🔗 Share this article

Despite all the proven progress of contemporary medicine, certain people are attracted to alternative or “natural” remedies and practices. Many of these do no harm. As one cancer specialist noted recently, people receiving cancer treatment will frequently try meditation or vitamins as well. When such a practice is alongside, and not instead of, scientifically-backed treatment, this is typically not a concern. If it reduces distress, it can be beneficial.

The Rise of Digital Wellness Figures

But the explosion of online health influencers poses problems that governments and regulators in many countries have not fully understood. An investigation into one such business offering membership and advice to pregnant mothers has exposed dozens cases of late-term fetal deaths or other serious harm involving mothers or birth attendants associated with it. While the company is based in North Carolina, its influence is global.

“For whole populations, going through labour and birth without professional support is associated with higher levels of risk for mother and baby,” according to a professor of midwifery.

Examining the Dangers and Background

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 data. Childbirth can be a frightening prospect, and high-quality care is far from guaranteed. In England, a shocking recently published report found a large majority of maternity units to be unsafe or in need of improvement.

Concerns of medical systems and particular, persistent issues with maternity care are in many cases valid. Many of the women spoken to for the investigation had in the past undergone distressing births.

Skepticism and the Proliferation of Misinformation

But while mistrust 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 “wellness” industry supposedly focused on healthy living was implicated in disseminating lies about vaccines and fuelling paranoia about government advice.

Concern is rising that such beliefs are acquiring more widespread purchase. One presentation given at a cancer conference focused on misinformation, which it said had “significantly deteriorated in the past decade”. This investigation shows that behind the facade of an anti-establishment sisterhood lies an enterprise that trains 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 assumed to know best. Vast quantities of scientific research are made available online and many people use these to positive effect. But there is also a need for safeguards from dangerous advice. It is well known that the algorithms used by tech companies reward more extreme content.

In the UK, necessary reforms to maternity services are urgently needed. They must include the option of home birth and the availability of data to empower women in choosing their care. Policymakers and bodies such as the World Health Organization should also create plans for the online information landscape so that evidence-based healthcare is not compromised.