Natural childbirth advocates are in danger of losing their minds. Obstetricians have been discussing the data that shows that routine induction at 39 weeks may be safer than waiting for labor to begin on its own. The possibility of consensus on this issue was discussed at the recent annual meeting of the American College of […]
Latest News
No more pelvic exams? Not exactly.
The mainstream media is filled with reports that pelvic exams are no longer necessary in the wake of a draft recommendation by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). Here’s How StatNews reported the findings: Millions of healthy women undergo routine pelvic exams every year, but on Tuesday a panel of physicians and other […]
Guest post: My baby died before labor began but my homebirth midwife had no idea
Naomi Desir endured an excruciating labor at home only to learn that her homebirth midwife had no idea that baby Boaz had died days before labor began. Naomi wrote to me: “I want to tell you my story so I can hopefully help other people understand the dangers of home birth and direct entry midwives. […]
Science based medicine vs. defiance based medicine
Why, in the absence of any scientific evidence to support it, has anti-vaccine advocacy become so popular? Why, in the absence of any scientific evidence to support it, have homeopathic products that are nothing more than water become big sellers? Why, in the absence of any scientific evidence to support it, does anyone pay hard-earned […]
Kate Tietje, hypocrite
Oh, the irony! Kate Tietje, Modern Alternative Mama, is furious that parents are sharing scary stories about their children injured by and dying from whooping cough, measles and chickenpox. How dare suffering parents spread fear of vaccine preventable diseases while Tietje is trying to spread fear of vaccines? Her post, Dear Parents, Please Stop Sharing […]
#Everybreastfeedcounts? No, every BABY counts!
Everything wrong with the breastfeeding industry can be summed up in the hashtag #everybreastfeedcounts. It’s the motto of this week’s celebration of breastfeeding in the UK. What’s wrong with #everybreastfeedcounts? A look at NHS Lothian’s breastfeeding page reveals the problems. [pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]It betrays a focus on profit for the industry, […]
Women don’t understand the risks?
Opponents are clear about one thing; women don’t understand the risks. They aren’t giving informed consent because they aren’t fully informed. Sure, they may be counseled about the major risks, the ones that could kill you, but deaths are rare. The other complications are so much more common. If women only knew the myriad risks […]
Relentless promotion of exclusive breastfeeding is leading to iatrogenic infant injuries and deaths
Lactivists, both laypeople and professionals, have built a movement predicated on the claim that “breast is best.” That claim that is at odds with everything we know about reproduction — there’s an incredible amount of wastage and death associated with producing the next generation — and the historical reality of cemeteries filled with the bodies […]
What if we’re doing breastfeeding all wrong?
The central conceit of natural parenting is that the key to healthy, happy babies is recapitulating what our “primitive” black and brown sisters did in nature. That’s why natural childbirth advocates claim that the best birth is an unmedicated vaginal birth. That’s why attachment parenting advocates claim that carrying an infant in a sling and […]
Unnecesseat belts
Why wear a seat belt? The average person, driving the average car on the average trip is not going to be involved in a major crash. If that’s the case, seat belts are a useless intervention that merely provide extra revenue for car manufacturers, right? In fact, the average person, driving the average car is […]
Amy Tuteur, MD
Dr. Amy Tuteur is an obstetrician gynecologist. She received her undergraduate degree from Harvard College in 1979 and her medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine in 1984. Dr. Tuteur is a former clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School. She left the practice of medicine to raise her four children. Her book, Push Back: Guilt in the Age of Natural Parenting (HarperCollins) was published in 2016. She can be reached at DrAmy5 at aol dot com... More
