Quote:
Originally Posted by peter12
A lot of this stuff goes unchecked at the parenting level. The Internet just makes it worse. Look at the revival of the doula/midwife "profession." Absolutely insane what these morons get away with telling pregnant women.
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Midwives are a tricky one, only because there are some (but obviously not all) who are essentially labour and delivery nurses in everything but name, and give scientifically sound care during pregnancy with the benefit of reliving some burden on our hospitals. This is problematic in a number of respects though, because the belief system of midwifery allows for things like home births and all that which is incompatible with having the best care available if needed (which requires being close by the specialists in the hospital). For a lot of people with uncomplicated pregnancies, experienced midwives who have been brought up in western medicine are a great compliment to our health care system and a tool to ease the volume burden on our obstetricians. However, I personally only feel they should be supported as a complimentary service that still requires hospital deliveries for uncomplicated pregnancies, where the specialists are available if necessary.
Doula's are just supposed to be an emotional support person for the mom. They are not a replacement for clinical care. Lots of otherwise normal people have used doulas for various reasons (husband out of town and can't come back for a birth, so nice to have a support person who knows a bit about birth with you to provide emotional support during childbirth). Any doula who tries to practice outside that narrow field or promote a birth agenda that is contrary to best clinical practices or any of the other crap that can come along with it is problematic as well though.
When it comes to health care, anything that can ease the costs and expenses on our system and is not incompatible with best clinical practices and doesnt put anyone, especially a newborn, at higher risk, can and should be contemplated where possible. In a perfect world, everyone would have a top rated ob/gyn and a team of experienced L&D nurses available, but we also have to balance costs, which is where these other providers can come into play. To me, that's a bit different than outright quackery.