I get frustrated daily with the misuse of science by both scientists and non-scientists. Every good social media argument has someone claiming “science” in a gotcha moment, usually not understanding what science even is. Every medical conference I attend is smattered with folks holding their coffee cups with both hands smattering about “data” while not […]
A small pilot study of the effects of eating the placenta after birth (usually through encapsulation) was published this week. Not surprisingly, the study, published in Women and Birth, an Australian midwifery journal, found that consuming one’s placenta had no effect on maternal mood, maternal fatigue, or maternal-infant bonding, despite the bias of the authors towards […]
Vitamin D. This is exactly the sort of thing I write about regularly that drives me crazy. Physicians and patients never seem to appreciate when they are being manipulated and used by others for financial gain. This excellent new exposé in the New York Times details the conflicts of interest, behind-the-scenes payments, and denial-of-science behind […]
It, unfortunately, happens that a physician who works hard to practice evidence-based medicine sometimes appear as an outlier compared to other physicians. In Obstetrics, this is most palpable when patients present who have had care with others doctors in the current or a previous pregnancy. They, naturally, compare what I do to what the other guys did. So, I’m […]
There are a lot of things wrong with medicine today. A lot. But they aren’t the things most people typically focus on. I genuinely believe that the number one problem with our healthcare system is the people in it and how they are compelled to behave. I started down this somewhat offensive pathway here in […]
In the movie Edge of Darkness, Mel Gibson plays a cop whose daughter was murdered in front of him. During the movie, he uncovers the conspiracy that led to her murder and he discovers that one of his closest and oldest friends, Bill, a fellow cop, was in on it. In a dramatic scene in his […]
I wrote a short piece recently about the safety and efficacy of vaccines that has now been read almost half a million times. Hundreds of messages, comments, and emails later, I’ve learned that I am both the best thing since sliced bread and also a horrible human being who will rot in hell. I was […]
Here was a conversation in recent car ride: Daughter: Penny has 5 children, 1st is January, 2nd kid February, 3rd is called March, 4th is April. What is the name of the 5th Me (after considerable, don’t-want-to-be-shown-up-again thought): I don’t know. Tell me. Daughter: What is the name of the 5th child. Me: I don’t know! […]
A newborn with congenital rubella. Many of my patients choose not to vaccinate their children. I welcome these patients and, frankly, love each of them. I love that they are passionate about their responsibility as moms and take the time to research and educate themselves about things that affect their kids. I love that they […]
Headlines are everything. They frame the way we read an article, how we remember it, and whether we choose to read it in the first place. In the world of click-bait journalism, authors have become experts at crafting headlines to maximum effect – even if it means lying or at least misleading. This dangerous trend […]
