Expecting Better, Emily Oster - implications for TTC?

marijaa333

Has anyone read Emily Oster's book? She is an economist who decided to fact-check a lot of the studies on risks in pregnancy once she conceived, and she found that a lot of the recommendations are unsupported.

She finds soft cheese and deli turkey to actually be implicated in some serious risks, but writes that most of the other standard recommendations are iffy, including the zero tolerance for alcohol, which has been the most controversial conclusion of hers.

You can listen to a podcast summarizing some of the findings here:

https://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2013/08/20/213885032/episode-481-the-economists-guide-to-drinking-while-pregnant

And you can get a sense of the debate on the amazon review page (some comments are quite out there...):

https://www.amazon.com/Expecting-Better-Conventional-Pregnancy-Wrong/dp/1594204756

I haven't read the book so am unsure if she goes overboard but I like that there is an effort to explain the logic behind all these rules (no soft cheese, no deli, no swordfish, can't gain 36 lbs, but 35 is ok, etc.)

Just did a quick search and there are already a couple of threads on this under another category, but I wonder if there are implications for TTC. Previous threads are here: 

https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12350553/expecting-better-by-emily-oster

and here:

https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12130931/expecting-better-by-emily-oster

Austrogermokee

I read the book, and I really liked it. Oster isn't barging in all, "drink a box of Franzia and eat a wheel of Brie and go horseback riding every day because lifestyle changes are stupid!" Rather, she looks at all the studies involved, judges them on their merits, and comes back with her assessment. She also discusses why the recommendations exist, and which ones are perhaps too restrictive. At no point does she give medical advice or claim that she is a doctor.

Most of the criticism I've found of Oster comes from people who haven't read the book, or read it and interpreted it as a free pass to do whatever you want to the detriment of your child.

For me, all it did was reinforce that I need to be an informed patient while TTC, not be afraid to ask questions, and not freak out every time I have a slipup.

marijaa333

Austrogermokee said:

Oster isn't barging in all, "drink a box of Franzia and eat a wheel of Brie and go horseback riding every day because lifestyle changes are stupid!"

That's a hilarious visual! In fact, I may have to...

...and there it is!

Austrogermokee

Can you photoshop in a big baby belly, and maybe some soft cheeses?

marijaa333

Ha! This is as much as I can do!

sunflwra

I think that most of what used to be considered hardcore no-nos aren't so anymore.  Most will tell you that you have just as much chance (or more) of getting listeria from lettuce as you will deli meat.  And I know my OB didn't have an issue with an occasional glass of wine.  Everyone has the potential to get sick from raw fish, undercooked meat, soft cheeses, etc and being pregnant can be viewed in some ways as being immunocompromised, so I haven't read the book but I think as long as people are being smart and a little more cautious about what they are consuming while pregnant (or TTC), everything is fine.

marijaa333

Thanks, sunflwra, that sounds about right!