Comments on: Don’t Dump on Science

By: Genetics and Health » Let’s Talk Genetics, Health, and the Supernatural

Fri, 28 Apr 2006 17:15:52 +0000

[...] But let me lay it out for you. I believe in science with my whole heart. BUT I am not so arrogant to think that we will ever be able to explain everything with science. The universe is too big and too complex. [...]

By: Cottontimer

Cottontimer — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 17:53:17 +0000

river2sea72: LOL!! Why would I be mad at you. Don’t you remember I like to stir things up? BTW, I just left another comment over at BlogHer.

By: river2sea72

river2sea72 — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 17:44:14 +0000

Whew, she’s not mad at me

By: Cottontimer

Cottontimer — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 17:38:04 +0000

Tris: Thanks, Tris. I think epidemiologists are often at the brunt of all this disdain because we do large population studies. We are unable to state definitively that A causes B because it is impossible to prove it in these types of studies. But epidemiological studies like the one about birth spacing are usually the first to highlight a possible causal link that is later confirmed by biological studies. I don’t think most people understand that. *fume*

river2sea72: I don’t think we disagree at all. But, I would say that just because JAMA publishes this one study doesn’t mean that there aren’t hundreds of other studies addressing the precise problems that you mention. There are plenty of community and international health initiatives that are attempting to go into developing countries and teach them about the specifics of family planning. But, it’s possible that government officials there do not understand the true impact. This JAMA study highlights that we still need to be concerned about family planning and related issues instead of dismissiong them.

And, of course, I get fed up too over this study or that study but I do my best to be objective.

By: river2sea72

river2sea72 — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 16:49:54 +0000

Certainly, knowledge is power and intelligent debate over the causation of factors that impact our health is important. As a mother, you know the barrage of information, advice, and just plain opinions on every single aspect of conception, every millisecond of pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, diapering, and on and on and on. I’m not surprised that other mom’s get a tad testy at the prospect of having to absorb yet another study that seemingly adds little to (or perhaps even directly contradicts) our own experiences.

As to the point that you made (in your comment in BlogHer) about women in the developing world perhaps being more impacted by this study than those of us with access to good prenatal health…. I would argue strongly that those very women would LOVE to have more control over the spacing of their children, but have limited access to birth control, abortion is illegal and/or dangerous, they have no empowerment to refuse sex with their husbands, and are they largely uneducated. Again, I don’t see how this study helps them. Research on safe, effective, easily distributed birth control and reproductive health education would do them a lot more good.

I don’t mean to dish on you, and certainly not on science, but these are my thoughts. Take ‘em or leave ‘em.

By: Tris Hussey

Tris Hussey — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 15:35:34 +0000

Exactly. I think studies where all you have to go on are the comparitive data you might have to look at them more closely, but they aren’t invalid.

Take vaccine trials. What are you going to do, give half the kids saline the others MMR then expose them all to measles? Yikes! That’s extremely unethical. While I have my own personal issues with vaccines and vaccine trials I can’t fault the process much.