Expecting Better is laid out with the topics according to the area of when they typically occur in the pregnancy and birth journey. It is full of the recommendations we often hear during pregnancy, and helps to provide you with the facts. If you don’t enjoy reading, this can be a harder read since it is very detailed. But the best part of each section is The Bottom Line cliff notes!

There are A LOT of books for you to read. Some will be very repetitive with information, while others will bring new elements for you to process. In this book review, we want to provide you with some further insight to many of the chapters and sections to peak your interest!

Expecting Better by Emily Oster

Introduction

An award winning economist dives into evaluating all the information we have received for pregnancy and birth options. But what would lead her to feeling compelled to dig so deep during her pregnancies?

“When I got pregnant, I pretty quickly learned that there is a lot of information out there about pregnancy, and a lot of recommendations. But neither the information nor the recommendations were all good. The information was varying quality, and the recommendations were often contradictory and occasionally infuriating. In the end, in an effort to get to the good information—to really figure out the truth—*and to make the right decisions**, I tackled the problems as I would any other, with economics.”*

The best part of this book is that it is from an outside perspective of an expecting mother. As many experiences, when you read those two lines on a pregnancy test, the thoughts and questions begin to rush our mind. And Oster took her skills to set out and ensure she was making the best choices, not based on opinion, but evidence. The book isn’t sided in any direction by being authored by a professional in the birth field. Instead, you get facts, which is always the most important when making your own decisions.

Part 1: Conception | (Chp. 1-3)

If you are preparing for pregnancy, this book is a great option for you too! In fact, it's even better that you are starting your research now. There is an overwhelming amount of information, even when it comes to conceiving and what you should or shouldn’t be doing during those weeks before testing.

Part 2: First Trimester | (Chp. 4-9)

This section covers A LOT of elements from what you eat and drink (coffee and alcohol & deli meat and fish), to understanding the risk of miscarraige, coping with morning sickness, and the prenatal screening that are a huge part of your medical decision making. We picked out a few areas to highlight:

Chapter 4: The Vices: Caffeine, Alcohol and Tobacco

We all have bad vices, but some vices should be considered, especially during the first trimester, but there can be a lot of conflicting information, and that one is one of the elements Oster is trying to portray that there are many different recommendations from many different resources. This makes it hard to know what is the best option.

For example:

“The Panic-Free Pregnancy book takes the stance that caffeine in moderation (300 milligrams) is fine. The Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy rules our caffeine in any dose, although notes that some OBs will say it's okay in moderation and suggests switching to decaf. What to Expect When You’re Expecting goes with the 200-milligram rule but indicates that you should check with your OB in case their recommendation differs.”

Of course, as your doula, we will always encourage you to talk with your provider as well for what is best for you, but Oster’s bottom line notes in this section can be eye opening for what we often hear mainstream.

Chapter 7: Nausea and My Mother-in-Law

What would morning sickness in pregnancy and a mother-in-law have in common?

Well, expecting mothers may begin to notice morning sickness shortly after they notice their missed period. And oftentimes, staying well hydrated and nourished can help ease this symptom. Many may also find comfort with additional natural measures, including acupressure, ginger, or tea.

But let’s be real, morning sickness does not even engulf the true description of what some expecting mothers may be facing morning through night. This includes those that natural remedies don’t even help a little.

Oster reviews many of options, including medications available to expecting mothers within all the ranges of severity. Even starting with medications from 1979, that her mother-in-law received to help manage her morning sickness. But, why isn’t it available today? And what is safe now?

Chapter 8: Prenatal Screening and Testing

The first test in pregnancy is the test that shows two lines—the pregnancy test, but that won’t be the only test we anticipate awaiting the results. Prenatal screening and testing is one of the first elements of weighing the benefits and risks and making a decision that is best for you and your baby.

“The goal of all prenatal screening and testing is the same: to learn whether your baby has a chromosomal abnormality.”

For some this is highly important information, for some others they don’t feel it is as needed to know. But either way, you should know the options you have with testing, as well as the chances for chromosomal abnormalities. Which Oster presents in such a realistic picture with a diagram of the age of the expecting mother compared to the chance of Down Syndrome. Ex. Age: 25-29 is 1 in 1118. But Oster also provides some comparisons

“Car accident in next year: 1 in 50

Audited next year: 1 in 200

Injury with fireworks: 1 in 19,000

Winning the Powerball: 1 in 80 million”

Numbers can be a hard thing to understand, especially when we pull them out of research, but Oster presents them in a clear and direct way allowing us to better understand the numbers. Though it is not all about numbers, it is also about understanding the protocol for the screening options and making the best choice in determining which options are for you.