This column is written by a group of experts consisting of obstetricians, midwives, physiotherapists, dietitians, speech therapists, nurses, paediatricians, gynecologists, general practitioners, medical specialists, pharmacists and dentists who are members of the No FakeMed collective.
Has a baby arrived in your family? A happy event, but very quickly euphoria gives way to questions and concerns. It is legitimate, you want the best for your children; however, they do not come with instructions. But be careful. At the request of young parents, who do not always find an attentive ear in the traditional care system, there is an offer from many “practitioners”, most often from the non-caring world.
These so-called therapists, without any medical training, coaches, trainers, energy specialists, naturopaths, doulas offer all kinds of “alternative” or “natural” medicine and are doing a booming business, from assisted birth to early childhood through pregnancy and birth. : . Their intentions are not necessarily good for you or your child. Blinded by the beliefs they want you to share at all costs, they play on your fears, your guilt, authoritative arguments, pseudo-scientific jargon, bogus studies and offer you a miracle solution. For everything that’s going on with your baby, his crying, stomach aches, teething pains, breastfeeding or sleeping difficulties…
We as caregivers know that your child’s anxieties, worries and symptoms are real. There is absolutely no question of minimizing or denying them, and even when they are physiological, that is, “normal”, they sometimes deserve a diagnosis (even if it was “everything is fine”) that is only health care. the specialist has the right to ask.
It is not advisable to offer these useless and sometimes dangerous false medicalizations to your children from an early age. In the short term, you believe the effect is beneficial because you were cared for and listened to during the consultation. This is called the placebo effect, and it is magnified by the fact that you are paying for this service. But this is not medical care, and these practices, in addition to being expensive, can have real negative effects on your baby, his comfort, and you. Your child needs attention, love and affection. Don’t let anyone impose “fakes” on him.
Offers of unsubstantiated methods, presented as miracle cures, flourish. We have selected here four of them that we find particularly problematic because of their undeserved success and/or the risks they pose:
Osteopathy. dangerous for babies
The use of osteopathy for babies and infants should be absolutely banned and we are fighting against this increasingly co-ordinated care in maternity wards and at home. In order to justify the manipulations, a syndrome was even invented from scratch, the “Kissing Syndrome”. Know that it does not exist and is not based on any diagnostic or scientific basis.
A healthy child does not need manipulation. bones and organs do not move automatically either during or after childbirth. Any manipulation of the baby after birth is unnecessary and can be dangerous. Manipulation of the skull, face and spine of infants under six months of age is also prohibited by law for osteopaths who are not health professionals.
On the other hand, discomfort and pain can be managed with non-drug and safe treatments such as massages, baby wearing and above all, reassurance to parents by trained professionals.
Section on frostbite of tongues
The frenulum is a small piece of flesh that connects the tongue to the floor of the mouth, and it is abnormally short in 5-10% of the population without always causing a problem.
However, we are witnessing an explosion of lingual (even labial and buccal) frenotomies. Difficulties with breastfeeding are increasingly wrongly associated with extremely short tongue ties, and early medical intervention is recommended. However, as the international scientific consensus shows, it does not guarantee the improvement of these difficulties or the prevention of language disorders, and has not proven its effectiveness in the case of sleep apnea, gastro-intestinal reflux, esophagus or food diversification, including preventive problems.
There can be local complications in terms of scarring or even bleeding, and ultimately this gesture, presented as harmless, can interfere with breastfeeding and then your baby’s diet.
Therefore, this intervention is not justified at all. Of course, the challenges of breastfeeding are real, and successful initiation of breastfeeding is not necessarily straightforward. But these difficulties often have another reason, and trained health professionals will be able to give you wise advice.
Aromatherapy. many side effects
We are also seeing an increase in the use of essential oils in all stages of motherhood, before to “enhance” fertility, during pregnancy to ease ailments, in children to treat common viruses.
But aromatherapy is in no way an alternative medicine, oils extracted from plants are highly concentrated, have real medical effects and side effects that we don’t tell you about.
The benefits of essential oils are more often claimed than proven, and their quality is not always backed up by the growing trade in the guise of “natural” products. Some essential oils contain neurotoxic compounds (ketones, terpenes), can cause miscarriages, interfere with the hormonal system and fetal development. Most are contraindicated in pregnancy, lactation and small children under 6 years of age.
Amber necklaces, useless and responsible for death
Supposed to help teeth come out painlessly, they are useless and are responsible for about thirty deaths by strangulation in France every year. Teething is a normal event in a child’s development, and when it is painful, there are much more reliable ways to relieve it, such as colds, chew toys, massaging the painful areas or even taking analgesics as prescribed by the doctor. .
These four examples are just a few of the countless “fakes” offered to young parents. We are concerned about the rise of power, which seems to us to be clearly abusive. They are largely useless, costly to families and can have a real negative impact on child care or even delay care. We are also concerned about the permeability of some health professionals who allow themselves to be seduced by these unwarranted practices or fail to question them, perpetuating a troubling confusion.
Therefore, we call on professional orders and health authorities to be real players in this fight for patient safety, especially for the youngest. A few large-scale actions and important updates seem essential to us. Therefore, we call on caregivers and health authorities.
Strengthen the network around perinatal care consisting of midwives, pediatric nurses, speech therapists, physiotherapists, paediatricians, gynecologists and general practitioners. Prevention, listening, acceptance activities in PMI must be strengthened and their measures made permanent.
Classification of health education which too often give pride of place to illusory practices. Health authorities must make medicine the first principle: do no harm. This could lead to the removal of these inappropriate methods from PMIs, pharmacies and maternity hospitals.
Strictly regulate the use of osteopathy with clear and fair information provided to parents and patients in general.
Conduct an audit in the face of a worrying increase in lingual frenotomies.
Make health promotion and education a national causebased on reliable and valid scientific sources.
Your child will grow up and blossom, bringing his share of difficulties, you will be exhausted, you will want to scream, cry, but the most important thing is to bring him the best. Childcare should be provided by health and early childhood professionals as appropriate. All other offers are just “fake medicine” and it must be stopped.
Source: Le Figaro
