Baby: Manual Not Included

The government’s Science and Technology Sub-Committee recently heard evidence on the efficacy of Homeopathy from many experts and scientists in the field. Today, they have concluded that the NHS should cease funding homeopathy:

“It also concludes that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) should not allow homeopathic product labels to make medical claims without evidence of efficacy…

The Committee carried out an evidence check to test if the Government’s policies on homeopathy were based on sound evidence…..the Government acknowledges there is no evidence that homeopathy works beyond the placebo effect (where a patient gets better because of their belief in the treatment).”¹

Homeopathy is a commonly suggested remedy for pregnant women, babies and children. The NHS even has four homeopathic hospitals and estimates it spends around £4million a year on homeopathic treatments² (not including running and maintaining the hospitals). The USA is alleged to have spent close to half a billion dollars on homeopathy in 1999. Personally, I have heard of people having real success with teething granules and our midwife suggested homeopathic arnica tablets post birth. Others say there is no scientific evidence that homeopathy is any more effective than taking a sugar tablet.

Why is homeopathy so revered by some and reviled by others? Should you and your baby take homeopathic remedies?

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My first blog! I decided to write a little about co-sleeping, the research for and against, and our own choices. What started out as a little blog quickly turned into a 4000 word thesis. So, I’ve put a few extracts here and a link to the larger article, which gives much more information. I think this may be the way it is for many topics on here!

3 in the bed and the little one said…..

Co-sleeping and bed sharing: This was one of the first “controversial” areas we ventured into. There is a lot of misinformation about co-sleeping in books, on the net, and from professionals. It is very very difficult to make an evidence-based decision about bed sharing – if it is what you think you may want to do.

When pregnant I was adamant that I would never put X in bed with us. What if I rolled onto him? Don’t all the guidelines say never sleep with your baby? But I developed Bursitis in my shoulder from lifting X in and out of his Moses basket to feed him. I was knackered from trying to feed sitting up as I worried about falling asleep if I fed lying on my side. I even had raw elbows from propping myself up in bed on my elbow to check on him in the night… is he still breathing??

So, we had to make a call – do we put the baby in bed with us or not?

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