the state of sharenting right now," she said. 

But as Mom Uncharted, Adams is also part of a wider unofficial and informal watchdog group of internet moms and child safety experts shedding light on the often disturbing way in which some parents are, sometimes knowingly, exploiting their children online.

The troubling behavior uncovered by Adams and others suggests there's more than naivete at play -- specifically when parents sign up for and advertise services that let people buy "exclusive" or "VIP" access to content featuring their children.

Some parent-run social media accounts that Adams has found linked out to a site called SelectSets, which lets the parents sell photo sets of their children. One account offered sets with titles such as "2 little princesses." SelectSets has described the service as "a classy and professional" option for influencers to monetize content, allowing them to "avoid the stigma often associated with other platforms."

Over the last few weeks, SelectSets has gone offline and no owner could be traced for comment.

In addition to selling photos, many parent-run dancer accounts, Mollie's included, allow strangers to send the dancers swimwear and underwear from the dancers' Amazon wish lists, or money to "sponsor" them to "realize their dream" or support them on their "journeys."

While there's nothing technically illegal about anything these parents are doing, they're placing their children in a gray area that's not explicitly sexual but that many people would consider to be sexualized. The business model of using an Amazon wish list is one commonly embraced by online sugar babies who accept money and gifts from older men.

"Our Conditions of Use and Sale make clear that users of Amazon Services must be 18 or older or accompanied by a parent or guardian," said an Amazon spokesperson in a statement. "In rare cases where we are made aware that an account has been opened by a minor without permission, we close the account."

Adams says it's unlikely to be other 11-year-olds sending their pocket money to these girls so they attend their next bikini modeling shoot. "Who the fuck do you think is tipping these kids?" she said. "It's predators who are liking the way you exploit your child and giving them all the content they need."

Turning points

Plunkett distinguishes between parents who are casually sharing content that features their kids and parents who are sharing for profit, an activity she describes as "commercial sharenting." 

"You are taking your child, or in some cases, your broader family's private or intimate moments, and sharing them digitally, in the hope of having some kind of current or future financial benefit," she said.

No matter the parent's hopes or intentions, any time children appear in public-facing social media content, that content has the potential to go viral, and when it does, parents have a choice to either lean in and monetize it or try to rein it in.

During Abidin's research -- in which she follows the changing activities of the same influencers over time -- she's found that many influencer parents reach a turning point. It can be triggered by something as simple as other children at school being aware of their child's celebrity or their child not enjoying it anymore, or as serious as being involved in a car chase while trying to escape fans (an occurrence recounted to Abidin by one of her research subjects). 

One influencer, Katy Rose Pritchard, who has almost 92,000 Instagram followers, decided to stop showing her children's faces on social media this year after she discovered they were being used to create role-playing accounts. People had taken photos of her children that she'd posted and used them to create fictional profiles of children for personal gratification, which she said in a post made her feel "violated."

All these examples highlight the different kinds of threats sharents are exposing their children to. Plunkett describes three "buckets" of risk tied to publicly sharing content online. The first and perhaps most obvious are risks involving criminal and/or dangerous behavior, posing a direct threat to the child. 

The second are indirect risks, where content posted featuring children can be taken, reused, analyzed or repurposed by people with nefarious motives. Consequences include anything from bullying to harming future job prospects to millions of people having access to children's medical information -- a common trope on YouTube is a video with a melodramatic title and thumbnail involving a child's trip to the hospital, in which influencer parents with sick kids will document their health journeys in blow-by-blow detail.

The third set of risks are probably the least talked about, but they involve potential harm to a child's sense of self. If you're a child influencer, how you see yourself as a person and your ability to develop into an adult is "going to be shaped and in some instances impeded by the fact that your parents are creating this public performance persona for you," said Plunkett.

Often children won't be aware of what this public persona looks like to the audience and how it's being interpreted. They may not even be aware it exists. But at some point, as happened with Barkman, the private world in which content is created and the public world in which it's consumed will inevitably collide. At that point, the child will be thrust into the position of confronting the persona that's been created for them.

"As kids get older, they naturally want to define themselves on their own terms, and if parents have overshared about them in public spaces, that can be difficult, as many will already have notions about who that child is or what that child may like," said Steinberg. "These notions, of course, may be incorrect. And some children may value privacy and wish their life stories were theirs -- not their parents -- to tell."

Savannah and Cole LaBrant with daughter Everleigh

Savannah and Cole LaBrant have documented nearly everything about their children's lives.

Jim Spellman/WireImage

This aspect of having their real-life stories made public is a key factor distinguishing children working in social media from children working in the professional entertainment industry, who usually play fictional roles. Many children who will become teens and adults in the next couple of decades will have to reckon with the fact that their parents put their most vulnerable moments on the internet for the world to see -- their meltdowns, their humiliation, their most personal moments. 

