Parent Like a Pediatrician: All the Facts, None of the Fear

by Rebekah Diamond

Rebekah Diamond, M.D. , the pediatrician, working mom, and parent advocate trusted by Parents magazine and NBC for her adept advice, expertly guides you through the noise to share her fresh, inclusive, sensible, no-nonsense take on making the right choices when it comes the first 12 months of your child’s life.

Becoming a new parent in the age of online advice can be a minefield of confusion, worries, and fears amplified by myths, misinformation, and too much information .

As an experienced pediatrician, Rebekah Diamond is deeply grounded in a fact-based understanding of child healthcare. As a mother, she also understands that the accepted rules aren’t always the solution to the challenges of nurturing a healthy new baby. But neither is the overload of relatable but often dangerously misleading information bombarding parents. So how do you trust yourself to make the best decisions for your child?

With authoritative up-to-date research and real-world advice on the myriad obstacles facing moms, dads, and caregivers, Dr. Diamond unpacks the whys behind the facts to empower your best parental instincts. From safe-sleep guidelines, breast feeding, and binky addiction to sensory developmental activities, baby products, and the final—and 100% evidence-based—word on the vaccination debate, Dr. Diamond helps parents cultivate the clarity and sound decisions you need to lessen the anxiety (for parent and baby) around what should be the joyful, connecting early months of life.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction

336 pages, Paperback

Published September 27, 2022

About the author

I was born in New York City but spent most of my childhood in Connecticut. After high school I stayed local and received my undergraduate degree from Yale University, and then my M.D. from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Following completion of my pediatrics residency training at the University of Michigan, I accepted a position as a pediatric hospitalist in New York City and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Columbia University, where I still work today.

My training and practice mean that it is literally my job to stay up to date on all of the data behind what experts say are the safest and best choices for parents to make for their children.

I’m also a mother of a young daughter, and know firsthand the challenge of sorting through conflicting pediatrician and internet recommendations. It’s why I’m here to explain how pediatrician parents actually raise their own kids so you can make the safest, sanest choices for your little ones.

Yes, the Internet broke parenting. But I’m here to fix it.

Reviews

[Danny B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and informative book for new parents. Cuts straight to the point and is easily digestible. A must-read for new parents.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging and refreshingly personal must-read for all new parents! Dr. Diamond provides a vast amount of essential and practical information without overwhelming. Her depth of knowledge combined with her sense of humor make this a unique book which truly stands out among all parenting books!

[Dr G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Down to earth good reading for all caregivers. Recommend

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very accessible and straightforward overview of common parenting concerns for baby's first year. Each chapter has a summary at the end which is very handy. I like that the author's approach balances science/official recommendations from medical societies with the realities that families face.

[Jartnd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doctor Rebekah Diamond is an incredible resource for expecting and new parents as well as anyone who is interested in learning more about managing the challenges of parenting. What makes this book stand out is Doctor Diamond’s incomparable fund of knowledge and no nonsense way of communicating. She openly shares her personal and professional experience in a moving and utterly compassionate way. If you have ever had any questions or concerns about raising a newborn this is the book you have to read!

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most entertaining parenting book I’ve read. I’m in medicine and have two kids, and still found I didn’t know a lot of the information it presented. The stories are great, and I loved Dr. Diamond’s approach of distilling how to actually use data in real life parenting (which rarely goes according to plan). She has a great sense of humor and the chapters are perfect for reading during small bits of free time. Wish other parenting books had this balance of readability/data/honesty.

[Kevin Whitaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty similar to Cribsheet (both in ethos and in a lot of the specific takeaways), but with some more tactical detail on the newborn stage. The feeding section in particular resonated with my experience a lot more than any of the other parenting books I've read.

[Angela Lashbrook · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hoping for more, but this is still better than 90% of the infant advice books currently out there. I prefer Oster, who is a better writer and has a better handle on the data, but this book goes into a few topics (milestones, baby led weaning) that Cribsheet doesn’t (iirc anyway).

