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Why I Wrote Dangerous or Safe? (Which Could Also Have Been Titled The Danger of Thinking That Everything Is Bad For You) By Cara Natterson, M.D.
During the seven years I spent in private practice as a pediatrician-checking dozens of kids each day; taking phone calls in the middle of the night; and working weekends in the hospital and office-I also became a mother. Despite my medical degree, I found myself swirling in the eddies of parental rumor just like everyone else. I was vulnerable to the same worries and certainties about every possible thing that could harm my children, just like every other parent out there.
I felt lucky because I could do something about it: I could read the studies, understand the data, and come to rational conclusions. The problem was, I didn't have enough time in the office to pass all of this information along to my patients and their families.
The list of To Do's during a checkup visit is a mile long (Do you brush his teeth? Is he wearing a helmet when he rides a bike? Is the car seat properly installed? Have you baby proofed the house? Is he walking? Is he playing sports? How many words does he have? How much TV is he watching? Is he engaging normally with others? How are his eating habits? How are his bowel movements?) It has become a parent's responsibility to remember to ask the question of the day about lead or cell phones or DEET or antibiotics or milk or organic produce or water or vaccines. And when doctors don't have time to cover it all in the office, parents take it upon themselves to seek out answers.
And so I put the answers in a book, explaining the science that backs them up. Parents really just want to do what's best for their kids, and they have exhausted themselves with worry. It turns out, on most fronts science supports level-headedness: by-and-large, studies show that you can take a breath and relax a little.
Cara Natterson, M.D. Dangerous or Safe Hudson Street Press Pediatrician Children Safety Health
