Rating: 
Summary: incredible book
Review: This book is wonderful. Rather than just make a blanket statement that a baby needs love, this book backs up all its statements with thorough, and yet easy to understand, research. It taught me a lot about the advantages to breastfeeding, and showed why responding to a baby's cries makes him happier, and will not spoil him. I have used her advice with my son, and he has turned out to be an extremely happy baby who is not clingy at all. His independence, happiness, and connection to me has really made me glad I read this book. I highly reccomend it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent review of evidence for AP (though not without bias
Review: This is a scholarly book that offers immense insight to setting baby off on the right foot, emotionally and physically. Blows apart myths and marketing with no holds barred. Objectively balances mothers magic milk with other feeding options available. Reveals much that is known but untold about food intolerance, vaccines, disease and root causes, based on empirical evidence. This is the first book I have read with 35 pages of footnotes leading to the research to back the doctors revelations. It takes the amazing amount of scholarly findings that have remained buried in esoteric scientific journals and delivers it in easy to read, factual story telling. Tells the real story behind formula, milk and pediatricians and the scandalous practices of marketing boards and pharmaceutical companies and their hidden agendum. Discusses the artificial freedom for women - disguised and sold as baby formula and the consequential slavery that has resulted. Very wise, revealing and informative. Best of all - empowering us all to make wise choices. Points the way to natural nurturing while documenting all the science behind it. Boiling down this book, to a sentence, its message is: Trust and inform yourself, follow your natural innate intelligence AND your heart to give your baby the very best start! This book should be available in every public library and be required reading for every new parent, educator and pediatrician. The bulk of our North American societal woes would diminish exponentially if we all acted intelligently upon the information presented.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent review of evidence for AP (though not without bias
Review: Would give it 4.5 stars if I could. Palmer reviews the available evidence (from actual medical and psychology journals) for parenting decisions like breastfeeding, cosleeping, food choices, and the like. She also discusses why medically you should be very responsive to your baby and avoid following the current fad recommendation to cry-it-out. She reinforces why sleeping through the night, while a wonderful thing that all parents hope for, may NOT be the best thing for your baby. Evidence-based medicine in parenting books is a rare thing. For that alone, you should read Palmer's book. Her only drawback is that she definitely writes from her own biases, so you can't look at this as a systematic review of all the literature. Also, she occasionally goes a little too far with her conclusions (an association does not equal a cause, etc.) I highly recommend this book. a physician (non-pediatrician) in Virginia
Rating:
Summary: Encouragement to Follow Your Heart!
Review: Wow. I'm so glad I read this book. Dr. Palmer covers a lot of topics. Some I would have never known about, and I'm glad to know, and some I've been wondering about for a long time. I'm now more able to follow my own instincts without doubting myself, because now I have the scientific evidence to back it up. I've also become a bit of a reference for friends with children displaying various rashes or intestinal disturbances, or wondering about supplementing fluoride or such. I definitely recommend this book as a must-read to any health-minded expectant parent or parent of young children.
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