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Despite all the established progress of modern medicine, some people are attracted to non-traditional or “holistic” cures and practices. Many of these are not dangerous. 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 usually not a concern. If it reduces distress, it can be beneficial.

The Rise of Online Wellness Influencers

But the proliferation of online health influencers poses challenges that governments and oversight bodies in many countries have yet to grasp. An investigation into one such organization providing membership and advice to expectant mothers has exposed dozens cases of third-trimester stillbirths or other severe injury involving mothers or birth attendants associated with it. While the entity is headquartered in North Carolina, its reach is global.

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

Examining the Risks and Background

Childbirth without medical assistance, sometimes called free birth, is permitted in countries including the UK and US. The potential dangers are not well understood due to a absence of data. Childbirth can be a daunting prospect, and excellent care is not guaranteed. In England, a alarming recent report found a large majority of maternity units to be unsafe or in need of improvement.

Concerns of medical systems and specific, longstanding issues with maternity care are in many cases justified. A significant number of the women interviewed for the investigation had in the past undergone distressing births.

Distrust and the Spread of Falsehoods

But while distrust of established systems may be rooted in experience, it has also become a fertile ground for other influencers seeking converts to their unconventional methods and DIY philosophy. During the pandemic, a “wellness” industry supposedly focused on healthy living was implicated in disseminating falsehoods about vaccines and fuelling paranoia about official advice.

Concern is growing that such ideas are gaining more general traction. 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 image of an anti-establishment sisterhood lies an operation that trains women as social media influencers as well as birth attendants. The organization does not present itself to be a qualified medical provider.

The Requirement for Safeguards and Improvements

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 widely understood that the algorithms used by tech companies promote increasingly sensational content.

In the UK, necessary reforms to childbirth care cannot come soon enough. They should include the choice of home birth and the provision of clear information to support women in making decisions. Policymakers and organizations including the World Health Organization should also develop plans for the information ecosystem so that science-based healthcare is not undermined.