Bandwagon hits the ground... skating! The first episode of 2018 is a chatty affair, including an interview with speed skater/Olympic medalist/Champaign Centennial alum Katherine Reutter-Adamek.

In 13 states, including Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin, people under 18 who are in labor cannot consent to their own health care. They can receive emergency services, but nothing considered to be elective. For the many minors in those places who become pregnant, it's a painful gap in coverage.

Breast-feeding rates are increasing each year, but a gaping disparity between Black women and women of other races remains.  Nationally, according to recent federal data, there is an 18 percent gap between white and black mothers who have ever breast-fed.

A pregnant woman in prison typically has 48 hours with her baby after it’s born before it’s taken away: an intensely painful experience for the mother and child alike that additionally has the potential to damage the baby’s development. 

Doctors who can prescribe a medication for opioid addiction, and accept Medicaid, are already scarce. But even fewer will treat pregnant women. At this most vulnerable time, when both mother’s and baby’s lives are at stake, some doctors even drop their patients.