Anyone read Expecting Better by Emily Oster?

daisydaisy23

Sorry if this has been discussed before, but has anyone else read this book that came out last month?  I'm about 40% of the way through it and it's really interesting.  It was written by an economist who decided during her pregnancy that she wanted to know the specifics behind all of the pregnancy "rules" (can't drink alcohol, limit caffeine, no deli meat, etc).  So she combed through all the medical literature in order to show the true risks of each of these behaviors.  She also covers stuff like the actual risk of miscarriage with an amnio, any potential risks/benefits associated with exercise, etc.  Some of what she found conforms with the traditional pregnancy advice, but other things don't, which is interesting.

If you want something a little more data-driven than WTEWYE, it's a good pick.  Anyone else read it?

northport6

I've been reading her blog on Slate which is, frankly, terrible.  Maybe because she covered all the good stuff in her book?

daisydaisy23

I've heard that about the blog and I read a little bit of it myself...I think she is really not putting much on the blog in an effort to get people to read the book.  Which unfortunately is making the blog seem pretty bad...

Tigger & pooh

I would love that book! I will have to go look for it.

northport6

@hercules03  We're on the same page with that one.  You'd think being pregnant was akin to a chronic illness, if you take WTEWYE seriously.  I want to write a pregnancy manual. It would be three pages long.