Neelie answers “I am quite concerned than an economist is...”

Mirjana Thiessen asked this question about Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom is Wrong - and What You Really Need to Know:

I am quite concerned than an economist is writing recommendations regarding pregnancy...can someone give me insight into this prior to reading this book/moving along to a better read?

Neelie I think you are right to be worried. I can't speak to all the info in her book, but as a neuroscientist who focuses on studying the impact of prenatal…moreI think you are right to be worried. I can't speak to all the info in her book, but as a neuroscientist who focuses on studying the impact of prenatal alcohol exposure on the brain, I can say that her chapter discussing alcohol is dangerously misleading. She discusses only a couple studies on light or moderate drinking during pregnancy and fails to put them in the context of the larger literature. She may be well qualified to perform statistical analyses, but what she lacks is the broader knowledge of the field on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and the clinical expertise and experience to put the studies she is reading into the appropriate context. I have personally interacted with children who have fetal alcohol syndrome despite their mother's reporting that they only had occasional drinking during pregnancy. There are other factors at play that can make an individual more or less susceptible to fetal alcohol spectrum disorders besides alcohol, genetics, stress, and nutrition to name a few. Does she discuss this at all? No. She's not allowing you to make informed decisions on drinking alcohol during pregnancy, she's muddying the waters. If you'd like to see the response to her chapter discussing alcohol use during pregnancy by the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Study Group, a group comprised of medical doctors and research scientists devoted to fully understanding fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, you can do it here: https://www.proofalliance.org/2013/09.... (less)

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