Today the publisher of the Toronto Star, Canada’s largest newspaper, wrote that the article “A wonder drug’s dark side” will be removed from the online site. This is 15 days after it was originally published. It obviously still lives on in print and in screen shots, but now at least no anti-vaccine groups will be …
Category Archives: evidence based medicine
Effect of a science fair project on MMR vaccine beliefs in Marin County
Background: Marin County, California has one of the highest rates of vaccine refusal in the country. The reasons for this are not socioeconomic, but rather appear to be based on fixed, false beliefs that the MMR vaccine causes autism, contains “toxins,” has mercury, or is associated with outcomes other than measles immunity. Exhaustive educational attempts …
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“Squirting” during sex is urine – new study
There has long been a controversy about female ejaculation and by this I mean large amounts of fluid or “squirting” during sexual stimulation/orgasm. Some women lubricate very well and there are secretions from the small glands at the vaginal opening so a few milliliters of fluid is very common. But what about those videos that you …
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What ingredient specifically scares you in the flu vaccine and why?
Dangerous ingredients, like toxins, antifreeze, and mercury, are touted by many as reasons to decline vaccination against influenza. However, toxin is an inaccurate term regarding vaccines (a toxin is a poisonous substance made by cells or organisms and is definitely not in any vaccine), mercury is a non issue (see below), and there is no antifreeze …
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10 natural therapies for killer menstrual cramps
Most women report some painful or discomfort with their period. However, some women have killer cramps (the medical term is severe dysmenorrhea) and for many of them life goes on a 3-5 day hold once a month. Period pain is due to release of a substance called prostaglandins from the lining of the uterus during …
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Water birth leads to newborn’s death from Legionella
Water births, delivering a baby so it is born underwater, are controversial medically because while they are promoted as safe and natural by some midwives and lay midwives they are not recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Congress of OB/GYN. (Laboring in a tub in an entirely different thing). The January …
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How does Plan B really work? Don’t ask the Supreme Court, ask an OB/GYN
Never has a medication been more misunderstood than poor Plan B (levonorgestrel or LNG), a post coital contraceptive (a.k.a. morning-after pill). It’s not just Justices Alito, Thomas, Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy and Dr. Hobby Lobby who fail to grasp the mechanism of action, but many other people are confused including journalists (the NY Times has an …
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An OB/GYN’s opinion on the Supreme Court, Hobby Lobby, and contraception
The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, sided with Hobby Lobby (and much of the religious right in the United States) and ruled that a closely held private corporation does not have to provide insurance coverage for certain birth control methods. Justice Alito, speaking for the majority wrote: “The owners of the businesses have religious objections …
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Rocking delivery dogma: induction of labor doesn’t increase c-section rate
There is a widely held belief that induction of labor increases the risk of c-section. This is something that has been widely promoted by many OB/GYNs, nurses, midwives, doulas, and patients alike. I can not tell you how many times I have heard, “Don’t let them induce you.” I think that so many health care …
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Don’t just blame Jenny McCarthy for the measles outbreak, blame Dr. Bob too
Measles is on its way to an all time high. In 2000 Measles was eliminated (meaning some travelers from areas with low vaccine penetration might arrive in the US with the disease, but no case came from US), but has been slowly creeping back. Since 2008 this has been more than a trickle. Let’s put the …
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