How Coronavirus Impacts Women On 'Stuff Mom Never Told You'

On this episode of Stuff Mom Never Told You, our hosts Samantha and Anney talk about the topic on everyone’s mind: coronavirus. Specifically, they explore how this pandemic is impacting women across the globe, both economically and medically: How will this affect pregnant women? What about education and childcare – who is taking on the bulk of those duties while the family is home? What’s happening to the kids who don’t have a computer or access to the Internet, how are they learning during quarantine? They also get into the unfortunate uptick in racial violence towards Asians, and Anney gives us her quarantine tips and tricks; she should know, since she’s been quarantined “two-and-a-half times” before!

There are several ways the coronavirus pandemic could be significantly impacting women. First, in diagnosis and treatment: will women see the same level of dismissal for their symptoms as they have in the past? We’re still learning a lot about this infection, but not much data has been collected about pregnant women, like if they can pass on the infection to their unborn child. There is evidence that they face a higher mortality rate and more negative effects from the virus. There’s also the added burdens of whether or not they have insurance – Samantha and Anney praise Representative Katie Porter for her masterful questioning of the CDC director in Congress, when she convinced him to make testing free, but what about treatment?

Parents who may be working a full-time job from home are also having to supervise several hours of schooling, as well – which parent is taking on the bulk of that responsibility? And what about paid time off? Samantha points out that a majority of shift workers are women, and many shift workers, like housekeepers, nannies, servers, bartenders, and so on, aren’t guaranteed any paid sick leave. No matter what gender they are, this seriously affects a huge percentage of the workforce. 

Anney has actually been quarantined a few times, once because she had swine flu and once because she had an unknown superflu. With swine flu, she says she was too sick to get bored, but with the superflu, she definitely got a little restless during her weeklong quarantine in her apartment. Her advice? “Don’t feel guilty if you’re not being as productive as you think you should be,” she says firmly. “Limit your exposure to terrifying news...check in on your friends and family...if you get takeout, TIP TIP TIP,” and finally, “Don’t panic!” Listen to the episode to hear about Anney’s swine flu hallucinations, Samantha’s righteous diatribe against racial violence, and more on Stuff Mom Never Told You.

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