This episode is for you if you're looking for some data-driven answers about the many decisions made during pregnancy and parenthood. There's so much information out there about what you should or shouldn't do during pregnancy, delivery, and those early parenting years that it can be really challenging to determine what is right for you and your family and what is fact versus fiction. For this episode, we brought on Emily Oster, an Economist, author and New York Times contributor. She shared how we can make measured approaches to decision making in parenting. We talked about a few of the do's and don'ts in pregnancy and motherhood, using evidence to determine what is important to you and your family and some of the common misconceptions that come with breastfeeding, cosleeping, sleep training and more.

What's In This Episode:

• How Emily navigates the success of her work while being a mom
• Sharing the same profession with her husband
• How having a common language helps with their parenting
• The career shift she had when entering into motherhood
• General parenting misconceptions she came across
• What an Economist does
• Using data and determining what is important to you and your family
• Accepting that there is no absolute right choice
• Looking at risk tolerances in parenthood
• To do's and not to do's in pregnancy and motherhood
• Food and drink avoidances for pregnant women
• C-sections vs. vaginal delivery
• Data on getting an epidural for delivery
• Eating the placenta
• The data on vaccinations and how important they are
• Common misconceptions with breastfeeding
• Sleep training and cosleeping
• Evidence about cosleeping and SIDS
• Being a stay-at-home mom or a working mom
• What research surprised Emily about parenting
• Her best piece of advice for parents in the decision-making process
• What is next for Emily and her research