The social networking site Mumsnet is running a lively debate about how breast feeding rates could be increased. It was triggered by two recent BMJ research articles. You can follow the debate at this link.

Meanwhile, 23 signatories have writen a letter to The Times critising the UK Government’s failure to provide women with enough information in the NHS leaflets. This follows a BMJ analysis article which says that breast screening leaflets do not adequately highlight the risks that screening can pose. The harm of screening is overdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment of healthy women. more…

The BMJ received some praise this week in a blog by Revere, on the Science Blogs forum. Here is an extract:

“Science journals are not just about science. They compete with each other for readership, public recognition and prestige. It used to be that in the UK publishing world The British Medical Journal (BMJ) was the dull, conservative journal and The Lancet was more “out there.”….Now they seemed to have switched places.” more…

Two BMJ studies published last week have been widely cited by the press. The first has found that women’s resting heart rate is a good predictor of coronary events in women. US researchers studied the heart rates of 129,000 postmenopausal women and found that those with the highest heart rates were more likely to have a myocardial infarction or coronary death than those with the lowest heart rates. more…

The news that cello scrotum is a myth has captured the attention of the press this week and it has been widely cited both in the UK and internationally. The revelation comes as last week Elaine and John Murphy wrote a letter to the BMJ confessing that they invented the condition. They were inspired to make up cello scrotum after reading a letter in the BMJ in 1974 about guitar nipple but decided to own up to the hoax after it was cited in a Christmas BMJ article. more…

More than half of carers looking after relatives with dementia report acting abusively towards them according to a research paper published last week on bmj.com. The researchers, from University College London, found that a third admitted significant abuse, such as frequent insulting and swearing, and only 3 out of 220 carers admitted occasional physical abuse. more…

The media has picked up on two research papers and a linked editorial, published this week, which address postnatal depression and how it can be treated without taking antidepressants. The studies show that the support of health visitors and other women who have experienced postnatal depression can help new mothers deal effectively with the condition. more…

Although the medical myths from the BMJ’s Christmas issue are still making headlines, it’s difficult teenagers that have caught the media’s attention this week. A research paper (with accompanying podcast) on outcomes of conduct problems in adolescence - a 40 year follow-up of the British 1946 birth cohort has been widely cited. more…

‘As the holiday season draws to a close, Rachel Vreeman and Aaron Carroll’s festive medical myths are still proving to be a popular choice with our readers. 36,928 people viewed the article over the last 10 days, with 24,284 also choosing to read last year’s festive medical myths by the same authors.

A new feature of the BMJ is that we have now established a channel on YouTube where you can view our first professionally produced videos.

And finally as Fowler and Christakis’ paper about the spread of happiness in large social networks appears in the print edition of the journal this week, the New Scientist has highlighted the study and written a superb commentary on it.  more…

‘Should the contraceptive pill be available without prescription?’ is the subject of this week’s head to head. Daniel Grossman argues in favour of this policy, whilst Sarah Jarvis argues that it will not be an effective way of reducing unwanted pregnancies. The debate has received extensive media coverage recently following the news that two primary care trusts in London are to be part of a pilot scheme where pharmacists will be able to provide women with the pill. more…

This year’s Christmas BMJ generated lots of UK and international media coverage, particularly the paper that debunked seasonal myths. In Festive medical myths, Rachel Vreeman and Aaron Carroll look at the science behind commonly believed theories and discover that many of them are in fact not true. The good news for the holidays is that sugar does not make children more hyperactive, suicide rates do not increase in the holidays, poinsettias are not toxic and eating late at night does not make you fat. Unfortunately the bad news is that wearing a hat does not decrease the amount of heat our bodies lose and there is no cure for a hangover. more…