Who’s listening to mothers?

In 2006, a survey of 1573 women who’d given birth in a hospital the year before was commissioned by the Childbirth Connection, in association with Lamaze International, called Listening to Mothers II. A previous survey, Listening to Mothers I, was commissioned by those same groups in 2002, with similar bottom lines, to the extent the [...]

Free-range Kids

That’s the name of columnist Lenore Skenazy’s New blog. You know, the Manhattan mom who (Gasp! Horror!) let her 9-year-old come home on the subway by himself. Background story here.
I used to ride the bus to school myself at 7 or so. Admittedly, Jerusalem in the 70s was a pretty quiet place…well, except [...]

Made by a woman. For women.

No, I’m not talking about a certain alternative menstrual product. I’m talking about something Robbie Davis-Floyd, Ph.D, a medical/cultural anthropologist, natural/home birth advocate, and a detractor of the patriarchal, male OB-directed “technocratic model of childbirth”, calls the “perfect technocratic tool”.

Communicating risk/benefit effectively

I’ve written before about how AP/NP advocates misperceive the risks involved in various parenting practices. Aside from the pro-”natural” prejudice they display, I think part of the problem is that the information in medical research – and especially in abstracts, which is what the dons of AP Internet U usually read – is presented in [...]

Weirdest breastfeeding quote ever.

From the rapid responses to this article:
” The purpose of weaning is not to remove milk from the diet. The purpose of weaning is to weaken the maternal-infant bond, so that the infant can be introduced to other people and other food. The maternal bond is the most powerful and enduring relationship in our lives. [...]

Funny, he doesn’t look like Satan

An interview (video) with Dr. Ferber about his sleep method and the new edition of his book. I’m not sure when and where someone decided that Ferber is ‘recanting’; I just reread the old edition of his book, and the interview seems quite consistent with what he said back in 1985. While the method is [...]

Dilemma? Not really.

“But Doctor, I’m sure it’s just a mistake. See, here’s my inoculation booklet. I’ve been vaccinated, for crying out loud!”
Anna* was a 19-year-old newlywed when she decided to do her part for humanity** and donate blood for the first time. A couple of weeks later, she received a letter from Israel’s central blood bank [...]

Holy spacewasting babycages, Batman!

When Katie Allison Granju disdainfully called cribs “spacewasting babycages” in her book about AP, I don’t think she was referring to this.
I know it’s gotta be a joke, but still…eek.
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Score one for screening tests

A little girl was born to a patient of mine last week. As happens to all babies born in hospitals these days, she was subjected to a heel-prick Guthrie Test before discharge.
A couple of days later, the parents got a call from the hospital which does the tests, imploring them to get her thyroid hormone [...]

Just go.

Go now. Read this.
And when you’re finished, go and read this.
Ah…sanity!
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