🔗 Share this article

Despite all the established progress of contemporary medicine, certain people are attracted to non-traditional or “holistic” remedies and practices. A number of these do no harm. As a cancer specialist noted in the past year, people receiving cancer treatment will frequently try meditation or vitamins as well. When such a practice is alongside, and not in place of, evidence-based treatment, this is usually not a problem. If it reduces distress, it can be beneficial.

The Rise of Online Wellness Influencers

But the proliferation of online health influencers presents problems that authorities and oversight bodies in many countries have not fully understood. A recent inquiry into a particular organization providing membership and advice to expectant mothers has revealed numerous cases of late-term fetal deaths or other serious harm connected to mothers or birth attendants linked with it. While the entity is based in North Carolina, its reach is international.

“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 expert of midwifery.

Examining the Risks and Background

Giving birth without medical assistance, known as free birth, is legal in countries including the UK and US. The risks are poorly documented due to a absence of data. Childbirth can be a frightening experience, and excellent care is far from guaranteed. In England, a alarming recently published report found a large majority of hospital maternity services to be unsafe or in need of improvement.

Concerns of medical systems and specific, longstanding issues with maternity care are in many cases valid. Many of the women spoken to for the inquiry had previously experienced traumatic births.

Distrust and the Spread of Falsehoods

But while mistrust of institutions may be based on experience, it has also proved to be a fertile 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 involved in disseminating falsehoods about vaccines and feeding suspicion about government advice.

Concern is growing that such beliefs are gaining more widespread purchase. One presentation given at a cancer conference focused on misinformation, which it said had “acutely worsened in the past decade”. The inquiry shows that behind the facade of an anti-establishment community lies an enterprise that coaches 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 Protections and Reforms

There is no turning the clock back to a time when doctors were assumed to know best. Huge quantities of scientific research are published online and many people use these to beneficial effect. But there is also a need for protections from poor advice. It is well known that the algorithms used by tech companies reward more extreme content.

In the UK, improvements to maternity services cannot come soon enough. They must include the option of home birth and the provision of data to support women in choosing their care. Policymakers and bodies including the World Health Organization should also create strategies for the online information landscape so that evidence-based healthcare is not compromised.