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1.46k reviews for:
Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong--And What You Really Need to Know
Emily Oster
4.24 AVERAGE
1.46k reviews for:
Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong--And What You Really Need to Know
Emily Oster
4.24 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
Can’t recommend enough for anyone pregnant or hoping to become pregnant! Really distills the conventional wisdom about the do’s/don’ts and actually explains the underlying reasons for that advice so you can decide on a more informed basis what you listen to and what you ignore
The book that all modern educated mamas want to read. I give it a lower rating mostly because of the difference between expectations/fame and what it's really like. It's a good book, and I truly appreciate its mission: making pregnancy advice more comprehensible and framing it in terms of personal choices. One of the strengths of the book is that it reviews evidence not only in % numbers, but in absolute numbers and in context, so that it makes clear what are the real risks, and what instead are the negligible ones.
Unfortunately, however, the author does not have the full skills and tools to really put in context some of the numbers she crunches. For example, from the little I know from my field, I can tell that the advice on alcohol is terrible. After reviewing the studies on pregnancy and alcohol, Oster claims that it's safe(ish) for women to drink a glass of wine a day. Unfortunately, that's not a safe amount of alcohol recommended to any adult. It may not cause immediate damage to the woman or to the baby, but it has clear long-term implications, and I find it outrageous that these risks are not even mentioned in the book. I was also unconvinced by some of the dietary advice.
In sum: good to read for the approach/mindset it offers, but please double check any of the advice you read with someone more expert.
Unfortunately, however, the author does not have the full skills and tools to really put in context some of the numbers she crunches. For example, from the little I know from my field, I can tell that the advice on alcohol is terrible. After reviewing the studies on pregnancy and alcohol, Oster claims that it's safe(ish) for women to drink a glass of wine a day. Unfortunately, that's not a safe amount of alcohol recommended to any adult. It may not cause immediate damage to the woman or to the baby, but it has clear long-term implications, and I find it outrageous that these risks are not even mentioned in the book. I was also unconvinced by some of the dietary advice.
In sum: good to read for the approach/mindset it offers, but please double check any of the advice you read with someone more expert.
A pretty good pregnancy book (although I have a healthy skepticism of any pop science books as an epidemiologist). She makes several sensible recommendations and unravels some of the “rules” that exist despite little evidence.
informative
Not super useful. It mostly seems as though the author wants to emphasize that pregnant people don't have to adhere to the "letter of the law" of doctors' recommendations.
informative
medium-paced
Are you having a baby, are you thinking about having a baby, are you thinking about thinking about having a baby, do you know a baby or someone who had one? You should read this.
informative
fast-paced
informative
fast-paced
I found this book to be helpful in some things that I have little knowledge on thus far regarding pregnancy and childbirth… however Dr. Oster is not an MD and would have benefited from having an MD write this book with her to go more in depth on some of the topics she discussed. I am going to read her second book “The Unexpected” which is written with an MD so I am eager to see the differences between the two!