The midwife paid a fine and is barred from accessing the state’s vaccine records system.

A midwife in New York administered nearly 12,500 bogus homeopathic pellets to roughly 1,500 children in lieu of providing standard, life-saving vaccines, the New York State Department of Health reported yesterday.

Jeanette Breen, a licensed midwife who operated Baldwin Midwifery in Nassau County, began providing the oral pellets to children around the start of the 2019–2020 school year, just three months after the state eliminated non-medical exemptions for standard school immunizations. She obtained the pellets from a homeopath outside New York and sold them as a series called the “Real Immunity Homeoprophylaxis Program.”

The program falsely claimed to protect children against deadly infectious diseases covered by standard vaccination schedules, including diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (covered by the DTaP or Tdap vaccine); hepatitis B; measles, mumps and rubella (MMR vaccine); polio; chickenpox; meningococcal disease; Haemophilus influenzae disease (HiB); and pneumococcal diseases (PCV).

Homeopathy is a pseudoscience that falsely claims that medical conditions can be cured or prevented by extreme, ritualized dilutions of poisonous substances that cause the same symptoms of a particular disease or condition when administered directly. Homeopathic products are often diluted to such a point that they do not contain a single atom of the original substance. Some homeopaths claim that water molecules can have a “memory” of their contact with the substance, magically imbuing them with healing powers. Homeopathic products work no better than placebos, though if they are improperly diluted, they can be harmful and even deadly.

  • Thorry84@feddit.nl
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    7 months ago

    Why is homeopathy still allowed to be sold in 2024? It’s like I’ve taken crazy pills, non homeopathic crazy pills to be exact.

    • Delphia@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Because in certain concentrations in certain people under certain circumstances there is a non zero chance that it may have a non zero impact and isnt outright poison.

      • Thorry84@feddit.nl
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        7 months ago

        Yes the placebo effect is also in play to make people believe it does something. Sometimes even believing plain water is a wonder cure, makes it so.

        It’s also funny the origins of homeopathy are that something that does nothing is better than whatever “cure” the alternative was.

    • Xtallll@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      7 months ago

      Have you tried diluting your crazy pill so far there is only a 50% chance that one of the original molecules is in a sample, then drank that? Do your own crazy pill research, this is the TRUTH big crazy pill doesn’t want you to know?

    • Lemminary@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      I’m still asking myself how the fuck homeopathy got official recognition by the Health Department in my country. They have their own pharmacopoeia and accreditation. It’s unbelievable.

      • PM_Your_Nudes_Please@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        In America, homeopathy is sold in pharmacies, right next to actual medications. There are a lot of homeopathic cold meds and pain management that appear to be legit because they’re being sold right alongside real meds. But when you look closely at the label on the back, the “active ingredients” are listed as a multiple (2x, 3x, 4x, etc) instead of a percentage. The multiple shows how many times it was diluted.

        And again, these are being sold right alongside real meds like Tylenol and NyQuil, which only serves to make them seem more credible.

    • CaptainProton@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      If it’s not medicine it’s not regulated like a drug, supplements are treated like food (crushed up berries in a cap basically are that). Negative rights are a good thing: you can make a product and sell it without needing explicit permission from the government for literally everything (and I really mean everything). Trade-off is that by lowering the barrier for entry for legitimate new ideas/competitors, you get charlatans who sell garbage by using language that tiptoes around any actual health promises so it stays unregulated.

  • Mango@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    If you give someone something different from what they came to your business for regarding their health, you belong in prison.

  • roscoe@startrek.website
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    7 months ago

    Me reading this: Don’t be for polio…don’t be for polio…don’t be for polio…Fuck!

    The others are bad enough but depriving kids of polio vaccines should have meant jail time.

  • gregorum@lemm.ee
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    7 months ago

    Homeopathic products are often diluted to such a point that they do not contain a single atom of the original substance. Some homeopaths claim that water molecules can have a “memory” of their contact with the substance, magically imbuing them with healing powers.

    lmao

    • Schmoo@slrpnk.net
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      7 months ago

      The water remembers the essence of elderberries but somehow forgets all the shit it’s had in it.

      • Duamerthrax@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        The original “logic” is that the water will want poison that was once in it and draw it out of your veins and you’ll just piss it out. Putting aside that that’s not now water works, when you put a drop of “homeopathic” water onto a pill and let the water evaporate, what suppose to happen?

        Viruses aren’t poison. They’re complex arrangements of the same stuff that makes up healthy cells and dna.

        They’ll also sell homeopathic burn remedies. Again, not a poison.

        If homeopathic medicine worked, you’d be buying it by the 5 gallon jug and sitting on the toilet all day pissing out poison. Not taking dry sugar pills

  • andros_rex@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    It’s weird how stores are allowed to sell homeopathy as medicine - especially for kids. The sugar pills are right next to the real stuff at CVS!

