The Skeptical OB

Another baby is in critical condition after a Lisa Barrett homebirth. You remember Barrett, the midwife found responsible for multiple homebirth deaths, right? Let’s review. Thus far Barrett has been present at 5 separate homebirths that resulted in the death of a baby: 1. shoulder dystocia 2. breech, trapped head 3. second twin 4. second […]

“I could get them to indict a ham sandwich.” This legal aphorism highlights the immense power of the prosecutor bringing charges in the grand jury. Though the grand jury was set up to restrain the government from bringing baseless charges, it is highly unusual for a grand jury to refuse to indict whomever the prosecutor […]

Years ago I wrote a brief piece about homebirth midwifery entitled Whatever the scientific evidence shows, do the opposite. It turns out that I was echoing a feminist criticism of the “new” midwifery. Among the most influential commentators on the subject are Ellen Annandale and Judith Clark, authors of the widely quoted paper, What is […]

I like to say that when my husband and I got married, he wanted two children and I wanted four, so we compromised … on four. My husband would tell you that it’s the best decision we ever made. Each has grown into a wonderful person and we have had the joy (and the occasional […]

Regular readers know that I have written several posts about the 39 week rule. It is supposed to be a ban on elective deliveries before 39 weeks, but has devolved into a ban against any deliveries before 39 weeks, with the predictable consequence of preventable perinatal deaths. Tamara Bennett believes that the 39 week rule […]

Tara Dukaczewicz generously gave permission to reprint her Facebook comment as a guest post: Rewind to this time a year and half ago, my baby was 5 months old and I was firmly entrenched in the online natural childbirth community. My favorite was Birth without Fear. I was researching home birth midwifery for my next […]

What’s the most important tool of any professional homebirth advocate? It’s the delete button, of course! At every level of homebirth advocacy, from clowns like The Feminist Breeder, through organizations like Lamaze; from self-proclaimed “experts” in obstetrical research like Henci Goer to people with academic credentials like Darcia Narvaez, PhD, the delete button is integral […]

In the dystopian novel 1984, George Orwell introduced the idea that vocabulary has the power to control thought. In 1984, the government, in an effort to control citizens and force them into submission, perverts the meaning of common words and phrases to promote approved views and stamp out unapproved views. The classic example of this […]

Last week we heard from a cardiologist who related her experience of being made to suffer in an effort to promote breastfeeding. But how about babies? Aren’t they suffering, too? It’s ironic when you think about it. Many of the same people who refuse infant eye ointment because the baby might be distressed by blurry […]

A guest post from a practicing cardiologist: Before getting pregnant, I had never set foot in our L&D ward. My only interaction with OB’s was when they needed ICU beds for their sickest patients (severe preeclampsia, catastrophic bleeding, amniotic fluid embolism, you catch my drift). From treating these patients, I have no illusions whatsoever about […]