The original photo that got me banned from Facebook is here. Breastfeeding has a death toll. In itself that’s not surprising because breastfeeding is yet another aspect of reproduction and all animal reproduction, including human reproduction, has very high rates of wastage from miscarriage, death during childbirth and death in the early months of infancy. […]
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Increasingly desperate proponents of delayed cord clamping search for ever more arcane “benefits”
Why are proponents of delayed cord clamping so sure that it has benefits for term infants despite all the scientific evidence to the contrary? In part it’s because they have extrapolated inappropriately from existing science. It has been known for some time that delayed cord clamping is beneficial for premature infants. How? Many premature infants […]
Encroaching on women’s rights by moralizing motherhood … without moralizing fatherhood
The past 20 years have witnessed an ever growing movement to moralize motherhood, from the endless restrictions on what pregnant women can consume (most of them, like the prohibition on alcohol, far outstripping any scientific evidence), the moralization of infant feeding and public pressure to breastfeed (once again far outstripping any scientific evidence), and the […]
“Natural” living creates communities of fear
Seemingly disparate groups like anti-vaxxers, anti-GMO advocates, foodists like the Food Babe Army, and the anti-fluoride brigade, share one very important thing in common. Wait, let me amend that. In addition to ignorance of basic science, statistics and logic these groups share a second important characteristic. All are cringing, whingeing communities of fear. They are […]
Americans didn’t always have a problem with public breastfeeding? What is that lactivist smoking?
When I finished Amy Bentley’s piece about public breastfeeding on Slate I looked for the disclaimer that it was a parody. Surely no one could take such a ridiculous fantasy seriously? But, alas, Bentley’s piece is yet another example of the ways that lactivists deliberately mangle history to support their own beliefs, albeit a particularly […]
Make mine an Artificial … and make it a double
There’s a sucker born every minute. That was my thought when I saw the NBCNews.com piece Taco Bell and Pizza Hut Chuck Artificial Ingredients. Taco Bell and Pizza Hut have announced they’re getting rid of artificial colors and flavors, becoming the latest national food retailers to “go natural.” Instead of “black pepper flavor,” for instance, […]
The appalling spectacle of anti-circ activists obsessing over the penis of another person’s son
A visitor from outer space might be forgiven for concluding that the most important part of the human body is the foreskin. It is, after all, the only part of the body that has multiple organizations devoted to its preservation in the natural state. The visitor might get the impression that the choice of circumcision […]
Josh Duggar and fundamentalism’s spectacular failure in conflating sexuality and sin
The Duggars are hypocrites. I’m referring of course the extraordinarily fecund fundamentalist family who starred in the TLC reality TV show 19 Kids and Counting, and leveraged their fame to conduct an ongoing political hate campaign against those whose sexuality differs from theirs. This is hardly a new development. I’ve always enjoyed the irony of […]
Lacto-porn does not normalize breastfeeding
Another day, another piece of lacto-porn, another super-model kidding herself that she’s “normalizing” breastfeeding. Nicole Trunfio, commenting on the above cover photo for Australian Elle Magazine, tells E! Online: “There is nothing more powerful and beautiful than motherhood. The last thing I want to do is be controversial, so please take this for what it […]
Amazing new miracle cure: raw communication!!
Forget organic vegetables. Forget raw milk. Scientists have made a revolutionary new discovery of an amazing miracle cure: raw communication! That’s right, folks, raw communication reduces death rates from cancer, heart disease, immune disorders and pregnancy! But wait, there’s more! Raw communication prevents pertussis, measles and a host of other diseases! And — this 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
