Science baby
April 29, 2019 3:15 PM Subscribe
We have a baby. As is common for people with new babies, we don't know what we are doing and so read a heap of websites about childhood development. Which mostly seem to be pseudoscience and guesswork. Can you point us at resources that are based on science?
I'm mostly interested in information focusing on behaviour, information on actual medical problems is a lot easier to get
As an example, the "four month sleep regression" is extremely relevant to our interests at the moment. And while I can find plenty of sites that tell me how little sleep is frustrating (I know) and correctly alternate the gender pronouns at every paragraph (you have not met my baby, "they" would be fine and less jarring), I cannot find one that wants to even talk about any research in this area, which is what I really want to read, or at least read about. This is a common experience.
I'm mostly interested in information focusing on behaviour, information on actual medical problems is a lot easier to get
As an example, the "four month sleep regression" is extremely relevant to our interests at the moment. And while I can find plenty of sites that tell me how little sleep is frustrating (I know) and correctly alternate the gender pronouns at every paragraph (you have not met my baby, "they" would be fine and less jarring), I cannot find one that wants to even talk about any research in this area, which is what I really want to read, or at least read about. This is a common experience.
Your parenting MOJO is an evidence-based podcast.
Websites include
Parentingscience.com and evolutionaryparenting are a little attachment parenting heavy but are OK
Scienceofmom.com
The science of motherhood Facebook group
posted by k8t at 4:29 PM on April 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
Websites include
Parentingscience.com and evolutionaryparenting are a little attachment parenting heavy but are OK
Scienceofmom.com
The science of motherhood Facebook group
posted by k8t at 4:29 PM on April 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
Doctor T. Berry Brazelton's big book, the first two years. He is a pediatrician, it lays out what to look for month by month during the first two years of life. It saved my sanity as a new parent. It is an old book but relevant, and very comforting.
posted by Oyéah at 4:30 PM on April 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Oyéah at 4:30 PM on April 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
The Science of Mom blogger also has a book, which I thought was engaging and informative. I also enjoyed The Informed Parent by Tara Haelle and Emily Willingham. I'm not a scientist, but it seemed thorough and well researched to me.
posted by cpatterson at 4:34 PM on April 29, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by cpatterson at 4:34 PM on April 29, 2019 [2 favorites]
For sleep in particular, the Ferber book “How to solve your child’s sleep problems” is very informative on the science of sleep and development of sleeping patterns. A lot of people think it’s just a book about crying it out but he actually explains a lot of science and offers alternatives to CIO. Just recommending because of your current interest in the 4 month regression, he goes over that.
posted by permiechickie at 4:56 PM on April 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by permiechickie at 4:56 PM on April 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
A second recommendation for The Science of Mom.
I am not a scientist, but I work for them (and have worked on systematic reviews). I was very impressed by how she reviews and summarizes the evidence.
The chapter titles summarize the topics:
posted by jb at 5:04 PM on April 29, 2019
I am not a scientist, but I work for them (and have worked on systematic reviews). I was very impressed by how she reviews and summarizes the evidence.
The chapter titles summarize the topics:
Crash Course in Evidence-Based ParentingShe also has a blog.
Cutting the Umbilical Cord: When Is the Right Time?
Of Injections and Eye Goop: Newborn Medical Procedures
How Newborns Explore, Communicate, and Connect
Breast Milk, Formula, and Feeding in the Real World
Sleep Safety and the Bed Sharing Debate
In Search of a Good Night’s Sleep [sleep training]
Vaccines and Your Child: Making a Science-Based Decision
Getting Started with Solid Foods: When and How to Begin
Eat, Grow, and Learn: The Best Foods for Babies
posted by jb at 5:04 PM on April 29, 2019
Specifically for sleep, I highly recommend Precious Little Sleep. Alexis Dubief, creator of the blog and author of the book is dedicated to helping parents distinguish between science and not science. You can also get some excellent and free advice from the admins of the Facebook Group. I read every. baby. sleep book. ever. published. in the first 4 months of my oldest son's life and this was by far the best resource I found, both in terms of practical advice and understanding the merits of existing research.
posted by Miss Viola Swamp at 5:08 PM on April 29, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Miss Viola Swamp at 5:08 PM on April 29, 2019 [2 favorites]
Seconding T. Berry Brazelton.
posted by cooker girl at 5:32 PM on April 29, 2019
posted by cooker girl at 5:32 PM on April 29, 2019
So, the AAP is interesting. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/Pages/default.aspx
They are rigorous, and thorough. And, they also change their minds quite a bit. From a scientific perspective, this is a good thing - you want new evidence to lead to new conclusions, if that's where the evidence takes us. But, it's a little weird to go with a piece of advice given by the AAP, and then find that they've done an about-face on it based on new studies a few years (or even months) later.
