Eric Crampton • Jan 24, 2015 •
I'd love to see somebody else head into the Stats Datalab and do a bit more digging into recent declines in teenage fertility rates.Teen fertility rates are down but we aren't entirely sure why. The new report commissioned by the Social Policy Evaluati... Read More
Eric Crampton • Apr 26, 2014 •
American kids tend to be born June through September. I'd thought this was generally due to parents planning to hit a September school enrolment cut-off day: in many US states, if your child turns 5 at or before the start of school in September, the ki... Read More
SciBooks • Mar 30, 2014 •
by Heather Clendon REVIEW: The Rise and Fall of National Women’s Hospital – A history by Linda Bryder Auckland University Press. RRP $49.95 When first asked to review this book, I thought it may be a dry and complex read and I, as a retired registered nurse, with no midwifery experience, would have little interest in … Read More
Eric Crampton • Feb 04, 2014 •
Overshadowed (predictably) by Lorde's Grammy wins was Labour's policy announcement. Should Labour form government, they'd like to pay parents $60 per week for the first year of the child's life. 95% of children are meant to be covered by the plan, which is not income contingent for the first $150,000 of family income but abates to zero immediately at … Read More
Eric Crampton • Oct 24, 2013 •
Am I the only one who read the various stories on impending social collapse in Japan and reckoned there to be a potentially large opportunity for a firm that would be happy to hire women on flex-time arrangements? Tyler pointed to one story yesterday;... Read More
Jim McVeagh • Apr 06, 2011 •
The Herald reports on a new study that suggests a link between premature births and proximity to motorways. At first glance this seems like it is intuitively right – all that pollution and carbon monoxide could be expected to produce low birth-weight, premature babies. Unfortunately, this study, which can be accessed in full here (PDF), [...] Related posts: … Read More
Jim McVeagh • Jan 17, 2011 •
There’s a bit of a rumpus going on at the moment in the world of Midwifery. It seems that some brave doctors, paediatrician Dr Mary Fewtrell, of University College London and her colleagues, have published a paper challenging the WHO dogma of six months of breast feeding. The Midwives are all frothing at the mouth [...] Related posts: … Read More
Jim McVeagh • Jun 06, 2010 •
Once more the maternity system in New Zealand is under fire in the Dominion post, with a couple of articles involving the death of newborn babies. In the first article, the newborn died from haemorrhagic disease (excessive bleeding) because the parents refused to allow their child to have vitamin K. Too much internet disinformation can [...] Related posts: … Read More
Jim McVeagh • Jan 05, 2010 •
I know it seems counterintuitive that the US, home of rabid, wall-to-wall lawyers, should be slow in providing medical discipline, but it is true. You may recall the case of Nadya Suleman, who had octuplets after her fertility “treatment”, despite already having six children (via IVF treatment) and despite still living with her parents. I [...] Related posts: … Read More
Jim McVeagh • Nov 22, 2009 •
Stillbirths are traumatic. I am a seasoned provider of terminal care, so the dying process does not phase me, like it phases many of my colleagues. Even so, the death of a baby is horribly unpleasant and even more so when the baby is stillborn or dies soon after birth. All that expectation of happiness [...] Related posts: … Read More