Harvey Karp

Harvey Neil Karp was born on November 30, 1951, in New York City. He earned his medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, completed his pediatric residency at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, and pursued fellowships in ambulatory pediatrics and child development at UCLA. Early in his career, from 1982 to 1984, he practiced pediatrics alongside Paul Fleiss in Los Angeles before opening his own practice in Santa Monica, where he saw patients for nearly 25 years until 2005. Karp's breakthrough came through his research on infant behavior, hypothesizing that human babies are born less developed than other mammals, effectively extending pregnancy into a 'fourth trimester.' He developed the 'calming reflex' technique using the '5 S's' (swaddling, side-stomach position, shushing, swinging, sucking) to recreate womb-like conditions and soothe fussiness, colic, and sleep issues. This formed the basis of his bestselling books 'The Happiest Baby on the Block' (2002), 'The Happiest Toddler on the Block', and 'The Happiest Baby Guide to Great Sleep', translated into over 20 languages and endorsed by outlets like the New York Times, which dubbed him a successor to Dr. Spock. Academically, Karp served as assistant clinical professor of pediatrics at UCLA School of Medicine from 1989 to 2009 and transitioned to Assistant Professor at the Keck School of Medicine at USC in 2009, where he remains on faculty. He contributed to media, including as a regular on Lifetime's 'Growing Up Together' (1990-1992) and appearances on 'Dr. Oz', 'Good Morning America', 'Today Show', CNN, and others. Karp founded Happiest Baby, Inc., inventing the SNOO smart bassinet, which received FDA De Novo Authorization as the first device proven to maintain safe sleep positioning. Beyond clinical work, Karp is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and a leading advocate for children's environmental health, serving as a spokesperson for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), director of the Environmental Working Group, and founding board member of Healthy Child Healthy World. His techniques are taught by over 4,600 certified instructors in hospitals, clinics, military bases, and programs across 20+ countries, including U.S. state health departments. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Nina Montée Karp.