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What happened to Birthpedia?

Two days ago I posted this on Facebook: “Really, Dr. Shah? I’m shocked that Neel Shah is a part of a for profit birth website that features advocates of pseudoscience and poor practice, including Ina May Gaskin, Michel Odent, Brad Bootstaylor, Barbara Harper and a chiropractor, among others… [pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Who […]

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What does breastfeeding have in common with vitamins? It’s not what you think.

The NYTimes article Older Americans Are ‘Hooked’ on Vitamins starts with an anecdote: When she was a young physician, Dr. Martha Gulati noticed that many of her mentors were prescribing vitamin E and folic acid to patients. Preliminary studies in the early 1990s had linked both supplements to a lower risk of heart disease. She […]

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Amy Brown condemns bottle propping but ignores the more deadly practice of co-sleeping

The hypocrisy of professional lactivists is truly mind blowing! Take Amy Brown’s latest piece on The Conversation, Baby bottle propping isn’t just dangerous – it’s a sign of a broken society, a polemic against products that prop bottles: How on earth have we got to the point where bottle propping is the solution? Why are […]

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What if formula harmed as many babies as breastfeeding does?

For years I’ve been pointing out that the promised benefits of breastfeeding have failed to materialize. Although lactation professionals like Melissa Bartick, MD have continued to write papers modeling the purported savings of both lives and healthcare dollars, with the exception of extremely premature babies neither she nor anyone else can point to any lives […]

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Lactivism and the hallmarks of pseudoscience

On the first day of medical school, they tell students that half of what they are about to learn will be overturned or changed in the next five years; the problem is that we don’t know which half. But the hallmark of science is that new information challenges old certainties and doctors must change their […]

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Hey, Fatso, we have some breastfeeding advice for you

Information for Porky Patients from Smug-Bigoted Maternity Hospital Welcome to Smug-Bigoted Maternity Hospital! We know how frightening and disruptive hospital admission can be and we want to tell you we are are sorry that a big honking whale like you has been admitted. We’re not just sorry for you; we’re sorry for ourselves. Do you […]

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What do midwives and lactation consultants have in common with right wing trolls?

Who could possibly be so heartless as to claim that the survivors of the Parkland high school shooting are actors faking their distress? How vicious do you have to taunt the parents of the first graders massacred at Sandy Hook elementary school? How could anyone with a modicum of compassion insist that the Pulse night […]

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5 lies my lactation consultant told me

Another day, another “study” of breastfeeding based on ignorance and ideology. When I first saw the article from Manchester University, Research reveals why obese mothers less likely to breastfeed, I thought it would be about insulin resistance. After all, insulin resistance, a common complication of obesity, has been found to affect production of breastmilk. [pullquote […]

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Latest data on US maternal mortality confirms it is a problem of race and healthcare disparities

The ongoing series on by ProPublica has shined light on the serious problem of US maternal mortality. Interestingly the series evolved over time, initially framing the problem with a story of a privileged white woman who was a victim of malpractice and ultimately recognizing that it is a problem of race and healthcare disparities. Perhaps […]

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File Hannah Dahlen’s latest paper under D for Duh!

What if I told you that people who take insulin are more likely to develop blindness than those who don’t? Duh! Blindness is a known complication of diabetes and insulin is a treatment for diabetes. It’s the diabetes that causes blindness NOT the insulin. The real issue is whether diabetics who take insulin are more […]

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