Parents are turning to alternative medicine for understandable reasons, but a healthy dose of skepticism can go a long way.
Step Away From the Healing Crystals |
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 | By Jessica Grose |
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 | | Igor Bastidas |
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Amber necklaces supposedly help soothe teething trouble, and even celebrities love them! But there's no scientific evidence that they relieve any kind of pain, and because they can pose a suffocation or choking risk, pediatricians have warned against them. Essential oils are marketed as near-magical elixirs that can cure ailments from attention deficit disorder to fever, but there's not much proof that they do more than smell nice. When used improperly, the oils can irritate children's airways, cause chemical burns or irritations, or be deadly if swallowed. |
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When faced with baby and kid products labeled as "natural," you might assume that they're healthy or safe. But there's no legal definition of the term; and because it's not tightly regulated by any federal agencies, the "natural" designation on a package is basically meaningless. |
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That hasn't stopped pregnant people and new parents — myself included — from believing in their virtues. Market analysts have predicted that consumer demand for "natural" baby products in the United States will grow exponentially in the coming years. Nearly 70 percent of pregnant women in the United States (and nearly 12 percent of children) use what researchers call "complementary and alternative medicine," defined as health care used along with or instead of Western medicine. Complementary and alternative remedies can include everything from amber necklaces and oils, to homeopathy, healing crystals, yoga, herbal medicine and special diets. And children's use of such remedies, like yoga and meditation, has risen significantly in the past decade. |
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Dr. Paul Offit, a professor of pediatrics at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said that the so-called "first-scratch-on-the-new-car phenomenon" can at least partly explain why parents may be eager to use "natural" rather than evidence-based mainstream remedies on their kids. He remembered that feeling when his son received a hepatitis B vaccine within his first 24 hours of life — even as a doctor who knows that vaccines are safe and effective, he could empathize with the irrational fear of marring your perfect, vulnerable newborn. |
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But another contributing factor is that some parents feel that they're not getting what they need from conventional medical providers, and may seek out complementary and alternative medicines and practitioners to fill the void. "Mainstream medicine has limits," Dr. Offit said, "and often, those who practice complementary and alternative medicines don't express those limits." |
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In a 2014 survey of 14 women who had used complementary and alternative medicine during pregnancy and birth in Australia, for example, a respondent named Clarissa told researchers that she went to an alternative provider after she felt she wasn't getting useful advice from her mainstream medical team about her celiac disease. "The midwives and doctors were saying there is nothing more we can do with you, this is just how it is and I had kind of just reached loggerheads with it. So I started seeing a homeopath," she said. (It's worth noting there's little evidence that homeopathy works or is safe to use for any specific health condition.) |
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I empathize with Clarissa. I tried a number of alternative remedies for my terrible morning sickness — including acupuncture, ginger and acupressure wristbands. I didn't want to use anti-nausea drugs with my first child because I had that new-car fear. I didn't want to hurt my baby. My then-obstetrician didn't seem particularly interested in having a discussion about my concerns, or about managing my morning sickness at all. The baby was healthy, and I'd be fine, she told me. I felt I had to investigate other sources of relief on my own. |
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When faced with a harried or unsympathetic medical provider, patients like me might not feel compelled to tell their doctors or midwives about the unregulated or unproven remedies or products they're using — and that's a problem. Some treatments like supplements, herbs or even some foods could react poorly with a medication you're already taking; or you might unintentionally take a larger dose than is safe. Additionally, manufacturers of herbs and vitamins don't have to prove what's in their products, or that they contain the amount listed on the label, so you may not even know what you're swallowing. |
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So where does that leave us? As parents, it's important to realize that even "natural" medicine is medicine, Dr. Offit said; and that you should tell your medical providers about anything you're ingesting or putting on your body, or whether you're seeing any other caretakers. |
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Your own medical providers, likewise, should broach the subject of complementary and alternative medicine "broadly and nonjudgmentally," said Olivia Lindly, a postdoctoral research fellow in pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital who has studied use of complementary and alternative medicine in children with autism and developmental delays. |
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Dr. Lindly noted that it can be difficult for doctors to talk about alternative medicine with their patients — because they "feel like they can't necessarily recommend something, or counsel families not to pursue it because they just don't have the evidence," either way. For now, the American Academy of Pediatrics encourages physicians to evaluate the natural remedies that their patients are interested in and to determine whether they will actively cause harm. |
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Have you used complementary and alternative medicine? For what? Did you tell your doctor about it? We want to hear from you. |
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P.S. Thank you to everyone who submitted your heartwarming (and sometimes cringeworthy) stories of making new parent friends. Read our roundup here. |
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Want More on 'Natural' Remedies for Parents? |
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Teresa Carr wrote an excellent piece for us about why doctors know so little about which medications are O.K. to take while pregnant or breastfeeding, and which ones can be used safely. She noted that experts advise against using herbs to increase milk supply, like fenugreek and milk thistle, because there isn't solid evidence that they work, and you can never "assume that a product actually contains what's on the label." Earlier this year, our reporter Christina Caron looked at the rising popularity of CBD oil for stressed out parents. Just as with herbs, there isn't "central regulatory oversight to ensure high standards," for CBD, "which means there's plenty of snake oil." But Christina talked to one mom who felt that CBD gummies made her "less likely to scream and freak out that there's, you know, hot pink Play-Doh smushed into the carpet." Please don't eat your placenta.
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Parenting can be a grind. Let's celebrate the tiny victories. |
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 | One day, after my 4-year-old son fibbed, I told him I could always tell if he was lying by looking in his eyes. After that, he was careful to cover his eyes with his chubby hands; this continued for several years until he wised up. | —Jean Mitchell, Edina, Minn. |
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