Author of Expecting Better tackles Early Childhood

[Anonymous]

If, like me, you relied on this book for data-driven, useful information about pregnancy, this article gives a taste of her upcoming book- the bit on breastfeeding alone is worth a read.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/19/opinion/sunday/baby-breastfeeding-sleep-training.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

[Anonymous]

Hi Emily, I don't believe in getting health advice from an economist. Your advice about prenatal drinking was wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi Emily, I don't believe in getting health advice from an economist. Your advice about prenatal drinking was wrong.

Citation?

Or was it just wrong because you disagree with it morally?

[Anonymous]

Great article! Its going ot be a full book?

[Anonymous]

I enjoyed her book on pregnancy. I'm well past the baby stage now so a lot of the new book will probably not be relevant to me, but I may read it anyway for kicks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi Emily, I don't believe in getting health advice from an economist. Your advice about prenatal drinking was wrong.

Citation?

Or was it just wrong because you disagree with it morally?

+1 Seriously. She did a review of all the available studies, and then she left it up to the reader to make an informed decision. Not sure what part of that you could disagree with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Great article! Its going ot be a full book?

According to the article:

Emily Oster, an economics professor at Brown, is the author of “Expecting Better” and the forthcoming “Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, From Birth to Preschool,” from which this essay is adapted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If, like me, you relied on this book for data-driven, useful information about pregnancy, this article gives a taste of her upcoming book- the bit on breastfeeding alone is worth a read.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/19/opinion/sunday/baby-breastfeeding-sleep-training.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

OMG. I will be buying a copy! Yes to everything in the article about breastfeeding. And sleep training!

Thanks for posting.

[Anonymous]

Love it. Seriously.

[Anonymous]

I love Emily Oster and data-driven parenting, but I recognize that it doesn't resonate with everyone. For example the alcohol in pregnancy issue. While many people point to to data and believe (as I do) that the risks are over stated I understand that some people still aren't comfortable with it despite evidence to the contrary. I do wish those same people would admit that that's their own decision to make and not judge others for making more evidence based decisions for themselves and their babies.

[Anonymous]

So great, thanks for posting!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi Emily, I don't believe in getting health advice from an economist. Your advice about prenatal drinking was wrong.

Citation?

Or was it just wrong because you disagree with it morally?

Because I'm a scientist who studies brain development. I understand that lack of evidence isn't evidence of lack. I also understand that susceptibility to neurodevelopmental insults is going to be influenced by genotype. Do you know the hepatic enzyme genotype of your fetus? I'm guessing not.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4788102/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi Emily, I don't believe in getting health advice from an economist. Your advice about prenatal drinking was wrong.

Citation?

Or was it just wrong because you disagree with it morally?

Because I'm a scientist who studies brain development. I understand that lack of evidence isn't evidence of lack. I also understand that susceptibility to neurodevelopmental insults is going to be influenced by genotype. Do you know the hepatic enzyme genotype of your fetus? I'm guessing not.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4788102/

OMG. She knows big words. She must be right.

That’s the reaction you were hoping for, right?

[Anonymous]

So, this new book says that breastfeeding does have some benefits, but not as much as the breastfeeding militants claim. Also that sleep training is probably a net positive for the family. And that both working and staying at home has benefits and drawbacks.
I feel like this article just shut down 80% of dcum flame wars.

[Anonymous]

Among the other problems I have with this (and I am extremely data- and research-driven myself) is that so many readers will come to the same conclusion that this NYT commenter did: "This article supports what has long been my general philosophy when it comes to my own kids: nothing really matters as long as I love and interact with them. Thanks for confirming!"

Saying X is 37% better than Y but sometimes harder to achieve because of Z does not equal "nothing really matters [but love]!" I definitely want people to know things like "so far we only see a small but significant benefit" instead of "IT'S SO AMAZING YOU MUST DO IT OR YOU ARE LITERALLY SATAN." I want them to understand things like "we don't have enough data yet" means that "WE KNOW FOR SURE THAT IF YOU DO X YOUR CHILD WILL BE A SUPERHARVARDGENIUS" is baloney. But those things *still mean* that there is a benefit to the first thing and we don't know *either way* about the second thing. They don't mean "eh, whatever, it doesn't really matter." I understand that is a backlash to the ridiculous expectations placed on mothers (much moreso than parents generally) to get everything "right." But it's not any more true.