One influencer family, the LaBrants, were forced to issue a public apology in 2019 after they played an April Fools' Day Joke on their 6-year-old daughter Everleigh. The family pretended they were giving her dog away, eliciting tears throughout the video. As a result, many viewers felt that her parents, Sav and Cole, had inflicted unnecessary distress on her.

In the past few months, parents who film their children during meltdowns to demonstrate how to calm them down have found themselves the subject of ire on parenting Subreddits. Their critics argue that it's unfair to post content of children when they're at their most vulnerable, as it shows a lack of respect for a child's right to privacy.

Privacy-centric parenting

Even the staunchest advocates of child privacy know and understand the parental instinct of wanting to share their children's cuteness and talent with the world. "Our kids are the things usually we're the most proud of, the most excited about," said Adams. "It is normal to want to show them off and be proud of them."

When Adams started her account two years ago, she said her views were seen as more polarizing. But increasingly people seem to relate and share her concerns. Most of these are "average parents," naive to the risks they're exposing their kids to, but some are "commercial sharents" too.

Even though they don't always see eye to eye, the private conversations she's had with parents of children (she doesn't publicly call out anyone) with massive social media presences have been civil and productive. "I hope it opens more parents' eyes to the reality of the situation, because frankly this is all just a large social experiment," she said. "And it's being done on our kids. And that just doesn't seem like a good idea."

For Barkman, it's been "surprisingly easy, and hugely beneficial" to stop sharing content about her son. She's more present, and focuses only on capturing memories she wants to keep for herself.

"When motherhood is all consuming, it sometimes feels like that's all you have to offer, so I completely understand how we have slid into oversharing our children," she said. "It's a huge chunk of our identity and our hearts."

But Barkman recognizes the reality of the situation, which is that she doesn't know who's viewing her content and that she can't rely on tech platforms to protect her son. "We are raising a generation of children who have their entire lives broadcast online, and the newness of social media means we don't have much data on the impacts of that reality on children," she said. "I feel better acting with caution and letting my son have his privacy so that he can decide how he wants to be perceived by the world when he's ready and able."


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What States Can And Can't Do When Banning Abortion


What States Can and Can't Do When Banning Abortion


What States Can and Can't Do When Banning Abortion

For more information about your reproductive health rights and related federal resources, you can visit the US government's

Reproductive Rights

site.

Whether someone can get an abortion or related medical procedure mostly hinges on which state they live in after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month and ended the constitutional right to abortion. But the switch from federal protection to state law isn't straightforward and has led to confusion and misinformation on what pregnant patients and physicians can do.

In this still developing landscape, how confident can people be that their treatment is still legal?

"The answer to all your questions is 'Who the heck knows,'" said Dr. Louise Perkins King, a surgeon and bioethicist at Harvard Medical School. "And that's the problem."

The US Department of Health and Human Services issued guidance on July 11 reminding physicians of their responsibilities under the existing Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTLA, which supports the need to treat and stabilize patients in an emergency, including pregnant patients who may require an abortion. Days later, Texas sued the Biden administration over the law, which allows for medical assistance to save the life of the mother, because, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said, it "seeks to transform every emergency room in the country into a walk-in abortion clinic." 

On Tuesday, a judge in Texas blocked the EMTLA guidance, so physicians in that state may no longer be protected by federal law if they perform an abortion when they deem it medically necessary but it falls outside of Texas' interpretation of a life-endangering pregnancy. Physicians nationwide who are members of the American Association of Pro-Life Gynecologists and Obstetricians or the Christian Medical and Dental Association are also exempt -- a total of about 18,000 health care providers, according to the court document.

Texas' new trigger law -- which will be in effect on Aug. 25 -- bans all abortions except when the pregnancy puts the mother "at risk of death or poses a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function." Physicians who perform an illegal abortion will be committing a felony. It doesn't make exceptions for rape, incest or fetal abnormalities, and it also doesn't make an exception for when the pregnant person's risk of death would come from a "claim or diagnosis" that they'll be hurt or might die in the future. (This could be interpreted to mean a doctor can't provide an abortion if a woman threatens to die by suicide because she has depression.) All abortions are currently banned in Texas after the state's Supreme Court ruled that a law from the 1920s could stand.

Legal battles within some states will continue to shape post-Roe America, with the landscape changing by the day. And lawsuits like the one in Texas clarify the country's stance on whether state law preempts federal rule on abortion or reproductive health care. Basically, can federal regulations trump state law? 

