Alice Callahan's Blog

The science behind the AAP’s safe sleep recommendations

The AAP’s updated policy statement on safe infant sleep was released this week (1). I wrote a brief article about the policy update for the Washington Post, but I wanted to dig into the science a bit more in a blog post.

As a side note, let me just say that the opportunity to write for larger media outlets is very exciting, but also very humbling. A typical blog post for me is 2000 words, but I was asked to write 500-800 for the Post. It’s really hard to include in-depth science in a piece li...

The EAT Study: More food for thought on earlier introduction of solids to prevent food allergy

Would you offer your 3-month-old baby a taste of peanut butter? Hard-boiled egg? How about a little tilapia with tahini sauce? That’s exactly what parents did in a study published in May in The New England Journal of Medicine.1 The study found that early introduction to these foods might protect children from development of food allergies, but many parents had a difficult time following the study instructions.

The study, called the Enquiring About Tolerance (EAT) study, was conducted in the U...

What’s Up With the Virgin Gut? Do Babies Really Have an “Open Gut” Until 6 Months of Age?

There is a persistent myth about infant gut development that comes up in nearly every online discussion of starting solid foods. It’s the myth that infants have a “virgin” or “open” gut until around 6 months of age. I’ve received so many emails, Facebook posts, and comments about the virgin gut over the last few years that I thought it was finally time to take a look at the science – and lack thereof – behind this myth.

I have written before, in my book and on my blog, about the controversy a...

My Sleep Mantra and BabyM’s Sleep Story

BabyM is almost 14 months old already. It’s crazy how quickly the first year of his life flew by, and I know the subsequent years will be no different.

The upside of that passage of time is that we’re all sleeping pretty well now, and that is a wonderful thing. To be honest, though, I actually enjoyed watching my baby’s sleep develop this time around. I know that time softens my memories, but I already miss those quiet middle-of-the-night feedings with my baby.

Long-time readers of this blog...

4 Parenting New Year’s Resolutions, and Books for Inspiration

This time last year, I had a week-old baby, and my New Year’s resolutions were simple: Be present with my family, find gratitude in each day, and take care of myself. These goals were simple but not always easy. Still, it helped me to come back to these intentions for the year when I started to feel overwhelmed. I’m reaffirming those resolutions for the coming year, but I’m also feeling more ambitious and inspired about bringing more creativity, fun, and learning into each day with my kids.

I...

Resources for an Evidence-Based Pregnancy

Last week, I was thrilled to be interviewed for a story about pregnancy recommendations on WHYY’s The Pulse, a weekly show about health and science. The segment, Navigating the do’s and don’ts of pregnancy by reporter Taunya English, included input from OBs, midwives, and moms. The interview got me thinking about how we make decisions for a healthy pregnancy. How do we sort through the huge amounts of advice – solicited and not – to make evidence-based choices? Who do we trust? I asked reader...

See My Interview – and Lots More – in a Free Parenting Summit

Hi everyone! I’ve been quiet these last few weeks as we’ve celebrated Cee’s 5th birthday (I know! I can’t believe it! Amazing girl…), had house guests, and already celebrated Thanksgiving on Sunday. My husband is working on Thursday, so we made some adjustments this year so we could all be together. We’re already on to turkey soup in our house!

A quick post today to get the word out about a free online parenting summit, featuring video interviews with 21 parenting writers and educators – incl...

Are the Ingredients in the Newborn Vitamin K Shot Safe?

Today on the blog, I’m sharing an excerpt from my book. Chapter 3 of the book covers newborn medical procedures, including in-depth discussions of the history and science of the vitamin K shot and erythromycin eye ointment. Recognizing that some parents are concerned about the ingredients in the vitamin K shot, I really dug into the details on these, but then I ended up making this section an appendix so as not to bog down the chapter with too much chemistry. This is one of the those topics w...

Should Your Baby Sleep in Your Room? For How Long? Balancing Sleep, Safety, and Sanity

There is no doubt that having a new baby changes everything about sleep. Between fussing, feeding, diapering, and soothing, it is broken into fragments, and the sum of all of those pieces doesn’t usually feel like enough. There’s also your baby’s safety to consider. Nobody likes to think about SIDS, but it is the most common cause of death in babies beyond the newborn period (1), and we want to do everything we can to prevent it. If we could, we might sit awake and watch our babies breathe al...

Come and Gone (A Miscarriage Remembrance)

I realized, late in the day, that today is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. I want to send a big virtual hug to all of the families that are hurting, today and every day, because of babies lost to miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant loss. It brings back memories for me of our first miscarriage, a pregnancy conceived in this month in 2012. This is the first October since then that I’ve held my baby boy. Every day, I feel grateful for him and how he has made our family feel whole. Most...