Trust birth? You must be joking! Jessa Duggar Seewald and Jill Duggar Dillard are two, young healthy women who planned homebirths. They were about as low risk as low risk can be, yet, in an object lesson for homebirth advocates, both had to be rescued by obstetricians. Jill, in direct contrast to the prattling of […]
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The riddle at the heart of attachment parenting
If there’s one thing that natural childbirth advocates are sure of, it’s that unhindered birth is best. Women and babies are “designed” for birth, and if they only trust birth, it will turn out fine. That’s why some natural childbirth advocates choose homebirth and a smaller group choose unassisted homebirth. They want to give birth […]
Assume the position: the importance of enemas in alternative health
Both purveyors and consumers of alternative health believe in a lot of wacky things. Homeopaths believe that repeatedly diluting a substance in water makes it stronger because water retains “memory” of the substance. Chiropractors believe disease results from disruption of the flow of a life force from the brain through the spinal nerves caused by […]
Heather Dexter, whooping cough, and the clinical course of quackery
On Monday I wrote about Heather Dexter, the naturopathic quack who proudly (proudly??!!) boasted about the severe medical neglect that nearly killed her children. Heather refused to vaccinate her three small children against pertussis (whooping cough), in her quest to provide them with “natural” immunity.[pullquote align=”right” color=”#555555″]Children who survive pertussis DON’T develop permanent immunity.[/pullquote] Her children suffered […]
Are brelfies transgressive, traditional or sexist?
Breastfeeding selfies are now so ubiquitous that they have their own nickname, “brelfies.” Women offer them for public consumption on social media sites, often positioning them as transgressive and often with the stated objective of “normalizing breastfeeding.” But the reality of brelfies may be somewhat different. Their true purpose may be as personal branding and […]
Suffer the unvaccinated little children!
There is so much suffering in the world, and sadly, so much of it falls on small children … victims of earthquakes, famines, genocide and war. But the suffering that angers me the most is that visited on small children by the selfishness of their parents. Such suffering comes in many different forms but can […]
The moralization of breastfeeding parallels the monetization of breastfeeding
Courtney Jung is getting great publicity for her forthcoming book Lactivism. First there was the NYTimes op-ed Overselling Breast-feeding. Now there’s a piece in the Atlantic The Big, Bad Breastfeeding Industry. As you might guess from the title, the author, Ester Bloom, is dubious of Jung. Bloom explains Jung’s claims: [pullquote align=”right” color=”#874338″]The moralization of […]
What if your baby can’t get enough oxygen during childbirth?
One of the great ironies of natural childbirth is that the same folks who get hysterical about the possibility that a baby’s umbilical cord is cut early, potentially depriving him or her of oxygen, blithely ignore of what happens to a baby who isn’t getting enough oxygen during labor. What will happen to your baby if […]
If we treated erectile dysfunction like we treat breastfeeding difficulties …
Mr. Jones, so nice to meet you. Allow me to introduce myself, Ima Frawde, IBCEC. What are the letters for? International Board Certified Ejaculation Consultant, of course. I support men who have ejaculation dysfunction at the low introductory price of $200 per hour. I’m here to help you with your erectile dysfunction. Examine you? No, […]
Abby Reichardt of The Florida School of Traditional Midwifery demonstrates the arrogant ignorance of homebirth midwives
The most deadly thing about homebirth midwives isn’t their ignorance; the most deadly thing is that they are arrogant in their ignorance. Over the last two days, regular readers have been treated to a festival of blazing stupidity courtesy of Abby Reichardt, posting as Sweet Baby Jesus. I’ve known all along who she is, but […]
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
