The authors of homebirth papers do not seem to engage with scientific peers
It strikes me as notable that the authors of the most prominent homebirth studies have never publicly addressed their scientific peers about the issue of homebirth. They restrict themselves to speaking before, and writing for the midwifery or lay audience, most of whom are not able to evaluate the papers for statistical or scientific accuracy.This is especially surprising, when you consider that many of these authors are statisticians or epidemiologists, not midwives. So, for example, if the Johnson and Daviss paper is supposed to be such a breakthrough in the scientific study of homebirth, why hasn't it ever been presented at a conference of statisticians, epidemiologists or obstetricians. It makes me wonder whether the homebirth authors fear that their papers will be indenfensible to an audience of scientifically literate peers.
I know that I am not able to do an exhaustive search into the issue, so I would be grateful for information from anyone who knows about any instances in which the prominent homebirth authors have ever put themselves in a position where they would be required to take questions from their scientific peers. I'm not talking about midwifery conferences or conferences of homebirth advocates. I am asking only about conferences on the topics of statistics, epidemiology or obstetrics. I'm not talking about the American Public Health Association, either, since that seems to be an organization that appears to take stands on political issues (such as wars) as opposed to purely public health issues.
Labels: Johnson and Daviss
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