"There's going to be cases that are going to have to determine this question," I. Glenn Cohen, a professor and bioethicist at Harvard Law School, said. 

The argument over medication abortion access -- which is banned or restricted in many states but still available to people if they order it (not without risk) online -- will likely also be one of the first big court cases post-Roe, Cohen said. Questions of whether federal regulations on medication abortion conflict directly enough with state restrictions will continue to be center stage.

Boxes of mifepristone and a bottle of misoprostol tablets sit on a table

Medication abortion, for use in early pregnancy, accounts for more than half of abortions in the US. Restricting the pills is the new frontier of abortion bans.

Robyn Beck/Getty Images

Other federal guidance issued by the Biden administration includes a reminder to pharmacists that they are required to fill medication and birth control prescriptions for patients. Failing to do so is discrimination based on pregnancy status. This was in response to the many reports of women having treatment delayed or prescriptions denied while health care workers try to  navigate around new state laws.

Here's what we know today.

Can states ban abortion pills? Not completely, but some are trying. 

Any state with a current total ban on abortion -- including Texas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri and Wisconsin -- also bans medication abortion. Heavy restrictions in other states, including Tennessee and South Carolina, which ban abortion after about six weeks, also extend to medication abortion. This means providers can't prescribe the medication in those states and patients can't fill prescriptions at pharmacies.  

"If a state law bans abortion broadly, that includes medication abortions," Elisabeth Smith, director of state policy and advocacy at the Center for Reproductive Rights, told MedPage Today.

But abortion bans and state laws seek to punish abortion providers or people who assist them, not the person seeking the abortion (there's reason to believe this might change in the future). For now, people living in the most restrictive states can still order pills from an overseas pharmacy, including Aid Access. However, the pills could take awhile to arrive and potentially put the person past the point of pregnancy for which the medication is safe and effective (about 10 weeks).

Pill packet on a yellow envelope marked
Peter Dazeley/Getty Images

The fate of medication abortion pills in Republican-leaning states centers on mifepristone, the first pill given in the two-dose regimen of medication abortion. Because the US Food and Drug Administration approved mifepristone as a safe and effective way to end a pregnancy over 20 years ago, states shouldn't be able to restrict it, the US attorney general's office argued the same day Roe was overturned. (Misoprostol, the second pill, is used off-label for abortion and miscarriage treatment. It's also used to treat health conditions such as stomach ulcers.) 

Whether this federal regulation (and the FDA's stamp of approval) supersedes state laws will need to be decided. Cohen said this is likely to be determined by the Supreme Court as "one of the first post-Dobbs cases."

"It's unclear whether that's going to be a winner of an argument, to be perfectly honest," Cohen said.

Last year, the FDA extended a pandemic-era rule that allowed patients to get medication abortion pills through the mail, instead of requiring them to be prescribed in person. This was seen as a victory for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other medical groups, which viewed the in-person requirement as unnecessary for a medication that's safe and effective in early pregnancy.   

But states have their own requirements for medication abortion, and providers licensed in Montana can't prescribe pills to patients who travel over from a restrictive state like South Dakota, NPR reported.

Read more: Worries About Post-Roe Data Privacy Put Spotlight on Period Apps  

A woman holds her abdomen in pain

Ectopic pregnancies can't result in a delivery and require medical treatment. Symptoms can start with typical pregnancy signs, including a missed period, but can progress to abdominal or pelvic pain, vaginal bleeding, weakness and more. 

Svetlana Gustova/Getty Images

Can states ban treatment for high risk pregnancies? The HHS says no, but doctors say state laws are restricting care.  

Even though the most restrictive states banning abortions leave room for some degree of medical emergency, practicing physicians need to decide where the medical emergency line is – and risk prosecution if a state sees it differently. 

This month, the story of a 10-year-old girl who was raped and pregnant and who traveled to Indiana from Ohio, where abortion is banned around six weeks without exception for rape or incest, made headlines. Not only was the physician publicly questioned by Indiana's attorney general on whether she followed state law, but Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in the aftermath that the girl should've been able to legally get an abortion under the state law's medical emergency exemption. Ohio's OB-GYNs disagreed. 

"It states specifically 'medically diagnosed condition,' and as far as I can tell, adolescent pregnancy is not a medically diagnosed condition that's listed," Dr. Jason Sayat, a Columbus OB-GYN, told the Ohio Capital Journal. 

The Department of Health and Human Services reminded physicians and hospitals that if they want to keep their Medicare agreement and avoid "civil penalties," they must treat pregnant patients and provide abortions if necessary as required under the 1986 Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. The EMTLA, now blocked in Texas, outlines certain life-endangering pregnancies that doctors must treat regardless of state law, including ectopic pregnancies, preeclampsia and complications of pregnancy loss.

