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Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'
Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong--And What You Really Need to Know by Emily Oster
4 reviews
kjbranton's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy and Medical trauma
knachknachjoke's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
5.0
This book helped me feel SO much more peace about pregnancy (something that, deservedly, I've been nervous about!) Emily Oster goes into the whys of so many pregnancy rules and regulations, and for someone so factually-grounded like me, it made me feel so much more relaxed about things I know my husband and I would have been neurotic about before. It also did a much better job (in my opinion) than What to Expect about some of the pitfalls and expectations in pregnancy; Oster doesn't give a full timeline of every possible event, but she goes into what some common side effects are and how to tell if what you're experiencing is normal or not (with statistics to reassure you that you're probably going to be fine!) The book is much easier on the anxiety than WtE's laundry-list-of-complications style of delivery.
Content Warnings
Minor: Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage
eslsilver's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Blood, and Medical trauma
pagesfromhome's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.5
All in all, an insightful look at some of the standard "rules" around pregnancy and the facts and studies behind them. It was pretty overwhelmingly catered to people who will be more likely to have a standard pregnancy (rather than anybody disabled, chronically ill, etc.), and there were only minor nods to anything that pregnant people of color may experience. Still, I think that the information could be utilized to help you make your own decisions, even if it doesn't apply to you directly. It provided clear and concise information and backed you up to make your own decisions for your body and your pregnancy. It also gave me a no-nonsense look at what goes down in labor in a way that I haven't seen in many other books.
The only thing that made me knock off half a star was the discussion of weight that was based almost entirely on BMI. For a book that debunks many medical myths, it was a bummer to see BMI used as a benchmark when it has been debunked as inaccurate in most cases (Maintenance Phase has a podcast episode about that, which is incredibly informative).
But I will absolutely be recommending this to any friend who is looking to get pregnant or is pregnant. It sparked plenty of questions about what I want in my future pregnancy and provided me with the framework to ask questions and research in a way that feels comfortable to me. Certainly worth picking up and giving a read!
The only thing that made me knock off half a star was the discussion of weight that was based almost entirely on BMI. For a book that debunks many medical myths, it was a bummer to see BMI used as a benchmark when it has been debunked as inaccurate in most cases (Maintenance Phase has a podcast episode about that, which is incredibly informative).
But I will absolutely be recommending this to any friend who is looking to get pregnant or is pregnant. It sparked plenty of questions about what I want in my future pregnancy and provided me with the framework to ask questions and research in a way that feels comfortable to me. Certainly worth picking up and giving a read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy and Medical content
Minor: Infertility, Medical trauma, Blood, Child death, and Miscarriage
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