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Despite all the proven progress of modern medicine, certain people are attracted to alternative or “natural” remedies and practices. Many of these are not dangerous. As one cancer specialist noted recently, people undergoing cancer treatment will frequently try meditation or vitamins too. When such a change is in addition to, and not instead of, evidence-based treatment, this is typically not a problem. If it reduces distress, it can be beneficial.

The Proliferation of Digital Wellness Figures

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 one such organization providing membership and advice to expectant mothers has revealed dozens cases of late-term fetal deaths or other severe injury involving mothers or birth attendants associated with it. While the entity is based in North Carolina, its reach is international.

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

Examining the Dangers and Context

Giving birth without medical assistance, sometimes called free birth, is legal in nations including the UK and US. The risks are not well understood due to a absence of data. Childbirth can be a daunting prospect, and excellent care is far from guaranteed. In England, a shocking recent report found two-thirds of hospital maternity services to be unsafe or in need of improvement.

Criticisms 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 experienced traumatic births.

Distrust and the Proliferation of Falsehoods

But while mistrust of established systems may be rooted in experience, it has also proved to be a fertile ground for other influencers looking for followers to their unorthodox methods and DIY philosophy. During the pandemic, a “well-being” industry ostensibly focused on healthy living was implicated in disseminating falsehoods about vaccines and fuelling paranoia about official advice.

Worry is rising that such ideas are gaining more widespread purchase. One presentation given at a medical symposium focused on misinformation, which it said had “acutely worsened in the past decade”. The inquiry shows that behind the image of an anti-establishment community lies an enterprise that coaches women as social media influencers as well as birth attendants. The group does not claim to be a qualified medical provider.

The Requirement for Protections and Reforms

There is no turning the clock back to a time when doctors were presumed to know best. Huge quantities of scientific research are made available online and many people use these to positive effect. But there is also a need for protections from dangerous advice. It is widely understood that the automated systems used by tech companies reward increasingly sensational content.

In the UK, necessary reforms to maternity services are urgently needed. They must include the choice of home birth and the provision of clear information to empower women in making decisions. Policymakers and organizations such as the World Health Organization should also create strategies for the information ecosystem so that science-based healthcare is not compromised.