So, read it now, and keep an eye on the content to see what's new. Also, confirm everything with your own pediatrician. Most pediatricians will go with AAP recommendations, but they can give you insight into *why* the advice is what it is, and make sure it applies to your little one's situation.
posted by Citrus at 5:44 PM on April 29, 2019 [2 favorites]
They are rigorous, and thorough. And, they also change their minds quite a bit. From a scientific perspective, this is a good thing - you want new evidence to lead to new conclusions, if that's where the evidence takes us. But, it's a little weird to go with a piece of advice given by the AAP, and then find that they've done an about-face on it based on new studies a few years (or even months) later.
So, read it now, and keep an eye on the content to see what's new. Also, confirm everything with your own pediatrician. Most pediatricians will go with AAP recommendations, but they can give you insight into *why* the advice is what it is, and make sure it applies to your little one's situation.
posted by Citrus at 5:44 PM on April 29, 2019 [2 favorites]
I learned so much about neuroscience, emotions, memory, and learning from What’s Going on in There?
posted by Knowyournuts at 7:27 PM on April 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Knowyournuts at 7:27 PM on April 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
Cribsheet will absolutely be a breath of fresh air for you.
posted by potrzebie at 8:04 PM on April 29, 2019
posted by potrzebie at 8:04 PM on April 29, 2019
How Babies Talk and Einstein Never Used Flashcards are by respected developmental psychologists.
posted by knile at 8:36 PM on April 29, 2019
posted by knile at 8:36 PM on April 29, 2019
The Informed Parent came out a few years ago and is entirely evidence-based.
posted by mynameisluka at 9:39 PM on April 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by mynameisluka at 9:39 PM on April 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
For sleep specifically, BASIS is a resource from a university research centre on infant sleep with summaries of a lot of research in the field.
posted by Catseye at 11:08 PM on April 29, 2019
posted by Catseye at 11:08 PM on April 29, 2019
Beware, though: babies are humans, and as such are all different; generalizations about them are often valid but sometimes...not. Don't feel bad when advice from one book works in many situations but then their advice on one thing (say, for example, teething) just makes your kid unhappy. Babies (humans in general?) have enough different aspects that it's normal for them to be an outlier in some of them.
Another way to say this is, I guess, don't hesitate to ignore advice in any book - supported by evidence or not - that doesn't work for you.
posted by Fraxas at 12:07 AM on April 30, 2019 [3 favorites]
Another way to say this is, I guess, don't hesitate to ignore advice in any book - supported by evidence or not - that doesn't work for you.
posted by Fraxas at 12:07 AM on April 30, 2019 [3 favorites]
Upon further thought: I should also point out that rigorous experimentation on babies is very, very difficult to get past an ethics review board. So whatever science is done on babies is (usually) correlative at best. Medicine and psychology also don't have fantastic track records for reproducibility either. At this point, Actual Knowledge That Is Supported By Science is difficult to come by on the topic of babies.
posted by Fraxas at 12:22 AM on April 30, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by Fraxas at 12:22 AM on April 30, 2019 [3 favorites]
It's a bit old now, but Our Babies, Ourselves is an amazing anthropological survey of infant parenting practices across the world, and I highly recommend it to any parent.
posted by showbiz_liz at 5:09 AM on April 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by showbiz_liz at 5:09 AM on April 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
Emily Oster, the author of Cribsheet, just did a great interview on the Ezra Klein Show podcast about her book.
posted by fso at 10:01 AM on April 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by fso at 10:01 AM on April 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
I liked Emily Oster's Expecting Better while I was pregnant and I'm sure Cribsheet is good.
For sleep patterns and also all nursing related questions, I really found talking to my board certified lactation consultant was super helpful. She is the one who talked me through the differences between how infants and the rest of us fall asleep. She brought a certain amount of hippy orientation to the table, but also more than 20 years of observation of all kinds of parents and infants.