  • Kethal@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    Were the parents aware? The article says she sold them with “homeopathy” in the product name, implying the parents paid for the product and thus were aware. It also says that the state notified the parents that their children were not vaccinated, implying that the parents were not aware.

    • jayrhacker@kbin.social
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      7 months ago

      The placebo effect is strong, so strong it can confound a double blind study. Having someone who actually listens to your medical complaint and provides sympathy can have a positive influence on recovery. Neither is “real medicine” but for a lot of people it’s supportive of the natural healing process (people usually to get better over time without intervention) and if it’s harmless that’s fine.

      The problems start when people replace real medicine with alternative care and particularly for illnesses that don’t get better on their own, like cancer or vaccine preventable illness.

      • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        Go to a doctor: I got thirty seconds, you talk, nearly naked, while I read the answers of questions asked you by the CNA. Ok got it. Let me conduct a test. Done. Here is your script.

        So like am I going to die? Oh you already left.

        Go to a fake-doctor: take all the time you need, clearly you are terrified that something is very wrong and WebMD scared the shit out of you. I will practice active listening while you speak, afterwards I will give you a placebo that doesn’t do anything bad and a massage. Make sure to come back once a week for twenty years.

        I don’t blame doctors and I want to make this clear. They are under a lot of pressure to churn out patients. The unfortunate result of the system is that fake-doctors can thrive due to having the ability to develop a bedside manner. I don’t have a solution to this problem.

    • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      A double positive and a double negative can both be an enhancer in english.

      • Yeah right
      • No no way
      • No, absolutely not
  • beebarfbadger@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    Sure, sad thing and all, but think of THE MASSIVE PROFITS that were generated that way. And whose side are you on? Some kids who don’t wanna die from preventable stuff OR THE ECONOMY? I mean if those kids stand in the way of economic growth by insisting on getting something in return for their money (edit: well, something other than the cheapest little sugar balls), they’re majorly sus already.

  • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    I never did trust midwifes. This isn’t the bloody 1850s. Go have a baby in the sterilized hospital surrounded by docs, nurses, advance medicine, and machines. If you want to go commune with nature go smoke a joint in the woods like the rest of us.

    • highenergyphysics@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Patient outcomes for both parent and child are also abysmal for home midwife births vs hospital births. They should be avoided at all possible cost.

      Also fuck this cunt in the article. She was informed vaccines save lives, and chose to swap it for quack bullshit.

      You wanna refuse to vaccinate people? Fine, quit the healthcare sector.

      You knowingly cover it up instead?

      That’s biological terrorism. She and her kind should all be redacted.

      • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        No you don’t understand some doctor somewhere one some podcast did something bad therefore everyone should use a midwife that they met in their hot yoga class. She provides her own pinecones and a nice plywood box for the dead baby.

    • andros_rex@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Using a midwife doesn’t mean forgoing modern medical care necessarily - this person is just a massive crank. There are certified midwives that work in hospitals.

      I understand hiring a doula or midwife - if you’re about to give birth you probably need someone who can advocate for you while you’re trying to shove a human out. You have someone who knows you more personally than a doctor and has some medical training (depending pretty widely on location/certification). They’re going to be involved in more of the process than just the birth, they’re usually involved in the months before and after. I’ve heard about them being helpful post partem depression especially.

      There’s an unfortunate history of pregnancy being an opportunity for a doctor to invoke harm. Look up the “husband stitch” - it’s difficult to estimate the prevalence but it’s known to happen. Behind the Bastards did a horrifying series on James Burt, a doctor who routinely modified the placement of vaginas without his patients knowledge or consent.

      They can be legitimate professionals - it’s not all water births and refusing vitamin K shots.

      • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        I love how you mention an anecdote to attack the legitimacy of a profession that produces tangible results but demand I ignore anecdote for the quack profession you defend. Oh wow a doctor somewhere sometime was an asshole, that means medical science is shit and everyone should hire their random ass yoga friend to scream at doctors “she doesn’t need a C-section fetch me another pinecone so I can channel Gaia”. See? I can do what you did, you know only better.

        Does a midwife have as much training as a doctor, yes or no? Do midwifes produce better patient outcomes for baby and mommy, in a measurable repeatable way? If the answer is no then have fun with your water sports when she bleeds out maybe the chanting will soothe her before the eternal blackness of a totally avoidable death.

        • andros_rex@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          I didn’t say medical science was shit? On the contrary, I’m a big fan. But medical science is practiced by people, and people can be bad actors. I bring up the example to point out that this is an extremely vulnerable moment and it is entirely valid that someone would want a person whose role was to advocate for them. I think your example is obviously hyperbolic, but I could see a women being very insistent on a vaginal birth and asking for that to be affirmed.

