The Skeptical OB

Mothers sacrifice. It has ever been thus. Whether it is sacrificing sleep to soothe a fretful baby, sacrificing the last piece of cake to please a hungry child, or sacrificing tremendous amounts of money to send a teenager to college, sacrifice is part and parcel of motherhood. [pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Natural parenting […]

There has never been a safer time or place to be an infant and small child than 2016 in industrialized countries. Ironically, there has never been greater anxiety about the physical, emotional and intellectual status of those same infants and small children. Why is there an extraordinary disconnect between reality and anxiety? You can thank […]

This is the 201st piece I’ve posted in 2016, but I’ve been privileged to be able to write for othe publications as well. These are my ten most popular pieces of the year: [pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The Skeptical OB blog and Facebook page reached more then 7 million people in 2016![/pullquote] 1. […]

What is happening in the United States is a matter of the gravest portent for the whole civilised world. Throughout the last hundred years, individual Americans have done more to further civilisation than the individuals of any other country; today, Trump voters embark upon the task of degrading civilisation. At the present day the most […]

Apparently my book PUSH BACK: Guilt in the Age of Natural Parenting made Professor Laura Freidenfelds feel stung. Unfortunately it did not make her feel curious enough to reexamine her assumptions about midwifery and childbirth. In Nurse-Midwives are With Women, Walking a Middle Path to a Safe and Rewarding Birth, Freidenfelds writes: [pullquote align=”right” cite=”” […]

There’s an eye opening thread on allnurses.com entitled Home births gone wrong. American women thinking about homebirth should read it. You can’t give informed consent unless you understand the very real risks of your baby dying at homebirth. [pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Then there was baby that the midwife dropped on the bathroom […]

Apparently many Donald Trump supporters, like Trump himself, believe that women should be punished for having abortions. I have a better, more just, more effective suggestion: Punish men for abortions! [pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Women don’t create unwanted pregnancies; men do.[/pullquote] After all, it’s the man’s fault; there’s no way a woman can […]

A new study claiming to show that female doctors provide better care than male doctors is a paradigmatic example of the way that scientific research has been perverted by contemporary journalism. In an effort to provide click-bait headlines, scientists are grossly exaggerating the clinical significance of their findings and thereby misleading the public. [pullquote align=”right” […]

Is there anything more pathetic than an anti-vaxxer who imagines that she’s knowledgeable? They’re like automatons, cheerfully repeating nonsense that impressed them. And they’re boring. They all say the same stupid stuff. Here’s a list of stupid stuff anti-vaxxers say, and what it means to smart, truly educated people who are listening. 1. Do your […]

I cannot begin to imagine the pain this woman is in: Has anyone vaginally applied bloodroot salve for cervical precancerous cells? If so please share your story. I applied it on Sunday and I am in a lot of pain. Putting bloodroot salve in your vagina is like putting battery acid in your vagina. [pullquote […]