There’s an appalling amount of bad research out there and more is added with the publication of new papers every month. How can we tell good research from bad? [pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Are the authors reporting the primary finding or have they replaced it with a secondary finding?[/pullquote] One way is to […]
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Guest post: From attachment parenting to the mental hospital
I’m honored to be entrusted with publishing this incredibly powerful post from a mother who wishes to remain anonymous. It took me just under three years to go from bright-eyed and expectant to waking up in a mental hospital in severe withdrawal from benzos (aka anti-anxiety medication). It’s not the whole story – what ever […]
I despise Milo Yiannopoulos, but Roxane Gay is wrong to try to censor him
I oppose censorship. I guess that’s not surprising since a rival blogger tried to force my blog off the internet because she disagreed with what I wrote. She was initially so successful that I had no choice but to sue her in Federal Court in 2013. The case, Tuteur v. Crosley-Corcoran, was ultimately settled confidentially, […]
No, cesarean does NOT affect the infant microbiome
In the on going effort to demonize cesareans, the natural childbirth community seized on a tiny study and spun it into the claim that C-sections change the infant microbiome. A new, far larger study, shows that it does not. As the Houston Chronicle explains: [pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The infant gut microbiome is […]
Gender specific breastmilk?
Remember the joke about the drunk man searching unsuccessfully for his keys under the streetlight? After a few minutes the policeman asks if he is sure he lost them here, and the drunk replies, no, and that he lost them in the park. The policeman asks why he is searching here, and the drunk replies, […]
Lactivist gaslighting in the wake of a suicide due to breastfeeding pressure
Let’s try a thought experiment. Imagine I told you a story about a 16 year old girl who committed suicide because she was bullied for being overweight. She felt herself to be surrounded by messages that women who aren’t thin are worthless. She was surrounded by peers who claimed she was ugly and worthless. Everyone […]
Killing kids with quackery
Homebirth kills babies; pressure to exclusively breastfeed injures and kills babies and mothers; anti-vaccine advocacy kills children of all ages. All three are part of the larger societal trend of killing kids with quackery. Of course no parent intends to maim or kill her child by embracing quackery; in general “natural” parents are busily preening […]
New mother commits suicide over breastfeeding pressure
The suicide of a young mother is an unspeakable tragedy: Thirty-two-year-old Florence Leung went missing without an explanation in late October, causing New Westminster police to launch a massive search. It was revealed she was suffering from postpartum depression and her family was concerned about her well-being. On Nov. 16, Leung’s body was found in […]
Breastfeeding advocacy is not about convincing women to breastfeed? Tell me another one.
Yesterday I came across a remarkable claim. Pediatrician and breastfeeding advocate Dr. Daniel Flanders wrote this on Twitter. Breastfeeding advocacy is not about convincing moms to breastfeed; it is about enabling and supporting their success if they choose to. Really? Really??!! On what planet is breastfeeding not about convincing moms to breastfeed? Surely not this […]
Of peanuts, breastmilk and faulty medical recommendations
What do peanuts, the cause of deadly allergies, and breastmilk, the purported “elixir of life,” have in common? Both have been the subject of medical recommendations that are wrong, based on weak science, implemented without adequate studies, involving failure to consider risks as well as benefits. [pullquote […]
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
