Pregnancy and pediatric "advice" comes from all directions when you're a soon-to-be parent, and most of it is scientifically dubious. In part one, I examined the potentially harmful suggestions my wife and I received from friends and family. This time, I'll cover the less deadly but still ridiculous recommendations.
pregnancy
It's no walk in the park to be born, for mom or baby. A new study hopes to shed light on just how stressful an average, uneventful delivery is on the fetal head and brain.
When it comes to delivery location, the stakes are too high to add a risk factor or hurdle to childbirth. Hospital births are the safest choice.
While some argue that a continued decline in the birth rate will merit a failed replacement rate for the overall population, it's time to take a pause and appreciate the nuances in these observed trends.
Before any misinformation spreads, it's important to unpack the real significance of surpassing a due date for mother and infant.
A new study that says oral sex can prevent miscarriage predictably has gone viral, thanks mostly to the rather excitable British tabloids. But is it true? If it is, the study doesn't even come close to confirming the hypothesis.
With childbirth, the stakes are too high to add a risk factor or another hurdle. A healthy mom and healthy baby should be the goal of any delivery.
Though Hollywood features can be quite dramatic, the real thing can provide much more entertainment.
With women opting for "free birth" or "unassisted birth" the stakes are only getting higher. Dismissing medical advice is also taking the form of a misguided practice of prolonging delivery well beyond due dates.
A new study on this form of diabetes, which is developed during pregnancy, puts forth the idea that simply watching what pregnant women eat and how much they exercise is sufficient prevention. However, it's important to note that doing one without the other is problematic.
Branding normal phases of development and transitions have become a thing, mainly to sell books more than identify any new discovery. That said, the first three months of a baby’s life after birth and mom’s postpartum period is a rather unique time for many reasons.
Ideology, not medical reality, has infected much of modern parenting. The most compelling pediatric articles -- centered around misguided activism that still persists -- focused on infant feeding, vaccines and mom-shaming.