🔗 Share this article

Despite all the established advances of modern medicine, some people are attracted to non-traditional or “natural” remedies and approaches. Many of these are not dangerous. As one cancer specialist noted recently, people receiving cancer treatment will often try meditation or vitamins too. When such a practice is alongside, and not instead of, scientifically-backed treatment, this is typically not a problem. If it reduces distress, it can help.

The Rise of Online Health Figures

But the explosion of online health influencers poses challenges that governments and oversight bodies in many countries have yet to grasp. An investigation into a particular organization providing membership and advice to pregnant mothers has exposed numerous cases of third-trimester fetal deaths or other severe injury connected to mothers or birth attendants linked with it. While the company is headquartered in North Carolina, its influence is international.

“For whole populations, going through labour and birth without skilled support is associated with higher levels of risk for mother and baby,” as stated by a professor of midwifery.

Understanding the Risks and Context

Childbirth without medical assistance, sometimes called free birth, is permitted in nations including the UK and US. The potential dangers are not well understood due to a lack of data. Childbirth can be a frightening experience, and high-quality care is not guaranteed. In England, a shocking recently published report found two-thirds of maternity units to be unsafe or in need of improvement.

Concerns of medical systems and particular, longstanding issues with maternity care are in many cases valid. A significant number of the women interviewed for the inquiry had in the past undergone traumatic births.

Distrust and the Proliferation of Falsehoods

But while distrust of institutions may be based on experience, it has also proved to be a breeding ground for other influencers looking for converts to their unorthodox methods and DIY ethos. During the pandemic, a “wellness” industry supposedly focused on healthy living was implicated in spreading lies about vaccines and fuelling paranoia about government advice.

Worry is growing that such beliefs are acquiring more widespread purchase. One paper given at a medical symposium focused on misinformation, which it said had “significantly deteriorated in the past decade”. The inquiry shows that behind the facade of an anti-establishment sisterhood lies an operation that coaches women as social media influencers as well as birth attendants. The group does not claim to be a qualified medical provider.

The Requirement for Safeguards and Reforms

There is no turning the clock back to a time when doctors were presumed to know best. Huge quantities of scientific research are published online and many people use these to positive effect. But there is also a critical necessity for safeguards from dangerous advice. It is well known that the automated systems used by tech companies reward increasingly sensational content.

In the UK, necessary reforms to childbirth care cannot come soon enough. They must include the option of home birth and the provision of data to support women in making decisions. Policymakers and organizations such as the World Health Organization should also develop plans for the online information landscape so that evidence-based healthcare is not undermined.