It’s all about the vagina, folks! At least that’s what natural childbirth advocates appear to think. The sine qua non of the contemporary natural childbirth movement is its “vagmentalism,” the privileging of vaginal transit over everything else, including the health of babies and mothers. It didn’t have to be this way. The natural childbirth movement […]
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Which saves more lives in the US: formula or breastmilk?
Lactivists are constantly waxing poetic about the lifesaving benefits of breastmilk. The truth is rather different. If infant formula disappeared tomorrow from the United States, tens of thousands of babies would die; if breastmilk disappeared tomorrow, not a single term baby would die from properly prepared infant formula. [pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”#88BD4B” class=”” size=””]Infant […]
Let’s review: What everyone gets wrong about anti-vaccine parents
We told them this would happen. We told them that it was only a matter of time before a childhood disease that had nearly been eliminated from the US would come roaring back if they failed to vaccinate their children. And that’s precisely what has happened. Measles has come roaring back, but not simply because […]
Why do anti-vaxxers think “nature intended” for them to survive?
See? Now he has natural immunity, just like nature intended! The above is a picture of an infant with smallpox. I searched high and low for a picture that would convey the severity of the disease without being too distressing to view. You can imagine the impact of this infection on the baby’s face and […]
Warning: vaginal seeding doesn’t work and may be harmful
The latest trend in the world of natural childbirth is vaginal “seeding,” swabbing babies’ mouths with mothers’ vaginal secretions. The theory is that C-section birth “deprives” babies of prolonged contact with the bacteria in women’s vaginas and that putting that bacteria in babies’ mouths “restores” the normal bacteria. [pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The […]
Recommendations of UK Maternity Review are an insult to the memories of those who died
Why didn’t they just spit on their graves? That would hardly be more disrespectful to the dead than the mind boggling recommendations released by the supposedly comprehensive Review of Maternity Services. After reviewing the dozens of preventable infant and maternal deaths, nearly all due to LACK of supervision of midwives and LACK of technological interventions, […]
To the mother struggling to breastfeed
Dear New Mother, It’s miracle isn’t it … the exquisite new human being that you and your partner created! You may be overwhelmed with love, overwhelmed with fear, and overwhelmed with the desire to do everything possible for your new baby. Perhaps breastfeeding has been the way you always imagined nourishing your newborn — you’ve […]
New study shows that the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative is a spectacular failure!
There are so many things wrong with the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) that it’s hard to know where to start. The very name is a deliberate slap in the face to women who can’t or don’t wish to breastfeed. While breastfeeding has some benefits, in industrialized countries with clean water those benefits are trivial. […]
Dr. Michael Kramer talks about lactivism and what he says might surprise you
Prof. Michael Kramer, widely known within the breastfeeding world for the PROBIT study (Promotion of Breastfeeding Intervention) from Belarus recently gave a fascinating interview to Montreal’s Radio Noon. He was invited specifically to comment on Courtney Jung’s book Lactivism, which argues that the benefits of breastfeeding are oversold. [pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Women […]
HarperCollins announcement of PUSH BACK: Guilt in the Age of Natural Parenting
Less than 7 weeks to go! Here’s the publisher’s announcement of my book: [gview file=”http://www.skepticalob.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/PUSH-BACK-PR.pdf”] Dey Street Books is thrilled to announce the publication of PUSH BACK: Guilt in the Age of Natural Parenting (On Sale: April 5, 2016; Hardcover; $26.99; ISBN: 9780062407344) by Amy Tuteur, MD. A Harvard trained obstetrician-gynecologist, author, and mother of […]
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
