Alice Callahan - The Science of Mom: A Research-Based Guide to Your Babys First Year

Praise for the first edition

Yes! An easy-to-read, fascinating review of the science behind new parents biggest health questions. Many of these issues infant sleep, breastfeeding, vaccines will hit your Should I panic? button. With gentle guidance, Alice Callahan puts your fears to rest.

Tracy Cutchlow, author of Zero to Five: 70 Essential Parenting Tips Based on Science (and What Ive Learned So Far)

Name a complex or controversial topic and Callahan provides the science on both sides of the arguments to help parents make wise choices.

Psychology Today

[Callahans] compassion and empathy for the difficulties of parenting shine through in every chapter, from breastfeeding to vaccines to feeding to sleeping.

Forbes

Alice Callahan, PhD, combines the critical eye of a scientist with the heart of a mother to create a helpful resource for all people interested in evidence-based infant care and parenting.

Science & Sensibility (Lamaze International)

[Callahan] takes a compassionate, non-preachy approach with a goal of not telling the reader what to do but rather how to seek wise advice and make smart decisions and to enjoy having a baby, which is what it is all about.

Live Science

Alice Callahan has written a breakthrough book, combining the compassion, warmth, and angst of a mother with the measured reasoning of a scientist. She helps parents not only understand how science works but how they can access that science to answer their questions. Shes found a way to access the scientist in all of us.

Paul A. Offit, MD, The Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, author of Overkill: When Modern Medicine Goes Too Far

A timely and necessary book for parents... It will help both moms and dads work together to choose the right parenting methods for them and give them a research-based approach to raising a child.

Patheos

Finally, someone has brought some science and some sense to the mommy wars. Should be required reading for all new (and old) parents.

Emily Oster, Brown University, author of Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool

A rare gem in the parenting canon smart, sensitive, and a lifesaver for a generation of parents caught in the nebulous spiders web of Internet wisdom.

Suzanne Barston, author of Bottled Up: How the Way We Feed Babies Has Come to Define Motherhood, and Why It Shouldnt

Families routinely search for health information. The Science of Mom makes it easy, collecting evidence for health decisions and putting it into perspective with a mom-to-mom connection. Callahans advice is thoughtful, backed by science, and feels fueled by love. She is willing to provide powerful advice when detailing the science and safety of vaccines. Keep this book in arms reach as you support your infant for calm and direction.

Wendy Sue Swanson, MD, MBE, FAAP, Seattle Childrens Hospital, author of Mama Doc Medicine: Finding Calm and Confidence in Parenting, Child Health, and Work-Life Balance

Think of all the controversial, hot-button topics that parents obsess about in a childs first year from vaccines to feeding, bed-sharing to sleep training. Weighing the scientific evidence, Callahan offers balanced insights and in-depth answers a far cry from the oversimplified advice prescribed by many parenting experts. The result: a must-have guide thats substantive and extremely engaging.

Jena Pincott, author of Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies? The Surprising Science of Pregnancy

[S]hould be required reading for all new parents. [Callahan] calms fears and provides parents with real facts. She doesnt make the decisions for you, but she makes it a lot easier to make sound decisions.

MomSense

A fresh and enlightening approach. Id highly recommend this book to any mom expecting her first child or her fourth.

Uncommon Motherhood

Dr. Callahan isnt bossy, and isnt out to tell you what she thinks. Her book tells you what the science says, and explains how we know what we know, and what things we still need to learn more about. Theres humility and warmth here, which I think parents of newborns will find reassuring.

The Pediatric Insider

This is science-based medicine writing at its best. Callahan doesnt cherry-pick. She knows how to evaluate the entire body of research and put it into perspective along with practical parenting considerations. She enhances her message with a personal touch, including anecdotes about her own experiences as a new mother and about the experiences of her friends and family. If I had three thumbs, I would give this book a three-thumbs-up recommendation.

Science-Based Medicine

[A] solid resource for any new parent or parent to be. Callahan does the work of sorting through the science of babys first year, so you dont have to.

Raise Healthy Eaters

A book long-overdue in the parenting literature.

Momma Data

The Science of Mom stands out from the crowd... an easy-to-read, certifiable resource.

American Reference Books Annual

The Science of Mom

A Research-Based Guide to Your Babys First Year

SECOND EDITION

Alice Callahan, PhD

Johns Hopkins University Press
Baltimore

2015, 2021 Alice Callahan

All rights reserved. Published 2021

Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper

2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1

Johns Hopkins University Press

2715 North Charles Street

Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4363

www.press.jhu.edu

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Callahan, Alice, 1980 author.

Title: The science of mom : a research-based guide to your babys first year / Alice Callahan, PhD.

Description: Second edition. | Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020051671 | ISBN 9781421441993 (paperback) | ISBN 9781421442006 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Infants Care. | Infants Health and hygiene.

Classification: LCC RJ61 .C23 2021 | DDC 618.92/02 dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020051671

A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.

Special discounts are available for bulk purchases of this book. For more information, please contact Special Sales at

For my two Charlottes:

the one who brought me into the world

and

the one who brought me into motherhood

I write this today having just finished months of editing and updating this book for the second edition. This was a process of sifting through the research published in the past six or seven years to ensure that the science in this book is up to date, and because science is always moving us forward, that meant reading hundreds more papers. I shouldnt have been surprised, but I found much more new science to incorporate than I had anticipated. Updating this book also meant poring over the words I wrote as many years ago and letting them draw me back to the questions of new parenthood, remembering all the worry and wonder of that time. Cee, my first child, recently celebrated her tenth birthday, which means Ive closed out my first decade as a parent. Max, my second and last child, started kindergarten this fall albeit from home, as were in the midst of a global pandemic. It feels like the end of an era. Im glad to have this book as part of the record of my childrens first years (and my early years as a parent) and for the opportunity to ensure it continues to be a current and relevant resource for todays new parents.