Dr. Jill Biden Is Ready for *All* Women’s Health Issues to Get Some Much-Deserved Attention
By now, you probably know that anything revolving around women’s health likely doesn’t get the shine that it deserves. From common issues like IUD insertion pain to unique and sensitive topics like cannabis use during pregnancy and postpartum psychosis, there’s usually something that impacts women’s bodies that’s either being overlooked, understudied, or just outright dismissed.
That is exactly why on May 15, Women’s Health hosted its inaugural Health Lab, a one-of-a-kind summit that put women’s health and wellness topics center stage. “Our women’s health lab today spotlights the collective brainpower of cutting-edge medical practitioners, health researchers, and well-being advocates who will share their illuminating perspectives and groundbreaking work,” said Women’s Health editor-in-chief Liz Plosser to kick off the event.
The event consisted of a full day of thoughtful and enlightening panels. There was one for heart health, menopause, osteoporosis and bone health, melanated skin (moderated by Cosmo’s very own beauty editor-at-large Julee Wilson, as seen in the pic above!), the maternal health crisis, migraines, and women in sports, each deep-diving on their respective topics. And let’s be real: Would this really be a wellness event without a little movement? Nope! So of course Sensei had to lead guests through a short mobility exercise after sitting through the first three convos in Hearst Tower.
Each panel was stacked with heavy hitters in the health space, so you know the conversations were *chef’s kiss*. Peloton instructor and NYT best-selling author Tunde Oyeneyin talked about what it really meant to protect Black and brown skin and her struggle of finding an SPF that didn’t make her look ashy: “You don’t know it’s a problem for people with deep skin tones if you aren’t experiencing the problem yourself,” she said.
Tony-award-winning actress Kristin Chenoweth shared her personal journey with migraines, recalling a time she got one so bad during a live show that her understudy had to replace her at intermission. “I was out of that show for three weeks,” she said. “In my world, that’s fireable.” Chelsea Clinton passionately advocated for reproductive rights and freedoms, and professional soccer player Midge Purce got into how good athletic performance is contingent upon mental health.
“I don’t think you can separate the two,” said Purce. “I think they’re positively correlated. I have yet to meet someone who is unwell upstairs—whether it’s emotionally or stress induced or anxiety-wise—who can still perform. Resilience, I think, sometimes can be confused with enduring.”
The most notable guest of the day was First Lady Jill Biden. After being introduced by Plosser, she took to the podium and talked about how all of women’s health is “often ignored” since it is both “understudied and research is underfunded,” she said.
She mentioned how, last year, she and her husband President Joe Biden started to bring some change to this area by launching “the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research,” she said. “We’re helping close the research gaps in women’s health, so we can understand the science behind the conditions that so many women experience, building the knowledge that will create life-changing products and fuel innovation.”
And they are. After the State of the Union address in March 2024, President Biden signed an executive order that guarantees “that when the government funds studies, they include women from the beginning,” said the First Lady in her speech. “Together, we will build a health care system where women aren’t an afterthought, but a first-thought,” she said. “Where we leave doctors’ offices with more answers than questions.”
The event was sponsored by AbbVie, the American Heart Association, Amgen, EltaMD, Northwell Health’s Katz Institute for Women’s Health, Rykä, and Sensei.
You Might Also Like
