This is in conversation from Apple News. I'm Julia Carpenter filling in for Shimita Basu.

Today, a parenting expert on how to make the U.S. a better place to raise kids.

The United States is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, but when it comes to support for parents and families, we log behind many of our peers. We're one of the only countries without a national paid parental

leave policy. We have one of the highest infant and maternal mortality rates

among peer nations and we spend far less on early childhood care than other wealthy countries.

Unsurprisingly, parents in the US really feel this lack of support.

Where is my village is a question that comes up a lot.

I was told there was a village. Where is it?

That's Emily Oster. She's an economist, parenting expert, best-selling author, and the CEO of

Parent Data, a Data Driven Guide

through Pregnancy Parenthood and Beyond.

She also hosts the podcast Parent Data

with Emily Oster.

Now, if you're a parent or preparing to become one,

chances are you're already familiar with Emily's work.

She has become so many people's go-to source for parenting guidance that is backed by

evidence and delivered in an eye-level impragmatic way. That's why when I started thinking about ways we could

make parents and families' lives better, I wanted to call up Emily to hear what big picture

solutions she'd want to see to address these issues in the US.

I think what's striking about the US is not only the incredibly limited support that we provide parents but also the inequality in that support.

So one of the kind of key elements that I think we're missing in all of this discussion is lack of support for early childhood,

lack of resources, lack of access to child care.

...