I am also a book-first kind of learner, and I found that having an infant is one of those places where the written word is really not the most helpful resource, especially if anything about your experience is atypical. Most books will tell you that most moms have enough milk for their babies, to use the example that was most relevant to me, and since I did not have enough milk, books ceased to be helpful. I think that people who write baby books don't, as a rule, want to explore the edge cases very thoroughly since all it does is worry most parents. For instance, most pregnancy books make it sound like miscarriages happen to other people, not you, calm down. And for most pregnant people that's true! But it means that a book isn't your best resource once the edge case is happening to you.
So find people who have been around tons of babies and talk to them.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 11:10 AM on April 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
For sleep patterns and also all nursing related questions, I really found talking to my board certified lactation consultant was super helpful. She is the one who talked me through the differences between how infants and the rest of us fall asleep. She brought a certain amount of hippy orientation to the table, but also more than 20 years of observation of all kinds of parents and infants.
I am also a book-first kind of learner, and I found that having an infant is one of those places where the written word is really not the most helpful resource, especially if anything about your experience is atypical. Most books will tell you that most moms have enough milk for their babies, to use the example that was most relevant to me, and since I did not have enough milk, books ceased to be helpful. I think that people who write baby books don't, as a rule, want to explore the edge cases very thoroughly since all it does is worry most parents. For instance, most pregnancy books make it sound like miscarriages happen to other people, not you, calm down. And for most pregnant people that's true! But it means that a book isn't your best resource once the edge case is happening to you.
So find people who have been around tons of babies and talk to them.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 11:10 AM on April 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
I was a bit disappointed by Cribsheet--it just felt a bit thinner than Expecting Better. But still, I recommend it, too.
We have a 4.5 month old. For sleep specifically, we've been following a mix of "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby" by Weissbluth (solid scientific data and studies, but horribly organized and rambling, and very gendered and shamey in places--"If you don't do this your child will never sleep and it will be DOOMED") and "Precious Little Sleep", which does a good job distilling the basics of Weissbluth and Ferber in a much more accessible and kinder way. The sleep chapter in Cribsheet also follows Weissbluth and Ferber; Oster's doctor was in Weissbluth's clinic.
We also sort of like "Retro Baby", which is published by the AAP, and focuses mostly on movement development. It's also a bit shame-y ("If you keep your child in a bouncy seat too long they WILL get a flat head AND NEVER WALK"), but it does have good suggestions throughout for ways to be engaged with baby.
(Cribsheet touches a bit on this, but the AAP guidelines can be a bit over conservative, understandably, and I've definitely been skirting some of the guidelines from that book myself. There's a lot in there on, e.g., limiting time in car seats/travel systems, but, like, surely getting out and going for walks is a good thing, and I'm not always up for baby wearing. But at the very least, it has made me more conscious of how much time baby is being restrained/confined.)
posted by damayanti at 1:09 PM on April 30, 2019
We have a 4.5 month old. For sleep specifically, we've been following a mix of "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby" by Weissbluth (solid scientific data and studies, but horribly organized and rambling, and very gendered and shamey in places--"If you don't do this your child will never sleep and it will be DOOMED") and "Precious Little Sleep", which does a good job distilling the basics of Weissbluth and Ferber in a much more accessible and kinder way. The sleep chapter in Cribsheet also follows Weissbluth and Ferber; Oster's doctor was in Weissbluth's clinic.
We also sort of like "Retro Baby", which is published by the AAP, and focuses mostly on movement development. It's also a bit shame-y ("If you keep your child in a bouncy seat too long they WILL get a flat head AND NEVER WALK"), but it does have good suggestions throughout for ways to be engaged with baby.
(Cribsheet touches a bit on this, but the AAP guidelines can be a bit over conservative, understandably, and I've definitely been skirting some of the guidelines from that book myself. There's a lot in there on, e.g., limiting time in car seats/travel systems, but, like, surely getting out and going for walks is a good thing, and I'm not always up for baby wearing. But at the very least, it has made me more conscious of how much time baby is being restrained/confined.)
posted by damayanti at 1:09 PM on April 30, 2019
I really like The Science of Parenting by Margot Sunderland - it was the development textbook for my Infant and Child Development class. She may even have an updated version now! Really user-friendly, neuroscience based.
posted by fairlynearlyready at 2:07 PM on April 30, 2019
posted by fairlynearlyready at 2:07 PM on April 30, 2019
« Older Help me figure out what home I want | "Why would you hesitate to do what you have... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by chaiminda at 3:21 PM on April 29, 2019 [25 favorites]