The Skeptical OB

There’s an appalling amount of bad research out there and more is added with the publication of new papers every month. How can we tell good research from bad? [pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Are the authors reporting the primary finding or have they replaced it with a secondary finding?[/pullquote] One way is to […]

I’m honored to be entrusted with publishing this incredibly powerful post from a mother who wishes to remain anonymous. It took me just under three years to go from bright-eyed and expectant to waking up in a mental hospital in severe withdrawal from benzos (aka anti-anxiety medication). It’s not the whole story – what ever […]

I oppose censorship. I guess that’s not surprising since a rival blogger tried to force my blog off the internet because she disagreed with what I wrote. She was initially so successful that I had no choice but to sue her in Federal Court in 2013. The case, Tuteur v. Crosley-Corcoran, was ultimately settled confidentially, […]

In the on going effort to demonize cesareans, the natural childbirth community seized on a tiny study and spun it into the claim that C-sections change the infant microbiome. A new, far larger study, shows that it does not. As the Houston Chronicle explains: [pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The infant gut microbiome is […]

Remember the joke about the drunk man searching unsuccessfully for his keys under the streetlight? After a few minutes the policeman asks if he is sure he lost them here, and the drunk replies, no, and that he lost them in the park. The policeman asks why he is searching here, and the drunk replies, […]

Let’s try a thought experiment. Imagine I told you a story about a 16 year old girl who committed suicide because she was bullied for being overweight. She felt herself to be surrounded by messages that women who aren’t thin are worthless. She was surrounded by peers who claimed she was ugly and worthless. Everyone […]

Homebirth kills babies; pressure to exclusively breastfeed injures and kills babies and mothers; anti-vaccine advocacy kills children of all ages. All three are part of the larger societal trend of killing kids with quackery. Of course no parent intends to maim or kill her child by embracing quackery; in general “natural” parents are busily preening […]

The suicide of a young mother is an unspeakable tragedy: Thirty-two-year-old Florence Leung went missing without an explanation in late October, causing New Westminster police to launch a massive search. It was revealed she was suffering from postpartum depression and her family was concerned about her well-being. On Nov. 16, Leung’s body was found in […]

Yesterday I came across a remarkable claim. Pediatrician and breastfeeding advocate Dr. Daniel Flanders wrote this on Twitter. Breastfeeding advocacy is not about convincing moms to breastfeed; it is about enabling and supporting their success if they choose to. Really? Really??!! On what planet is breastfeeding not about convincing moms to breastfeed? Surely not this […]

                What do peanuts, the cause of deadly allergies, and breastmilk, the purported “elixir of life,” have in common? Both have been the subject of medical recommendations that are wrong, based on weak science, implemented without adequate studies, involving failure to consider risks as well as benefits. [pullquote […]