🔗 Share this article

Despite all the proven advances of modern medicine, some people are drawn to alternative or “holistic” remedies and approaches. Many of these are not dangerous. As one cancer specialist noted in the past year, people undergoing cancer treatment will often try meditation or vitamins too. When such a practice is in addition to, and not instead of, evidence-based treatment, this is usually not a problem. If it reduces distress, it can be beneficial.

The Rise of Digital Wellness Influencers

But the explosion of online health influencers poses challenges that governments and oversight bodies in many countries have yet to grasp. A recent inquiry into one such organization offering membership and advice to pregnant mothers has revealed dozens cases of late-term fetal deaths or other serious harm involving mothers or birth attendants associated with it. While the entity is based in North Carolina, its influence is global.

“Across whole populations, going through labour and birth without professional support is linked to higher levels of risk for mother and baby,” according to a expert of midwifery.

Understanding the Dangers and Context

Giving birth without medical assistance, sometimes called free birth, is permitted in nations including the UK and US. The risks are not well understood due to a absence of reliable information. Childbirth can be a frightening experience, and excellent care is far from guaranteed. In England, a alarming recent report found two-thirds of maternity units to be unsafe or in need of improvement.

Criticisms of medical systems and specific, persistent issues with maternity care are in many cases justified. A significant number of the women spoken to for the investigation had in the past experienced traumatic births.

Distrust and the Spread of Falsehoods

But while distrust of institutions may be rooted in experience, it has also become a breeding ground for other influencers seeking followers to their unorthodox methods and DIY ethos. During the pandemic, a “well-being” industry supposedly focused on healthy living was implicated in spreading falsehoods about vaccines and fuelling suspicion about government advice.

Concern is growing that such beliefs are acquiring more general purchase. One presentation 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 rebellious community lies an operation that trains women as social media influencers as in addition to birth attendants. The organization does not claim to be a certified medical provider.

The Requirement for Safeguards and Improvements

There is no going back to a time when doctors were assumed to know best. Vast quantities of scientific research are made available online and many people use these to beneficial effect. But there is also a critical necessity for safeguards from dangerous advice. It is widely understood that the automated systems used by tech companies promote increasingly sensational content.

In the UK, improvements to childbirth care cannot come soon enough. They must include the choice of home birth and the provision of data to support women in making decisions. Ministers and bodies such as the World Health Organization should also create strategies for the information ecosystem so that science-based healthcare is not undermined.