The other day, while poking around on the Interwebs, I ran across a quote that I’ve seen more than once, never attributed, along the lines of: To the believer, no proof is required; to the skeptic, no proof is sufficient. Though this statement is partially accurate — a person who believes in God, for instance,…
One of the most common questions I get from SquintMom readers is along the lines of is item/substance/compound XYZ toxic? I’d like to go ahead and answer this once and for all: YES, it is. Now let me explain what I mean, and how I can answer this very generic question in a catch-all way…
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the week of April 21, 2012 to be World Immunization Week. The purpose of the initiative is to spread information about the importance and safety of vaccines. The question are vaccines safe and effective? weighs heavily on many parents. I’ll admit that even I, as staunch an advocate…
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the week of April 21, 2012 to be World Immunization Week. The purpose of the initiative is to spread information about the importance and safety of vaccines. Immunizations protect children and save lives. However, the idea of a shot (or two, or three) can be intimidating to young…
Misconceptions and fear have been fueling the anti-vaccination movement in recent years, particularly with regard to the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. This is in part because a study published in The Lancet that linked the MMR vaccine to autism (Wakefield et al). In addition to rampant misinformation spread via the Internet, the Wakefield…
There are two interesting studies on breast milk as an analgesic (pain reliever) in this month’s issue of Pediatrics. Each compares the effects of breast milk to those of oral sugar (either glucose or sucrose) for relieving pain during the ubiquitous neonatal heel stick procedure. The first study looked at late preterm infants (gestational age…
Vaccinations. Circumcisions. Birthing interventions. These are among the parenting topics that stir up strong feelings and can lead to the exchange of strong words. The recent heated debate over a circumcision post I wrote is one example of this, but there are countless others in fora and on blogs all over the web. In any…
With W’s first birthday behind us, we’ve got 12-month shots in our immediate future. In addition to the panoply of vaccinations she’s been getting at her shot visits for the last year, she’s up for MMR and varicella (chickenpox) this time around. The MMR shot is one I am fervently in favor of, despite the…
This post is the continuation of last week’s rebuttal of a recent article published on Mothering.com by Jennifer Margulis, entitled “Pregnancy and the Flu Shot.” Margulis’ article continues with another anecdote (calling to mind a quote I love, often attributed to Roger Brinner, which states: “The plural of anecdote is not data”). This time, the…
Mothering magazine, once a monthly printed periodical, is now an Internet-only resource for “attachment” or “gentle” methods of parenting (see this great article from Science of Mom that neatly sums up the problems with parenting-style labels). While I’ve occasionally found some useful nuggets among the articles published at Mothering.com, I’m distressed by the complete failure…
