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A review by deagaric
Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom is Wrong - and What You Really Need to Know by Emily Oster
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
"There is no shortage of opinions, but there is a definite shortage of agreements."
Emily Oster's Expecting Better is an excellent and light-hearted primer to pregnancy that every mom-to-be should read. She concisely covers topics starting from pre-conception up to what vaccinations your baby will receive following the birth.
The overall aim seems to be to provide information free from over-interpretation, which a breath of fresh air compared to most self-help and parenting books. She does occasionally step in and provide more structured advice, such as very handy figures about knowing which types of fish are the safest and/or most beneficial, as well as a guide to understanding drug classifications for common over-the-counter prescriptions. Each section ends with bullet-point style summaries, which are excellent for future reference. I’m glad I was gifted a hardcopy of this book rather than just relying on the library copy because I imagine it will be helpful to look back on certain sections again and again.
While some of her opinions are controversial (drink a few cups of coffee and finish your night with a glass of wine if you so choose), she provides interesting data-driven reasoning. I loved the numerous graphs and the deep discussions about empirical studies that have found conflicting results. She mixes all of that up with personal anecdotes from her pregnancy and the experiences of people close to her. Overall, 5-star read, very approachable and empowering.
"This book is very specifically not about making recommendations; it's about acknowledging that if you have the right information you can make the right decisions for yourself."
Emily Oster's Expecting Better is an excellent and light-hearted primer to pregnancy that every mom-to-be should read. She concisely covers topics starting from pre-conception up to what vaccinations your baby will receive following the birth.
The overall aim seems to be to provide information free from over-interpretation, which a breath of fresh air compared to most self-help and parenting books. She does occasionally step in and provide more structured advice, such as very handy figures about knowing which types of fish are the safest and/or most beneficial, as well as a guide to understanding drug classifications for common over-the-counter prescriptions. Each section ends with bullet-point style summaries, which are excellent for future reference. I’m glad I was gifted a hardcopy of this book rather than just relying on the library copy because I imagine it will be helpful to look back on certain sections again and again.
While some of her opinions are controversial (drink a few cups of coffee and finish your night with a glass of wine if you so choose), she provides interesting data-driven reasoning. I loved the numerous graphs and the deep discussions about empirical studies that have found conflicting results. She mixes all of that up with personal anecdotes from her pregnancy and the experiences of people close to her. Overall, 5-star read, very approachable and empowering.
"This book is very specifically not about making recommendations; it's about acknowledging that if you have the right information you can make the right decisions for yourself."