Category: Science
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Michael Odent Wants Me Dead
I’ve written about Michael Odent before here and here. For those not familiar with him, he is a retired French obstetrician, credited with, among other things, introducing water births. This weekend he got himself a piece in the Guardian to promote his new book: The Birth Of Homo, The Marine Chimpanzee. I’ll be honest, I’ve not…
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The Real Magic Of Pregnancy
I heard something wonderful last week. It came from a pregnancy* exercise teacher at a class I had just joined: “This exercise might be good for the birth, I mean *knowing laugh* it won’t stop it hurting of course, but it might be useful” Embed from Getty Images //embed.gettyimages.com/embed/462946585?et=oGUQF9ltTMtO0rYnENBe5A&viewMoreLink=off&sig=rpTV9ysvT9lS_iMEY6HYnQCCYGXJY4XczEq4tQVJTZc=&caption=true It seems like a pretty minor…
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Caesareans May Be Altering Human Evolution. But Not Much, And I Don’t Care.
According to reports on the BBC (and elsewhere) today, the number of women having C sections is causing our species to evolve bigger heads and / or smaller pelvises and so we are becoming less able to give birth without surgical help. The Miami Herald got particularly upset declaring: “C-Sections Are Increasing Because We’re Messing…
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The Unreal World Of The Academic Scientist
I’m an academic (more or less). Which is great because it means I don’t live in the “real world”. No, I was born into a magical land where all I’ve ever had to do is sit in nice places (mostly Gothic in style), and think. I’ve definitely never worked in dull, crappy jobs to pay…
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Surprise! Dolls Don’t Stop Teenage Pregnancy
A young woman is woken in the middle of the night by the sound of crying. This is the third time so far and she is exhausted. She pushes back the duvet and swings her cold feet to the floor, wondering what awaits her, another feed, another wet nappy? What has the programming decided to…
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A Mum’s Guide To Dodgy Science: Cause v Correlation
Time for another in my (very) occasional series of posts giving you tips on how to spot a dubious science story. The previous posts covered Publication By Press Release and the problem of Comparing People To Petri Dishes. This one has a few less P’s in it but it’s a biggy, something that crops up…
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Would Women Be 50% Better Off Not Getting Their Health Facts From Jamie Oliver?
Celebrity chef turned healthy eating campaigner, Jamie Oliver, has been telling us all about the wonders of breastfeeding – Queue backlash and counter backlash but has he got a point and do his stats stack up? Embed from Getty Images //embed.gettyimages.com/embed/543731511?et=hZcAOr2zSqhJ-yDTmFmThQ&viewMoreLink=on&sig=cfSDW1KCjhnIXndtJmZYKsmaCYVUJqwctG_uAb6nqMM= I wasn’t going to, I really wasn’t, but then, yeah, stuff it, it’s my…
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The National Maternity Review – What Does Choice Mean?
The NHS National Maternity Review has called for women to have more choice and greater continuity in their maternity care – yet it was very quiet on some of the choices many women want or need. So what does choice really mean for pregnant women and will the options recommended in the review ever be…
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The Microbiome: Seeding Some Questions
The current next big thing in health news seems to be the Microbiome. According to a growing number of reports it could be involved in everything from Schizophrenia to Obesity. So there has been speculation about where it comes from and if how a baby is born, either vaginally or by C section, could determine…
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A Mum’s Guide To Dodgy Science: From Petri Dishes To People
Time for the second instalment of my “how to spot a dodgy science/health story” series. This one is more well known than Publication By Press Release and is one of the first questions to ask of any article claiming a new discovery kills, cures or otherwise alters your health: Was this study done on humans…
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