A review by asipofcozy
Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong--And What You Really Need to Know by Emily Oster

informative medium-paced

3.75

As with any non-fiction book where there is a bunch of science/facts thrown in and I just don't know how to put into a logical review, we are going to break it down into two list - what I liked, and what I didn't like.

What I liked:
  • I loved that Oster takes the most controversial topics around pregnancy (eating sushi, smoking, listeria risks, caffeine intake, etc) and breaks it down statistically to give the actual facts on the risks and leaves it up to you if you want to take that risk.
  • There is no bias, Oster isn't saying to take any of her recommendations as gospel. She is giving us the tools to make our own decisions and giving us the facts.
  • Im a numbers person and I like stats to help me make well informed decisions besides just the medical reasoning - so I definitely ate up the data.



What I did not like:
  • It's not a book to pick up if you are looking for a break down of what you will go through physically and mentally with pregnancy. Which I already knew going in 
  • There are some very obvious answers to the questions she addresses - i.e. smoking, drugs, etc. - and it seemed kind of pointless to have those added into the book when even she gives them a big NO just as doctors do.
  • She relies on her own statistics and research on medical studies to create her conclusion and doesn't get the input from medical professionals. While I think she did a great job at showing the research, I think having some medical voice backing her stats and findings may appease those that can't just rely on the numbers. It also would have added credence to her trying to explain very scientific/medical situations.
  • Sometime's I feel like the topics she chose were to make her feel better on the choices she was making rather than to help other's. At times it felt like she was justifying her decision's she made during pregnancy.