Book Review: Expecting Better by Emily Oster

TLDR: This is a fantastic resource for new/expecting parents who enjoy utilizing data and statistics to help their decision making. Oster lays out the *mostly unbiased* information relating to common pregnancy questions and concerns, allowing the reader to make their own informed decision about how to move forward! Not much fluff; can be a bit information overload. If numbers give you anxiety, this is not the one for you.

I fully enjoyed reading this book by Emily Oster. It had been one I'd heard about for quite some time, but hadn't personally gotten around to checking it out. After reading it, I am looking forward to sharing the word about how informative this book truly is. I am now on the Emily Oster train!

Oster is a statistician by trade, which she explains early on in the book. This made the content and flow of "Expecting Better" much different than other pregnancy and new parenting books I've read in the past. It is a little more dry. Data driven. You will not find frilly stories of peaceful childbirth. But you will find thoughtful explanations of statistics related to common pregnancy fears, worries, and random questions, like "what is the actual risk of drinking coffee during my pregnancy", or "is there anything I can actually do to increase my chances of having a girl"?

Oster uses anecdotes from her own life, her relationships with family & friends, and her own experiences from conception & pregnancy. She does a great job at being ultra relatable, writing things that folks often think about but won't say out loud, whether it be due to taboo or out of fear of "jinxing" a situation. Oster puts those words onto paper and allows the reader to consider all the possibilities. Starting from pre-conception, this book explores questions about possible conception factors and considerations that are commonly suggested, such as the actual likelihood of conceiving (and alternatively, miscarrying) at various maternal ages (ie, what's the big deal about pregnancy post-35). Another section I particularly enjoyed was the discussion about the risks of certain foods and medications during pregnancy and why they are a concern. Too often, folks are just told to stay away from "x", without being given any reasoning or understanding behind the decision. This makes it impossible to come to an individual informed decision. Fish is a big one. In addition to a lengthy discussion of the harmful mercury content in fish versus the beneficial DHA content, Oster even offers a handy graph in the appendix download, showing which fish are better and which to maybe avoid. This provides the reader with the information to make their own decisions about the risk they are willing to take on.

One thing I think Oster does really well is explain in every day terms the relative risks of various concerns. This is a big, and often overlooked, distinction from the absolute risk. For most folks walking into the doctor's office, they are being told generic information about how various factors can affect their pregnancy/baby. However, it is worth considering and discussing what the risk is to that individual! If you are somebody who is generally active and is used to running 3.5 miles/day pre-pregnancy, it is probably just fine for you to continue that habit. Versus somebody who has never run before, who is more likely better off sticker to more moderate activity to prevent injury or complication. Risk is absolutely not "one size fits all", especially when it comes to making decisions about the health and the future of your body & baby. Each person and individual situation deserves consideration!

Oster has put together a fantastic resource for pregnant folks to get quality information in a largely understandable way. She even thought to include a quick reference guide for pregnancy safe medications and over the counter drugs. While I feel this book might be a bit anxiety producing for some, and certainly not the right mode of information for all, I also believe that the more information we have, the more power we have to make decisions. And everybody deserves the opportunity to make informed decisions!