How does Hilary Erickson's experience as a nurse inform her parenting advice?

Hi, I’m Hilary Erickson from The Pregnancy Nurse.

My parenting advice is very much shaped by my nursing background. I’ve been a registered nurse since the late 90s, with over 20 years in labor and delivery, plus experience in pediatrics, hospice, and geriatrics. Seeing thousands of births and families in all kinds of situations has taught me what really matters for safety, what’s preference, and what’s just noise.

In practice, that means I:

• Focus on evidence-based information but explain it in plain language
• Emphasize practical, realistic strategies over perfection
• Talk a lot about communication, gradual independence, and long‑term skills (like with phones, clothes, and relationships in the teen years)
• Normalize the messy emotions around pregnancy, postpartum, and parenting, because I’ve seen how common they are

I try to bridge the gap between “what the hospital knows” and “what parents are actually living at home.”

Is there a specific parenting topic where you’re wondering how my nurse experience applies?