The Skeptical OB

Do the purported benefits of breastfeeding really exist or are they merely artifacts of wealth, health and privilege. A new paper dramatically demonstrates what happens to the benefits of breastfeeding when you take confounding variables into account. The paper is To what extent does confounding explain the association between breastfeeding duration and cognitive development up […]

The organizing principle of contemporary mothering ideology (aka attachment parenting) is NOT nature as its proponents like to pretend. It’s not intuition as its most stalwart ideologues insist. And it’s certainly not science. The organizing principle of contemporary mothering ideology is FEAR. Every aspect, from natural childbirth to breastfeeding to baby wearing, is designed to […]

One of the greatest ironies of radical feminism is that it is both disrespectful to women and harmful to the feminist project. Consider this comment left on my Facebook page by a radical feminist: [H]ow does anyone, not only women, make decisions in a patriarchal society that aren’t limited by patriarchal structures? Have you developed […]

I spend my days wrangling with science denialists on the Skeptical OB Facebook page. I don’t really argue with them since a doctor can no more argue science with a denialist than a mathematician can argue calculus with a four year old. Neither denialists nor four year olds know enough to come to grips with […]

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 […]