Another great Lauren Becker commentary on this week’s episode. It was about “alternative medicine”. I would love for more skeptics/scientists/secular humanists to explore this topic in more detail. As Lauren pointed out, part of the issue is really the health care industry. I completely agree. It’s difficult being someone who values science and western medicine to defend the health care situation in the U.S. It’s awful. Of course, to jump to the conclusion that “alternative” solutions, which may range from inneffective to harmful, are better in some way doesn’t follow.
I think scientific-minded people better acknowledge some of the major problems that face the industry. Otherwise, you come off looking pretty naive. Here in Massachusetts, most college-educated women that I know are dealing with some major problems with the industry when it comes to birth. Because of the financial considerations and time constraints facing health care providers, women are discovering that birth is a medical procedure - usually a C-section. Most of these C-sections are unnecessary and cause other complications. C-section rates in the U.S. have skyrocketed. Is this because it is becoming more necessary in order to save the life of the baby? Or is it because the system is designed for speed, efficiency, and convenience?
Anyway, my daughter was born in a hospital, with assistance from a nurse-midwife. My son was born at home with assistance from a midwife. Night and day. Anecdotal - yes. However, I think there’s a reason why educated women are “abandoning” U.S. healthcare systems to have more “natural” births. The reasons are *scientific*. U.S. healthcare has some major problems when the educated among the population must step outside the system in order to get the scientifically-best care they can find.
