A book review of Baby Ecology: Using Science and Intuition to Create the Best Feeding, Sleep, and Play Environment for Your Unique Baby by Anya Dunham, PhD.
Stars: ***
Encradled Press (2022)
Parenting
324 pages
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This post contains affiliate links.
Summary: Do you feel overloaded with baby care advice?
Are you finding that many parenting techniques contradict each other, while all claiming to be “best” and “right”?
As a scientist and mother, Anya Dunham knew there couldn’t be only one right way, and that raising a baby requires more than techniques. She examined hundreds of studies on infant development, sleep, and feeding through the lens of her research field, ecology, and made a key discovery:
There is a biologically optimal nurturing environment for all babies – and within it, a variety of healthy options to meet different babies’ unique needs.
In Baby Ecology, you will find:
- Scientific findings most relevant to everyday baby care
- A shift from techniques (reactively solving problems) to a holistic approach (proactively creating the environment for success)
- Ten biology-based, interconnected building blocks of the environment that nurtures every baby’s unfolding abilities
- A guide to creating these building blocks in your home in a way that works best for your unique baby and your circumstances
Unlike other parenting books, Baby Ecology offers both scientific findings and helpful advice. Use it to create a strong foundation for your baby, while bringing less stress and more joy to your parenting journey.
Baby Ecology
If you are pregnant or this is your first baby, Baby Ecology is a great book to get you introduced to the basics of caring for a baby. From bring baby home to sleep, feeding, environment, development and your role.
Overall it’s a good guide for new parents but if you’ve already read a bunch of basics books, you won’t find anything brand new. If you haven’t started reading yet, I do recommend this one.
One thing that is different from other books is the From Your Baby’s Perspective parts. Although the information in the book on childcare isn’t new, I’ve never seen this feature before. It is an explanation of what it must be like from your child’s point of view.
For example when the book talks about consistent sleep associations and routines, it talks about the problem with having your baby fall asleep in one spot and then moving them to another. The baby’s perspective part starts like this:
“Imagine you go to sleep as usual, on your favourite side of the bed […]. You wake up at night to find that your pillow is no longer there. You sit up to check if it somehow fell on the floor.. .and realize you are not even in your bedroom, but rather in the living room. Imagine this happening several times in a row […].
At the end of each chapter is a recap of the key points. This would make a great gift for a mom to be.
Buy Baby Ecology at Amazon.com and help support the blog.
Find Baby Ecology at Goodreads.
About Kathleen