          Midwives don’t have as much formal training as a doctor. CNAs, LPNs, CMAs, the majority of people who are actually performing your medical care don’t have as much formal training as a doctor. They aren’t intended to replace a doctor. They are a specialized support role - part of a team. A midwife pushing against seeing a doctor would be a red flag.

          • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
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            7 months ago

            Such a big fan that you didn’t mention it once in your previous reply and instead dedicated half your reply talking about bad actors. Yes, that is balanced. I often accuse people I like and trust of assault and then later on claim that I am a big fan of them.

            There is something truly broken with us as a species. The odds of a woman dying in first childbirth used to be at a horrific 33% and now have fallen to fractional percent. This scourge of the human race has been destroyed it lies at our feet battered and broken. We are free! So the first thing we do is demand to go back to the old ways.

            Vaccines? No, water memory and horse dewormer

            Doctors? No, midwifes

            GMO and Green revolution? No, organic

            Polio is making a comeback fyi.

            • andros_rex@lemmy.world
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              7 months ago

              I think you might have some struggles with reading comprehension. This is not midwifery versus doctors. I’m not arguing against doctors. Doctors are human beings and do not perform all aspects of your medical care. The doctor is not the one who draws your blood, the doctor is not the one who gives you your meds. A midwife would likely be the person to call at 3 am when you aren’t sure whether the spotting is normal or not, and who would help bring up your concerns to a doctor.

              You have a very ill informed idea of what a midwife is and what they do.

              • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
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                7 months ago

                There’s an unfortunate history of pregnancy being an opportunity for a doctor to invoke harm. Look up the “husband stitch” - it’s difficult to estimate the prevalence but it’s known to happen. Behind the Bastards did a horrifying series on James Burt, a doctor who routinely modified the placement of vaginas without his patients knowledge or consent.

                Don’t try to gaslight me.

                You have a very ill informed idea of what a midwife is and what they do.

                Well according to this article it is giving out sugar cubes and claiming they are vaccines. Also I assume they use a rain stick as well as pine cones.

                Hey noticed how you can’t just cite statistics showing that they improve patient outcome? I have a few guesses why but what would I know? I didn’t take a one week certification class on channeling Gaia.

                • andros_rex@lemmy.world
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                  7 months ago

                  My concern for your emotional stability and reading comprehension continues to grow. I’m not sure why you are accusing me of gaslighting you? I provided examples of doctors causing harm, I did not say that all or most doctors cause harm, nor did I say that one should not see a doctor during pregnancy. I pointed to these examples, because when I have talked to people considering pregnancy, those are things that they are concerned about.

                  My friend, a midwife is essentially a nurse that specializes in reproductive health care. They aren’t chiropractors or naturopaths. In the US, they are certified medical professionals with specified roles.

                  Show me an accredited one-week midwifery program that teaches you to invoke Gaia. Here’s what the American College of Nurse-Midwives considers its core competencies. I do not see rituals calling upon Greek goddesses here.

                  More information about midwives that might help you better understand what they actually do. Source

                  ▪ CMs are licensed, independent health care providers who have the same scope of practice, accredited education, and national certification as CNMs. CMs are authorized to practice in Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. CMs have prescriptive authority in New York, Maine, Maryland, Rhode Island, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

                  ▪ While midwives are well-known for attending births, 55.1% of CNMs/CMs identify reproductive care and 38.5% identify primary care as responsibilities in their full-time positions. Examples include annual exams, writing prescriptions, nutrition counseling, parenting education, patient education, and reproductive health visits.

                  ▪ In 2022, 94% of CNM/CMs births were in hospitals, 3% in freestanding birth centers, and 3% occurred in homes.

                  ▪ Medicaid reimbursement for CNM care is mandatory in all states. Most Medicaid programs reimburse CNMs/CMs at 100% of physician rates. Medicare reimburses CNMs at 100%. Most states also mandate private insurance reimbursement for CNM/CM services.

  • Scubus@sh.itjust.works
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    7 months ago

    Homeopathy is a pseudoscience that falsely claims that medical conditions can be cured or prevented by extreme, ritualized dilutions of poisonous substances that cause the same symptoms of a particular disease or condition when administered directly.

    I mean that part is kinda true though. Most vaccines do that. Just with viruses instead of poisons, since you can’t build an immunity to poisons afaik

    • Kethal@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Vaccines do not do that. Homeopathy involves diluting until what’s left is only water. The claim is that the water “remembers” what it had, which is nonsense. Vaccines are not simply water.

      • Scubus@sh.itjust.works
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        7 months ago

        I quoted the part my dude. And I didn’t quote that part. Exclusively the part I quoted, and none of the rest, does mostly apply to vaccines.