Expecting Better Conventional Pregnancy Wrong Reviews Summary

Author's Expertise and Background

Pros:

• "Emily Oster does a great job of laying out all the information and studies done to analyze some of the more standard recommendations to pregnant women."
• "The author, Emily Oster, is an economist and has gone deep in her research on a lot of myths and explains her findings in an absorbable way."
• "Love that an economist took the world of finance to pregnancy."
• "Emily Oster applies the basic principle of microeconomics - 'that making good decisions . . . requires two things[: first obtaining] . . . all the information about the decision [and second] . . . weigh[ing] the pluses and minuses of the decision . . . personally' - to the topics of pregnancy, labor, and delivery."
• "Medical professionals hire professionals like Prof. Oster, an acclaimed economist and statistician to make sense of the numbers."
• "Dr. Oster is a wonderful writer & her passion for knowledge is evident in this book."
• "Emily Oster has a fine critical mind, is good with statistics and she is pretty funny to boot."

Cons:

• "I found this book rather annoying, because the author makes use of her own interpretation and selection of medical studies, based on her best guess of validity."
• "Her background as an economist is used to justify her conclusions based on a morning of Google searching."
• "Author has no qualifications, speaks about things she does not understand and uses bad data to justify unhealthy at best and at times dangerous things for pregnant women to do."
• "Being an economist does nothing to make her a credible source of information."
• "The author has no medical background, and cherry picks and misinterprets data to support her own personal biases."
• "What kind of pregnancy book touts alcohol as being safe during pregnancy? This is so dangerous."
• "NO amount of alcohol is considered safe during pregnancy."

Information Presentation and Clarity

Pros:

• "I love how she makes the data so easy to understand and clears up so many 'must dos' during pregnancy!"
• "It's not just the data presented, but the re-confirmation that our own analysis and critical thinking can help us make better decisions that made this book a lifesaver for me."
• "The author does a great job of pointing out the actual, research based risks in things like eating deli meats or drinking caffeine."
• "The author gives her opinions based on the data but explains and reiterates repeatedly that everyone should feel comfortable making their own decisions based on the data."
• "The data points are easy to digest and presented to empower you to make your own educated decisions."
• "The author accumulates scientific data for many pregnancy topics and disseminates it in an understandable way."
• "The most valuable information was her description of level of effacement and when to expect labor and how frequently women give birth on their due dates."

Cons:

• "I have to stand by all of the others in saying that this book is insensitive bad advice based on one person’s poor interpretation of statistical analyses."
• "Unfortunately, I’ve got quite a few bones to pick with the book."
• "I stopped reading and returned this book immediately when the author stated that small amounts of alcohol are ok to consume during pregnancy."
• "Unfortunately she does turn that off once in a while and allows her biases to surface."
• "She generally lives up to her stated commitment to data and resistance of both bias and anecdote in a truly impressive manner."
• "And some of Oster’s conclusions are downright revelatory, like when she debunks bedrest and distinguishes between food restrictions based on danger to the fetus."
• "She gives many odds ratios for risks but she tempers that with a look at the risks of some everyday experiences."

Personal Bias and Interpretation

Pros:

• "She generally lives up to her stated commitment to data and resistance of both bias and anecdote in a truly impressive manner."
• "The author doesn’t tell you what to do, she just tells you what the research says & encourages you to take that knowledge and decide what choice is best for you."
• "All she did was share actual data on women who drank nothing, women who drink a little, and women who binge drank—and she shows the data of their baby's outcome."
• "I personally didn't feel a biased, and I felt it better informed me."
• "What Prof. Oster does is give women the information and the option to make decisions based on genetics, body type, and other factors that make each pregnant women different."
• "I also appreciated her points throughout that different people will see the same studies and come to different decisions, which is important."
• "Based on my other research, Dr. Oster's scholarship is dead on correct and none of it strays at all from how Certified Nurse Midwife generally guide a woman through her pregnancy."

Cons:

• "I would give this 0 stars if there was the option."
• "Unfortunately, that’s what this book is. First of all, NO amount of alcohol is safe for your fetus."
• "The author wanted people to look at evidence and use that to make their own call."
• "She definitely presents the facts as she wants them to be seen so personal biases are obvious throughout."
• "I tried to read this book but it gave me extreme anxiety."
• "I loved the fact that she recognized that women are individuals who should be making decisions based on what they personally feel is right."
• "I’m frustrated because this book was obviously well used and sold as new. It’s gross with stains on the pages and water damage."

Usefulness and Impact on Anxiety

Pros:

• "This book is excellent and gives you a comprehensive view of the data that allows you to make informed decisions."
• "I love research and found this book chock full of information."
• "It has helped me be a little less paranoid."
• "To anyone going through pregnancy, this book is such a gem to have. It reduced my stress on all the 'advice' I was getting from almost everyone around me."
• "I flew through this book. The information is presented in such an easily digestible way that I really was able to understand it."
• "This book really helped me to know why for everything I’ve been told. This also empowered me to have more educated conversations with medical professionals."
• "I highly recommend this book. It’s super helpful, interesting, and easy to read."

Cons:

• "I have to stand by all the others in saying that this book is insensitive bad advice based on one person’s poor interpretation of statistical analyses."
• "But her final chapters, in particular the chapter on home births, came across as biased, uninformed and critical."
• "Definitely added way more stress than it helped, and the information was unfounded or glossed over."
• "Being pregnant is stressful enough already without having to add any unnecessary worry on top of that."
• "So much misinformation in this book that directly conflicts with what doctors and studies show."
• "She used selective source and data which is biased like any other online sources."
• "Going against what my doctor says just isn't okay with me in my first pregnancy."