The Skeptical OB

When my youngest son was small, his preschool decided to introduce a program designed to prevent molestation. Looking over the literature for the program, I couldn’t find any evidence that it had been shown to work. I pointed this out to the principal, who responded: “Amy, education isn’t like medicine. We don’t have to prove […]

Has Mayor Bloomberg lost his mind? Mayor Bloomberg is pushing hospitals to hide their baby formula behind locked doors so more new mothers will breast-feed. Starting Sept. 3, the city will keep tabs on the number of bottles that participating hospitals stock and use — the most restrictive pro-breast-milk program in the nation. How on […]

Natural childbirth advocates are neo-Luddites. The original Luddites appeared during the Industrial Revolution and were weavers who were replaced by mechanized weaving, which produced high quality cloth faster and for less money, not incidentally depriving them of the job and lifestyle they desired. I was reminded of the Luddites when I read the Science and […]

I have a great idea. It’s well known that poor children often have poor diets. Food stamps* can be used to buy any type of food; poor mothers often buy processed foods that are cheap and easy to prepare instead of fresh vegetables and fruits that are more nutritious. Here’s my idea: let’s take away […]

I’ve written before that delayed cord clamping has been found to have no clinical benefits in term infants, but there has been some evidence that it is beneficial for premature babies because it reduces the need for blood transfusions in babies who are likely to develop anemial of prematurity. The latest paper on the topic […]

During the past week I learned of three separate homebirth deaths: 1. Coos County Oregon District Attorney has indicted lay midwife Marcene Rebeck for second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the death of a baby she delivered last year. According to the local newpaper: The infant who died was a daughter born about a […]

Imagine the following scenario: The drug company Profits-R-Us introduced a new medication to treat the common cold, Sneeze-Ease. Shortly after its introduction, doctors beginning noticing a number of unexpected deaths of people who were previously well. The only thing that connected these deaths was the fact that all the people who died unexpected had ingested […]

Dr. Melissa Bartick is one of the premier exponents of the health benefits of breastfeeding and chair of the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition, the prime mover behind the Massachusetts ban on formula gift bags. I am thrilled that she has chosen to enter the discussion in the comments section of yesterday’s post. Here’s an excerpt of […]

Breastfeeding activists in my state, Massachusetts, are celebrating a ban on formula gift bags for new mothers. That’s right: a group of women who will never use formula are patting themselves on the back for taking away a gift of free formula from women who might use it. And what do those who might use […]

It must be great to be able to make up your own scientific “facts” as you go along. No need for pesky studying and research. No need to bother with real facts that don’t corroborate your world view. Self proclaimed “midwife” and homebirth promoter Ina May Gaskin should know. She just makes it up as […]