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Despite all the proven progress of modern medicine, certain people are attracted to alternative or “natural” cures and approaches. Many of these do no harm. As a cancer specialist observed recently, people undergoing cancer treatment will often try meditation or vitamins as well. When such a change is alongside, and not instead of, evidence-based treatment, this is usually not a problem. If it lessens distress, it can be beneficial.

The Proliferation of Online Wellness Influencers

But the explosion of online health influencers presents challenges that governments and regulators in many countries have yet to grasp. An investigation into a particular business providing membership and advice to pregnant mothers has exposed dozens cases of late-term stillbirths or other serious harm involving mothers or birth attendants linked with it. While the entity is based in North Carolina, its influence is global.

“Across 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.

Understanding the Dangers and Context

Giving birth without medical assistance, sometimes called free birth, is legal in nations 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 high-quality care is far from guaranteed. In England, a shocking 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. A significant number of the women interviewed for the inquiry had previously experienced traumatic births.

Distrust and the Proliferation of Falsehoods

But while mistrust of institutions may be rooted in experience, it has also proved to be a breeding ground for other influencers looking for converts to their unconventional methods and DIY ethos. During the pandemic, a “well-being” industry supposedly focused on healthy living was involved in disseminating lies about vaccines and fuelling suspicion about official advice.

Concern is growing that such beliefs are gaining more widespread traction. One presentation given at a medical symposium focused on misinformation, which it said had “acutely worsened in the past decade”. This investigation shows that behind the image of an anti-establishment sisterhood lies an enterprise that trains women as social media influencers as in addition to birth attendants. The organization 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. Huge quantities of scientific research are made available online and many people use these to beneficial effect. But there is also a critical necessity for safeguards from dangerous advice. It is well known that the automated systems used by tech companies promote more extreme content.

In the UK, improvements to childbirth care cannot come soon enough. They should include the choice of home birth and the availability of data to empower women in making decisions. Ministers and bodies including the World Health Organization should also create plans for the online information landscape so that evidence-based healthcare is not compromised.