Fort Worth pediatrician gave medical advice online for 10 years. Now she’s written a book

by Ismael M. Belkoura, Fort Worth Report
January 1, 2026

Dr. Diane Arnaout noticed parents held several misconceptions about childhood illness. She loved writing, so she decided to post pediatric medical advice online.

A decade later, the Fort Worth pediatrician mother of two boasts a significant social media presence. Several of her posts on Facebook have gone viral, receiving hundreds of thousands of views, with readers ranging from Tarrant County natives to followers in Indonesia.

“I started just being very honest and writing about what I was doing with my own kids, the data I had read, the numbers I knew, and just shared that with the community to help them make their own decisions,” Arnaout said.

Now, she’s taking the next step as a writer. Arnaout is publishing her first book, “Hiccups: A Pediatrician Mom’s Guide to Surviving Your First Year of Parenthood,” on April 2.

Part of Arnaout’s desire for the book was to put her advice somewhere more permanent. Social media is “a dumpster fire some days,” she notes.

But she also wanted to provide parents with a different kind of guide to the first year of parenthood. The book is a colloquially written, succinct, 300-page guide caregivers can open every night to get questions they have answered by a trusted source, she said.

“When I wrote the intro of the book, I said, ‘Don’t read this book cover to cover. Jump in and jump out whenever you need it,’” Arnaout said. “That’s how it’s organized. That’s why I wrote it the way I wrote it.”

The chapter titles echo the conversational, lippy style Arnaout has gotten famous for in her social media posts. Sections include “Breastfeeding is a real bitch,” “The absolute brilliance of your kid’s immune system,” and “‘Sleep is for the weak.’ — most babies.”

Each chapter is also structured differently than most parenting books. Instead of long, chunky paragraphs of text, Arnaout spells out her advice in a question-and-answer format.

Everything from the advice littered in the pages to the cover — Arnaout joked most parent guides look like textbooks — was designed to emulate a “conversation with a good friend,” she said.

“I hope it helps someone somewhere. I think it will,” Arnaout said. “I always say my goal is to help some parent somewhere (who) is feeling really confused and frustrated, and they just whip the book out and get the answer they need and sleep better that night.”

The Cowtown resident — who’s worked in Fort Worth her entire pediatric career — is not stopping at this book. Arnaout said her publisher, Bloomsbury Academic, has already given her a contract for a second book titled “Tumbles” and covers ages 1 to 3. 

She hopes to write two future books covering school ages and the teenage years, enveloping all the help a parent may need for their kid’s entire childhood.

The books, including “Hiccups,” are dedicated to Arnaout’s children, Jack and Abby.  

“You’ve taught me more than any book ever could, and I love you,” Arnaout’s acknowledgement in “Hiccups” reads. “Thanks for understanding why I wrote about your butt rashes online.”

Ismael M. Belkoura is the health reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at ismael.belkoura@fortworthreport.org. 

At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

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