The Skeptical OB

The benefits of breastfeeding for term babies in industrialized countries are trivial. So why is there is panic around breastfeeding rates? Because breastfeeding functions as a class signifier. It’s not about what a baby needs; it’s about a mother and how she wishes to present herself to other women. I’m not the only person who […]

The principle is called Occam’s Razor. It is sometimes paraphrased by a statement like “the simplest solution is most likely the right one” … The Wikipedia article notes that possible explanations can become needlessly complex. It might be coherent, for instance, to add the involvement of leprechauns to any explanation … Those complex explanations are […]

Lactivists seem to have a lot of difficulty with basic reading comprehension. No matter how firmly I write — no matter how blunt I am, no matter how small and simple the words I use: “I believe X.” lactivists routinely respond with: “So what you’re saying is Y.” No, if I wanted to say Y, […]

One of the most amazing traits of human beings is the ability to empathize with others. We don’t have to lose a parent to imagine how devastating the loss of a parent could be and therefore we offer our support. We don’t have to experience a divorce to imagine how devastating the end of a […]