Emily Barasch

4 weeks ago | romper.com | Emily Barasch

After having my first baby, the only thing I was completely sure of was that pregnancy and postpartum had rendered me stupid. Yes, my brain was stimulated to the nth degree, but I was only thinking about breakfasts, lunches, dinners; nap schedules, teething, toddler colds, rotaviruses, Covid, pink eyes, ear infections, and bulbous medieval diaper rashes. It felt important, and it was important but it wasn’t actually all that deep. Or satisfying.

May 2, 2024 | vogue.com | Emily Barasch

Zoe (a pseudonym) always had irregular periods marked by longer cycles. So when she found out during a routine doctor’s appointment that she was eight weeks pregnant, it was a surprise. Single and at the start of her career as a teacher in the New Orleans’ public school system, she was not ready to have a baby. But the state of Louisiana, which banned abortion after a detectable fetal heartbeat in 2019, was going to make that decision hard for her.