The Skeptical OB

Imagine if an anti-abortion protester wrote: If you believed some you would think that for women choosing to terminate a pregnancy continuing it instead is bad for women’s mental health. But pregnancy does not damage maternal mental health. In fact, pregnancy can do marvelous things for women’s well-being. Alongside reducing risk of reproductive cancers like […]

Most contemporary breastfeeding research is deeply suspect because researchers start with the conclusions — breastfeeding must be best! — and work backward to support it. As one after another of claimed benefits of breastfeeding have melted away when studies are corrected for maternal education and socio-economic status, breastfeeding researchers have become ever more creative in […]

UK midwives are tricking women out of epidurals: A forum post that asked mothers “anyone else tricked out of epidural?” attracted 1,000 replies in under two weeks. For example: Vanessa Murphy still remembers the pain. “I was so traumatized,” the 39-year-old compliance officer says. “I remember repeatedly saying I wanted to die.” When Murphy entered […]

The conceit of natural parenting is that it recapitulates the way that children were parented in nature. The reality is that the mythical past to which natural parenting advocates hark back never existed. Natural parenting is actually a thoroughly contemporary movement reflecting thoroughly contemporary fears of the modern industrialized society: pollution and alienation. Suprisingly, the […]

At the turn of the 20th Century, obstetricians were deeply concerned about the inherent dangers of childbirth. Both infant and maternal mortality were approximately 10X higher than they are today. Obstetrics Prof. Joseph De Lee thought that preventive care was the answer and recommended routine use of forceps. The result of that hubris was disaster. […]

Hold the guilt! A new study shows — once again — that the purported benefits of breastfeeding are actually benefits of privilege. Breastmilk has little if anything to do with it. That was already demonstrated powerfully in the 2014 Colen study, Is Breast Truly Best? Estimating the Effects of Breastfeeding on Long-term Child Health and […]

There’s a new paper about breastfeeding and obesity, Infant Feeding and Weight Gain: Separating Breast Milk From Breastfeeding and Formula From Food, being highlighted in the mainstream press. It claims to show that breastfeeding reduces obesity. Really? Then why did obesity soar as breastfeeding rates rose? [pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]It’s almost like […]

No matter how cynical you get, it is impossible to keep up. The spectacle of Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court reminds me of that Lily Tomlin quote. Is there anything more ironic than a Supreme Court nominee, chosen explicitly to repeal a woman’s right to control her own body during pregnancy, accused of […]

Women tell inconvenient truths. That leaves us with two choices: we could believe them and deal with the resulting cognitive dissonance or we could ease our discomfort by insisting, without evidence, that they are wrong. Guess which is easier. For years women have been telling inconvenient truths about sexual aggression, harassment and assault. I doubt […]

Natural childbirth advocates insist they seek freedom for women — freedom to give birth when, how and attended by whomever they wish. Breastfeeding advocates, lactivists, insist they seek freedom for breastfeeding women — freedom to nurse their children when, where, and in front of whomever they wish. Not exactly. They seek freedom for women the […]