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A review by bookshelfmystic
Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong--And What You Really Need to Know by Emily Oster
informative
medium-paced
4.0
An interesting, well-researched survey of the research around questions expectant mothers might face. I appreciated the author's emphasis on logical decision-making and giving her readers tools to make decisions for themselves. I learned a lot about many pregnancy topics I'd only heard of in passing (and some I wasn't even aware were issues, like eating deli meat). In an age of misinformation and illogical discourse, we need more books like this.
I'm giving the book four stars instead of five because I found Oster's tone just a bit annoying. She came off slightly condescending when discussing lifestyles she assumes are beneath the reader (scoffing at cocaine and other drug use, seemingly not understanding why some women would find it hard to have 1 drink a day or less), and I thought some of her comments on weight gain during pregnancy were rather unenlightened. Maybe Oster was trying to appeal to a broad audience by sticking to the "average" discourse around these topics, and I'm just used to more left-leaning spaces that provide more room for alternate experiences. This was not a major gripe, and the book is well worth reading in any case.
I'm giving the book four stars instead of five because I found Oster's tone just a bit annoying. She came off slightly condescending when discussing lifestyles she assumes are beneath the reader (scoffing at cocaine and other drug use, seemingly not understanding why some women would find it hard to have 1 drink a day or less), and I thought some of her comments on weight gain during pregnancy were rather unenlightened. Maybe Oster was trying to appeal to a broad audience by sticking to the "average" discourse around these topics, and I'm just used to more left-leaning spaces that provide more room for alternate experiences. This was not a major gripe, and the book is well worth reading in any case.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy