She’s back! Midwife Hannah Dahlen is once again trying to set straight those of us who prefer to deliver live babies instead of dead ones. You may remember Dr. Dahlen as the author of the heartless claim: When health professionals, and in particular obstetricians, talk about safety in relation to homebirth, they usually are referring […]
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NHS plans to take pressure off hospitals by encouraging home brain surgery
For thousands of years it occurred in the comfort of one’s own home, surrounded by cherished family members and employing principles of ancient wisdom. I’m talking, of course, about ancient brain surgery, known as trephination. Primitive cranial trephining, the surgical opening of the skull performed with primitive tools and techniques, is one of the most […]
How breastfeeding researchers fool themselves — and what we can do about it
The journal Nature published an outstanding piece on one of the most serious problems in scientific research today: a great deal of research is so flawed that it cannot be reproduced. It’s a problem that strikes at the heart of science, since the gold standard for establishing the truth of research results is that other […]
The new CDC report on breastfeeding puts the cart before the horse
The new CDC report on breastfeeding, Improvements in Maternity Care Policies and Practices That Support Breastfeeding — United States, 2007–2013, has been getting a lot of press. According to the report …[P]ractices supportive of breastfeeding are improving nationally; however, more work is needed to ensure all women receive optimal breastfeeding support during the birth hospitalization. […]
Jill Duggar Dillard learns it is harder to become a real missionary than a fake midwife
Imagine that. The Southern Baptist Convention has higher qualifications for becoming a missionary than the Midwives Alliance of North America has for becoming a “midwife.” According to Inquisitr: Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard are rejected as missionaries by the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and the International Mission Board (IMB) for lack of qualifications… What qualifications […]
Sure my baby died at homebirth, but that was just a coincidence!
It’s remarkable really. Homebirth had nothing to do with the fact that the baby died. It’s just an amazing coincidence. Yes, I know that my obstetrician, my mother-in-law and my best friend warned me that the baby could die at homebirth, but that has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the baby did […]
Death rate from homebirth higher than from SIDS
It’s a scourge that haunts the nightmares of new parents and prospective parents. I’m talking, of course, about SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome), which takes the lives of approximately 2000 infants each year. SIDS is so frightening because apparently healthy infants die suddenly for no discernible reason. But the death rate from SIDS is only […]
Why do homebirth advocates worry more about the infant gut microbiome and the antibodies in colostrum than brain damage?
I have written about it more times than I care to count. VBA3C homebirth: ruptured uterus, brain damaged babVBA3C homebirth: ruptured uterus, brain damaged baby You risked your baby’s brain function for this? Another homebirth, another brain injured baby, but the midwife was awesome Unassisted birth: surprise second twin suffers brain damage Conflicted: successful VBAC, […]
I’m a conscientious objector in the Mommy Wars
It’s one the greatest internecine conflicts of the past 50 years. No, I’m not talking about capitalism vs. communism, nor Democrat vs. Republican. I’m talking about the battle for mothering supremacy, the Mommy Wars. I just finished reading a declaration of intent in one of the latest battles, and I disagree profoundly. When it comes […]
Cover of my new book
Here’s the cover for my forthcoming book, to be published by HarperCollins on April 5, 2016. The book “debunks the myths of natural parenting, exposes the movement’s anti-feminist roots, and shows why its practices don’t line up with the science, all with the aim of freeing new mothers of the pervasive and unnecessary guilt so […]
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