The author doesn’t cite her sources, though. There are a lot of references to “a study found” without any indication as to WHICH study. There are no footnotes or even endnotes, and my Kindle copy doesn’t contain links. So how do I know that the study the author refers to is a good one? I just have to trust her, and I don’t, especially when she apparently relies upon shaky correlative evidence with a ton of difficult-to-adjust-for variables to rally in support of breastfeeding—and then cautions against correlative evidence in her chapter on different approaches to feeding babies solids.

Still! At least she refers to research at all. I just feel like she’s doing her readers a disservice by assuming they don’t want to check her sources.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Rebekah Diamond is so upbeat, knowledgeable, and at times has fun with her presentation. She's so right about the internet screwing up parenting, among other things. There is so much bogus information floating around out there. This is such a great book for parents. I like her takeaway points at the end of each chapter.
Thanks to goodreads for the free copy to read and review. Actually, this couldn't have come at a better time. My son and his wife are going to have their first child in April 2022. I am thrilled to pass this along to her and they were both happy to get it.

[Christine Melnikov · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a first time parent, I've thumbed through several baby books on the shelf and either found them unrealistically over-structured or the complete opposite- and almost too deferential to a spectrum of parental whims. This however, is right on an even keel. As a parent herself, the author gets what it's like to feel at odds with various guidelines and the realities of day to day life. She's refreshing in her acknowledgement that concessions may occur, but nevertheless, presents a factual look at the major parenting topics so you make informed decisions when you're at your own crossroads.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book did a wonderful job combining evidence based advice with the reality of parenting. Diamond did a good job of breaking down which recommendations are critical and which have some wiggle room, as well as explaining questions that come up in modern parenting. I wish I had read this book before having my first child because I think it could have helped ease some of the fear and research overload of that first year.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy.

[Elyse · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. Came recommended to me as really good and helpful. Lots of good info and research for sure. Not a ton of new info for me though. And I guess I was just looking more for what exactly the “right” answers are when we sift through all of this information. Like maybe I needed it to be more advice heavy? JUST TELL ME WHAT TO DO. Haha could just be me though

[Dixita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned of this book from my chief that one of our attendings wrote this book. Completely could hear her voice shine brightly though this book. Really well written—asked my partner to read it as well. Must read for any new parent

[Paul Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! Answered so many nagging questions I had in a clear, concise and calm manner. Definitely my go-to parenting book now!

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super helpful!

[Rhiannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful and actually helped relieve some nerves about different things we have heard with taking care of our newborn.

[Brenda Coleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read for first time parents!

[Nancy Herrera · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so practical and reasonable! Additionally, it is an easy read, which is great if you are in the start of the postpartum period.

[Yijia Xu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible book. Was taking notes and sending them to my hubs while reading.

[Anna T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Väga hea raamat tulevasele emale. Kõik vajalik beebi esimeseks eluaastaks on siin kirjas. Ladusalt kirjutatud ka!

[Diana Romero · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very realistic opinion from a mother and a doctor who explain with facts and science some of the concerns most of parents face when having a baby.

[Aleka · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like Emily Oster's approach ("the data is imperfect, it's reasonable to make tradeoffs based on your own family's situation") but wish her books with written by an actual medical expert, this is the book for you. Commonsense, no-judgment advice that draws from Dr. Diamond's experience both as a pediatrician (and assistant professor of pediatrics at Columbia) and as a mom who's been there. Note: the first chapter on vaccines came off as a little preachy / less nuanced than the rest, despite being someone who agrees 100% with the takeaways - pretty understandable given that there is really no room for nuance in that "debate," but if the tone turns you off, rest assured that it shifts in tone later on and is worth continuing with. I appreciate this book (& Dr Diamond's social media educational content) more and more the further into parenting I get!

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not yet done, and it has taken me a while to get started, but I am so glad I won this book in a giveaway! Dr. Diamond does a great job breaking down all the science around so many things that happen in a baby's first year of life. I wish I could give her sage advice to all of my friends who are about to start down this crazy journey called parenthood. I know there are chapters I wish I had had with my first, and plan on making good use of with my second.

It takes a really long time to finish a book with a newborn. I know I will reference these chapters over and over again!