Happy without globules! – A guest contribution by Miriam Weissberg, Midwife
Dear becoming and become parents!
I am a midwife with heart and soul, deeply convinced that homeopathy has no use whatsoever that would make it worthwhile to spend money on it, even though it is recommended by many colleagues. That’s why I’m turning to you today.
Many of you may have had the idea of using a homeopathic for the first time during pregnancy or after your baby has just hatched, because you expected it to gently improve an unpleasant condition without having to accept the possible risks and side effects of a “normal” medication.
Homeopathy – many people associate it with naturalness, the healing power of the plant kingdom. In fact, however, globules and co. (Bach flowers, Schüssler salts, homeopathic mixed preparations) are no closer to nature than analogue cheese and plastic flowers. Since they contain – depending on the degree of dilution or potentiation – only very few to no active substance molecules, their efficacy can never be greater than the placebo effect, as numerous scientific studies have clearly shown in the meantime.
Placebo is Latin and means “I will please”. The placebo effect thus means a subjective healing or mitigation of a pathological condition in the patient produced by a sham drug free of active substances, presumably triggered by stimulation of physiological self-healing processes or changes in self-perception.
So if homeopathic remedies are proven to have no specific medical benefit, what are they good for?
One could argue that placebos have their justification in paediatrics, where non-treatable disorders such as unspecific abdominal pain, restlessness and minor injuries (e.g. due to falls while learning to walk) are the order of the day. Why not give globules to the child in such situations when they support the self-healing powers via the placebo effect?
At this point I would like to hook in with my conviction that globules and co. are the wrong way to deal with illness and mood disorders, even if their administration can achieve an – often only apparent – improvement in condition.
For me, to reconsider naturalness means to ask myself what the child could need in the respective situation, what activates its self-healing powers without the use of sham drugs, and to give it THIS:
If it has fallen and injured itself, it needs loving comfort, a plaster and possibly a cool pack. If it is very over-excited and restless, a round of cuddling and reading aloud on the sofa might help. If it has unspecific abdominal pain, carrying it around, a hot-water bottle, or hold it face-down in your lap may be useful.
Whoever gives globules to his child in these and similar situations will ultimately only give him the impression that any physical complaints require medical intervention – in my opinion a very questionable message.
For me, however, reconsidering naturalness also means observing the child’s well-being and developing a feeling for when a visit to the paediatrician is necessary:
A child who has fallen could, for example, have a concussion in addition to the injury to the knee. Nonspecific abdominal pain could conceal inflammation of the middle ear or bladder. Restlessness or apathy could mark the beginning of a serious infection.
Those who first give their child globules in such situations and wait for the effects to unfold, could unfortunately also let unnecessary time pass, which prolongs the suffering of the child or complicates its medical treatment.
Those who love their children understandably want to protect them from discomfort and suffering or end such conditions as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, there is not a quick remedy for every condition in the form of a bead or a tablet – this realization often hits young parents hard for the first time when they experience helplessly how their baby bends in front of abdominal pain and nothing really helps against it.
From my point of view as a midwife I would like to encourage you in this context either to accept that this crisis cannot be ended immediately, but that it becomes easier through care and attention for the child. Or seek medical advice, even if you are afraid of being ridiculed for your supposed overconfidence. In my experience, paediatricians always understand insecure parents and are happy to advise them.
In this spirit I wish you and your children all the best and a wonderful time.
Picture: Provided for the INH (private)
This post first appeared on the Facebook page of “Susannchen braucht keine Globuli”.