Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong--and What You Really Need to Know (The Parentdata)

I really appreciated Expecting Better. As an analyst, I liked how it broke down the data behind common pregnancy advice, but what stood out was how easy it was to read. It’s not dry or overly technical—just clear, sensible, and genuinely useful. I think it would be helpful for anyone who wants to feel more informed and in control during pregnancy, whether or not they usually read research.

Brilliant Book, i'm really not much of a book reader but this really helped clarify and calm me down through my first pregnancy!

Interesting and well researched book. Great to read about all aspects of pregnancy with the researched scientific studies to back up the statistics. Gifted to another pregnant mum after reading.

This book is written for women (like me) who are not satisfied with the overly-simplistic recommendations that are given to women during pregnancy. In my first pregnancy I got so tired of hearing "best avoid eating/drinking/doing it completely, just to be on the safe side" that I researched some of the evidence behind the recommendations myself. Although I often struggled to find (and sometimes understand) the evidence I wanted, I did find evidence that contradicted some of the recommendations I had been given (for example I was told to avoid eating peanuts which contradicts the latest research) and this made me distrust other advice. But I didn't have the time or academic skills to get all the information I felt I needed. Now I'm pregnant for the second time and I'm so glad to have found this book! The author has conducted a detailed investigation into the research on much of the advice given in pregnancy and childbirth and presents the risks and benefits so that the reader can make an informed decision on the risks they are prepared to take. Although the publicity around this book has focussed on alcohol and caffeine consumption in pregnancy, the book covers almost every recommendation (that I've come across) from eating sushi, to sitting in a hot tub, from which prescription drugs are safe to take, to whether to have an epidural during labour. For every issue, the author discusses the evidence and clearly explains what the statistics mean, but then also explains how she, when she was pregnant, made her decision and what that decision was. There are quite a few decisions, where the risks are so small or are not backed up by any credible evidence at all, that she gives her own recommendation (e.g. there's no evidence that dying your hair is at all damaging) but for the most part she does not tell the reader what they should or should not do. She explains the decisions she made and how she came to each decision but in many cases gives examples of friends who made different decisions to her and their reasons (such as home birth and epidurals). The only downside of the book is that, although it has been adapted for the UK market, it is still based on a woman's experience of giving birth in the US where healthcare around childbirth is very different. For example only 1% of women in the US have a midwife attending their birth and almost all babies are delivered by a doctor, but in the UK the majority of births are presided by a midwife with a consultant only being brought in for high-risk pregnancies or if there are complications. There were a few pregnancy recommendations which I had never come across, for example my midwife never discussed weight-gain with me (and rightly so given the evidence), and I was disappointed that the book did not discuss the risks of declining an induction at 42 weeks. The book also stated that women are rarely allowed to decline continuous monitoring during labour, which is not the case in the UK. Very worryingly, it was stated that, despite the evidence, almost all doctors would refuse to allow labouring women to eat or drink during labour (is it not against a person's human rights to deny them food or drink if they are hungry or thirsty?), which was not my experience, or that of any of my friends, giving birth in the UK. Despite the Americanisms, this book has been really helpful to me during my pregnancy and has enabled me to make informed decisions on how I can best protect my baby. I would, however, recommend first-time mothers read it alongside a book which more accurately reflects birthing practices in the UK.

I suspect that most readers of this UK edition of Emily Oster's book will come to it having read the official guidance to pregnant women (and their partners!) from the NHS, and found it lacking in both reasoning and detail. Emily Oster goes back to the fundamental source of all our information about the causes of harm in pregnancy -- clinical studies and trials -- and presents concise summaries of the current state of medical knowledge on each subject, giving prospective mothers the information they need to make their own decisions about the key issues affecting them and their future child. It does not overturn all "conventional pregnancy wisdom" as the cover might imply, but it does (rightly, in this reviewer's opinion) challenge the conventional presentation of information to expectant women, and in some cases presents evidence that official information is over-simplistic, or not based on the latest reliable information. This UK edition of the book has been largely updated to reflect the British readership, with a certain amount of detail about common NHS practice in addition to simple but important changes such as replacing the emergency number "911" with "999". Some sections would have benefited from further work, however: the information given about midwife qualifications is still USA-specific, for example, and the appendix on medication in pregnancy describes the position of the US Food and Drugs Administration regarding each drug rather than presenting a British or international perspective. That said, these are minor issues and in no way affect the relevance of the main thrust of the book to British readers, or indeed to readers of any nationality. The information set out in this book is nuanced, presenting the decisions that expectant mothers and their partners need to take as they are: a balance of risks and rewards for both mother and child. It will be of most use to readers who are confident at understanding statistics and want the detailed information they need to make informed decisions. If you want a simple list of rules to follow that will keep mother and child as safe as possible in most circumstances (and there's absolutely no problem with that), then the NHS makes that information readily available for free.

Es el único libro que me he leído para embarazadas porque está completamente basado en datos. Esta bien para desmentir algunos mitos y ayudarte con consejos importantes

The author supports their claims with well-verified scientific research - something that sets this book apart from many other pregnancy and parenthood titles. It gave me a clearer understanding of the actual odds of certain events occurring during pregnancy, which, in turn, eased many of the worries I had at the time.

acquistato per la mia prima gravidanza da un sacco di informazioni basate su papers scientifici dandoti la possibilità di prendere le tue decisioni in modo informato. raccomandato ai genitori che ne sentono una più di mille da parte di tutti

Adorei esse livro - nos deixa muito mais seguras a respeito de várias decisões durante a gestação. Também é bem escrito, de fácil leitura.

I found this book to be invaluable as I made decisions in my pregnancy. I felt confident and informed in the choices I have made.