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A review by daumari
Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong--And What You Really Need to Know by Emily Oster
4.0
I forgot to add this from my stealth reading, whoops (it popped as a Book You May Be interested In and I thought huh, pretty sure I reviewed it... I have not).
This was the first book I read in the pregnancy last spring, and it really helped set my frame of reference for the deluge of solicited & unsolicited information and advice headed my way. I really appreciated Oster's approach of looking not just at studies, but the quality of those studies: context matters, and if the correlation of alcohol and birth defects also coincides with cocaine usage, is that really informative? In general, I liked this more than some of the other "gal pal" type of books re: pregnancy.
Do take Oster's recommendations with a grain of salt as she's an economist by training and is essentially doing a bunch of metaanalyses and lit reviews in this book, which can be useful but context is key. She does acknowledge the choices she personally made weren't necessarily the right ones for expecting friends, and generally takes a "do what works for you" attitude.... which is why it's a little weird she became the leading voice for reopening schools during the pandemic (c'mon Oster, correlation isn't causation). I've already bought a used copy of [b:Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool|40121328|Cribsheet A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool|Emily Oster|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1534142751l/40121328._SY75_.jpg|62221619] and will probably read [b:The Family Firm: A Data-Driven Guide to Better Decision Making in the Early School Years|55997402|The Family Firm A Data-Driven Guide to Better Decision Making in the Early School Years|Emily Oster|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1606112889l/55997402._SY75_.jpg|87227302] later, but hesitant to subscribe to her substack, if that makes sense.
This was the first book I read in the pregnancy last spring, and it really helped set my frame of reference for the deluge of solicited & unsolicited information and advice headed my way. I really appreciated Oster's approach of looking not just at studies, but the quality of those studies: context matters, and if the correlation of alcohol and birth defects also coincides with cocaine usage, is that really informative? In general, I liked this more than some of the other "gal pal" type of books re: pregnancy.
Do take Oster's recommendations with a grain of salt as she's an economist by training and is essentially doing a bunch of metaanalyses and lit reviews in this book, which can be useful but context is key. She does acknowledge the choices she personally made weren't necessarily the right ones for expecting friends, and generally takes a "do what works for you" attitude.... which is why it's a little weird she became the leading voice for reopening schools during the pandemic (c'mon Oster, correlation isn't causation). I've already bought a used copy of [b:Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool|40121328|Cribsheet A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool|Emily Oster|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1534142751l/40121328._SY75_.jpg|62221619] and will probably read [b:The Family Firm: A Data-Driven Guide to Better Decision Making in the Early School Years|55997402|The Family Firm A Data-Driven Guide to Better Decision Making in the Early School Years|Emily Oster|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1606112889l/55997402._SY75_.jpg|87227302] later, but hesitant to subscribe to her substack, if that makes sense.