But that narrow line of abortion exceptions for medical emergencies given by states like Wisconsin is what's troubling Dr. Jennifer McIntosh, a maternal-fetal medicine physician practicing in the state. While Wisconsin's attorney general said he wouldn't enforce a ban, physicians there stopped performing abortions because the state has a pre-Roe criminal statute that prohibits most abortions. The "save the life of the mother" abortion exception language in that law can leave out health conditions which may not be an immediate emergency but can become one down the line. 

"Some of what we do is to prevent emergencies from happening," McIntosh said. "To have to wait for an emergency to actually appear puts your patient's life at risk."

The treatment for an ectopic pregnancy is termination, because terminating the pregnancy is the only safe outcome when an embryo grows outside of the uterus, typically in a fallopian tube. Without treatment, the fallopian tube is likely to rupture, which can lead to internal bleeding and death. But some laws, like one in Texas, specifically restrict medications including methotrexate, which has led to access problems for people who are pregnant as well as people who are taking methotrexate for another health reason. 

Complicating confusion and risk over how abortion bans will affect treatments for ectopic pregnancies is the fact that more rare types of ectopic pregnancies exist, including ones where the pregnancy is growing inside a C-section scar or other area outside the safety of the main cavity of the uterus -- but still technically in the uterus. These rarer kinds of ectopic pregnancies are also life-threatening, and may be more difficult to diagnose and treat as such in a state that bans abortions with an emphasis on the pregnancy being in the uterus.

Activists on both sides of the abortion issue protest outside the US Supreme Court in 2020
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

States are not prosecuting people who have abortions (yet)

Current state laws -- both those in effect and those in limbo in court -- prosecute other people involved in an abortion, not the person who's pregnant. 

But the health impact may be already felt when a doctor is hesitant to treat patients, or pharmacists are reluctant to fill a prescription for mifepristone before interviewing a woman to ascertain whether her pregnancy is already ended and her situation is in line with state law.

"Even in these straightforward cases of basic OB/GYN practice, the laws leave providers questioning and afraid," Dr. Carley Zeal, an OB-GYN in Wisconsin, told The New York Times. "These laws are already hurting my patients."

Aside from hesitancy among health care providers, physicians also fear that worries people have about being prosecuted for having an abortion or miscarriage will stop patients experiencing complications from any kind of pregnancy loss from seeking care. 

That's because it was already happening, before Roe was overturned. According to the National Advocates for Pregnant Women, there were over 1,700 arrests or prosecutions of women from 1973 (when Roe became law) to 2020 where their pregnancies were the focus of the case against them. 

So will doctors report you if they suspect you had an abortion? 

"The vast majority of health care professionals will not do that, because that's not caring for their patients," King said. But, she added, "I'm sure there's a very small, but unfortunately detrimental, minority who might." 

An illustration of a woman's body surrounded by medical equipment

Your current access to birth control shouldn't be impacted by the overturn of Roe v. Wade. However, there's reason to believe that could change in the future.

Carol Yepes/Getty Images

Birth control is still protected under the Affordable Care Act

Right now, IUDs, birth control pills and other birth control methods are legal in all 50 states. And they should also be covered at no out-of-pocket cost for those covered under the Affordable Care Act. The right to birth control is protected under two Supreme Court rulings: Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) and Eisenstadt v. Baird. (Another Supreme Court Case, Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, chipped away a little of that protection, however, finding that some corporations are exempt for religious reasons.) 

Plan B or "morning after pill" brands are also not included in abortion bans, because they will not end an existing pregnancy. Most health plans should also cover them. 

Legislators in Missouri last year voted to block taxpayer funding for IUDs and emergency contraception, casting doubt that all birth control devices will be protected indefinitely, at least in some states. The claims of legislators like Paul Wieland, a Republican state senator in Missouri, are that anything that has the potential to disrupt a fertilized egg's implantation into the uterus is an abortifacient. 

The medical community has been clear that IUDs and emergency contraception do not cause abortions and will not end an existing pregnancy. Copper IUDs work mostly by causing a chemical change in the sperm and egg before they meet, according to the World Health Organization. Hormonal IUDs like Mirena work mostly by thickening cervical mucus so sperm can't reach the egg, and can also prevent ovulation. Plan B and similar pills likely won't work if a person has already ovulated, meaning the chances of it stopping implantation are currently understood to be slim.

Nevertheless, unlikely occurrences or instances where a fertilized egg may be prevented from implanting into a uterus could be called into question in future court cases.

Read more: Could a Post Roe v. Wade World Impact Your Access to Birth Control?   

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.


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