closer look
What legacy will Becerra, once 'invisible,' leave? 
Illustration: Christine Kao/STAT; Photos: Getty
When you think of Xavier Becerra, what comes to mind? He's been called the "invisible" HHS secretary, rarely spotted at White House health care events. Once, officials openly discussed who might be better for the job. But with one year left in this Biden administration, it's unclear what legacy he'll leave. That's in contrast to his tenure as California attorney general, when he took a forceful stand on abortion rights, and as a member of Congress, when he helped shape and then defend the Affordable Care Act.
Supporters say he has been quiet about his accomplishments at HHS. What does Becerra say? "I would like to see us make it so that everyone equates Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act marketplace, with good health care," he told STAT's Sarah Owermohle, so the "ACA becomes like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. They are part of the fabric of life in protecting your health." Read more.
reproductive health
An already high cesarean rate in Puerto Rico climbs
National Center for Health Statistics
Just over half of deliveries in Puerto Rico were C-sections in 2022, continuing its trend of consistently higher rates of the procedure compared to the rest of the U.S. A new CDC report looked back at the early to mid-1990s, when just over 30% of births in Puerto Rico were C-sections, but climbed above 40% in the early 2000s. Those rates were 40% to 50% higher than in the rest of the U.S., and up to 78% higher than for Hispanic women on the U.S. mainland.
From 2019 to 2022, today's report says, cesareans in Puerto Rico increased each year until reaching 50.5% of all births in 2022. Rates rose for every age group, accounting for nearly two out of every three births to mothers 40 and older. The report offers no explanation, but back in 2006, another analysis speculated that "differences in maternal characteristics, attitudes toward cesarean delivery, obstetric practices, or health insurance coverage" might be among the factors at play.
health
Early exposure to digital media tied to sensory issues
Screen time during early childhood is tied to differences in sensory processing, a new study suggests, adding another drawback to digital media exposure for babies and toddlers. Authors of the JAMA Pediatrics study say they can't draw a direct cause-and-effect line between watching TV or videos and developmental problems, but sensory processing issues could join a list of other potential issues linked to early screen exposure including language delay, lower cognitive development, ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, behavioral problems, emotional dysregulation, and sleep problems.
For this study, researchers asked caregivers of more than 1,400 children how many hours of screen time the children watched and how they responded to stimuli at 12, 18, and 24 months. Real-life examples could be making noise with toys versus fleeing a loud environment, or being more absorbed in twirling an object than interacting with a person. Children with more screen time were more likely to have atypical sensory processing. Another caveat: the survey was done between 2011 to 2014, when the digital media landscape was different.
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