Reads like a reference book, or an encyclopedia. It had really good information, but I could never see myself reading it cover to cover.
Probably best for first time moms, rather than seasoned moms.

The Bottom Line for Baby is THE infant parenting book I wish I had when my baby was born. I read What to Expect When You're Expecting and freaked out about all the terrible things that might happen. Instead of scaring new parents, Tina Payne Bryson lays out all the many decisions we have to make in an easy-to-find, concise way, almost like an encyclopedia. She gives the scientific consensus, the factors to weigh, and then leaves it to us to decide. From breast vs. bottle to cosleeping and schedules, all those stressful early decisions to make. Great book. Easy to pick up to find one answer, since new parents usually don't have time to read it cover to cover!

In Dr. Tina Payne Bryson's book, The Bottom Line for Baby, the New York Times best-selling author shares science-backed answers to parents' burning questions about raising their babies. With so many opinions and academic studies available at parents' fingertips, it can be difficult and time-consuming to find evidence-based, but easy to digest answers to questions about baby's well-being. Dr. Bryson's book is the solution to this challenge.
This book provides clarity for new and experienced parents without judgement, and provides easy to search responses to highly debated topics surrounding raising a baby from zero to twelve months.
Dr. Bryson approaches each topic by presenting the most common opposing views, then providing an evaluation of both sides based on available research. This book can be read cover-to-cover, or picked up as needed when parents have questions as they raise their baby.
The Bottom Line for Baby is written for the discerning parent that wants to raise their child in a smart, evidence-backed way without needing to comb through scientific journals and dozens of websites. From sleep-training to swaddling, breastfeeding to thumb sucking, it can be overwhelming as a parent to hear so many contradictory opinions from friends and family or on the internet about important topics--and difficult to know when an argument is research-backed. Dr. Bryson clearly lays out answers based on current research, and shows when the research does not point to an obvious answer. Every parent should have this book on their shelf to refer to when questions arise in the first year, especially parents that often feel conflicted about advice they receive, and parents who want to know what research says about many parenting dilemmas.

-Hannah Fathi

Digital Creator | Little Light LLC

Email: ‪hannah@babyplayhacks.com‬
Website: ‪Babyplayhacks.com‬
‪Instagram: @babyplayhacks‬

Easily digestible but we’ll researched answers to common questions/panics for first time parents. Like Emily Oster’s Cribsheet but less wonky. I prefer wonky, but this would make a great baby shower gift!

I've found the book that I am going to be gifting every single one of my soon-to-be mom friends. I cannot stress enough how important this book is to parenting. I loved the layout of the book as well as the writing. Bryson gives you the two sides, the facts, and then "The Bottom Line." Doing so in alphabetical order is going to be so helpful for new moms. I also really appreciate her bibliography in the back that gives more information on subjects. If I wanted to dive deeper into a subject I was given the materials to do so. It is also extremely helpful to find something covering this much material that is strictly for babies up to 12 months.
In a world where mom-shaming is the norm and you don't know what the heck you're doing as a new mother, this book really can be helpful to so many people.

This book is great! I love the way Bryson set it up with questions, answers from both sides and then a scientific response. I appreciated how Bryson added in her own thoughts/ anecdotes to highlight a point or just share her personal experience with the matter! If you’re a new mom- you need this book!

I am a Postpartum Doula and I love the format of this book. I found it easy to read and it covers many topics that parents wonder about. I like the way different sides of an issue are presented and the sources in the back are vast.

Once this book is published I may consider gifting this to the families I work with. I think they would find it useful and informative.

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A great resource, especially for new parents. Dr. Bryson summarizes scientific literature for a huge variety of parenting issues in a concise and readable manner. The evidence she provides is generally unbiased and fairly comprehensive, at least as far as the general population is concerned. Defiintely better than "just googling it" like you might be tempted to do during those conflicted moments. Best of all, when the science is split or non-existent, there is absolutely no condemnation nor encouragement either way. Dr. Bryson does give her own experiences in many "on a personal note" sections, but these do not seem to affect her analysis of the evidence in any case.

This book is worth its weight in gold! There is so much helpful information packed in here, it makes me wish I had this book before my first child. I like how clear-headed Tina Payne Bryson, Ph. D., conveys the information. The fact that she divides each chapter into clear, easy to follow along sections makes this a great tool for any new parent or parent to be. I will highly recommend this book to my friends with babies on the way.

Was a very informative book. I think mommy wars are so harmful to our society now, so it was nice to have a bit more balance in a book geared towards new moms.

I absolutely loved this read. I am currently pregnant as well so i was very intruiged and anxious! I love the topics that were covered - from typical ones like pacifier usage and sign language, to sticky ones like screen time and vaccines, and obscure ones like amber necklaces and circumcisions. 
Thank you for allowing me to read this!

Y’all, “The Bottom Line for Baby,” let me tell you-

Friggin’ amazing. Seriously, I am in awe at how concise, organized, unbiased, and comprehensive this book is. I love that the contents are organized alphabetically like an encyclopedia instead of by content likeness. I love the topics that were covered - from typical ones like pacifier usage and sign language, to sticky ones like screen time and vaccines, and obscure ones like amber necklaces and circumcisions.

I recently read Nora Ephron’s “I Feel Bad About My Neck” and although she speaks primarily about issues I haven’t experienced -yet- I very much enjoyed it. One thing she discusses is how “Parenting” (capital P) used to just be “parenting” (lowercase p). Nora’s generation parented their kids. They hung out with them occasionally kept them alive, educated them. Now, Parenting is more complicated and involves sleep coaches and lactation consultants and every parent needs to be an expert. My mom has told me that it is harder for me to be a parent than it was for her. There is so much more information and expectations on parents.

Tina Payne Bryson, author of this book (as well as popular The Whole-Brain Child and No-Drama Discipline, which I proudly have), also says that parents are “faced with the astounding volume of parenting information” coming not only from our parents and friends, but also from Google, social media, mommy bloggers, and I’ve even used WebMD (although knowing there was a chance the issue was either Cholera or pregnancy).

Bryson takes a scientific look at 70 different issues parents can expect to have questions on. (As a mom of 2 girls, there are only maybe 3 topics in this book that I haven’t discussed or researched on my own.) For each topic, she states the main conflicting views, does the research for you (you overwhelmed, overtired and probably dirty new mom), explains her findings unbiasedly, and then summarizes what they mean. She occasionally offers her own personal note if a topic is one she has had personal experience with to stand in as an example.

Above all, I appreciate that the author clearly states that while she is providing the information, you as the parent are still the only one that knows YOUR child, YOUR family and trusts you to make the best decision. For example, in the section on Baby Powder, the bottom line is not to use it. However, I do use talc-free Burt’s Bees powder on my 22 month old nightly. I love it. It smells good, doesn’t affect my baby, and I feel is just an extra layer of protection from diaper rash as she wears one diaper all night (and, in fact, she has NEVER had a diaper rash). Even though I dismissed this bottom line, I still appreciate the research and findings. I’ve just decided that for my family, baby powder works.

I wish I had this when I had my first baby and plan on buying this for every baby shower I attend in the future. It should be in handy reaching distance for all parents with kiddos under the age of 1, or as needed!

Thank you for allowing me to read this book! It was a total joy and I can't wait to help promote it for you!

I really enjoyed the structure of this book. It's very well done. For example, the first subject is about alcohol and breastfeeding so It has the subject on the top and then it has two different perspectives about the subject and then what the science says about it, the bottom line and the author's personal note. It's a great book for first time parents. I've been TTC so this book is all I needed! I'm still reading it but so far it has been helpful. I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review