Emily Oster

The basics: The subtitle of Expecting Better really says it all: why the conventional pregnancy wisdom is wrong--and what you really need to know. Emily Oster is a health economist, and in this book she offers up her analysis of what the data behind the pregnancy rules (the good, bad and unnecessary). While she offers her decisions, she also leaves room for the reader to make her own informed decisions about her pregnancy.

My thoughts: Expecting Better made headlines when it came out last show more August. I vividly recall the NPR headline "Pregnant? It's okay to have a glass of wine*" with the asterisk indicating "according to an economist." Which is true, but also according to doctors across Western Europe and Australia, but I'm getting ahead of myself. In August, we were still in that very frustrating stage of trying to get pregnant, so I purchased the book for my Kindle and impatiently waited until I was actually pregnant, which blessedly finally happened in December 2013, to start reading. Then I discovered the first section is about getting pregnant. Live and learn.

I'm not a fan of arbitrary rules, and being pregnant is no exception. Some are obvious, of course, but before I blindly follow rules, I want to understand the why, and that's what Oster does in Expecting Better. When I talk about being pregnant with women 20-30 years older than I am, they are quick to tell you all the things they were allowed to do that are forbidden now (soft cheese, steak cooked less than well-done, cold cuts, etc.) And as they're always quick to point out, my kids turned out okay. Admittedly, as much as I wanted a baby, I was never looking forward to actually being pregnant. I'm a sushi-eating, rare-steak loving, blue cheese devouring, wine-drinking fool. Nine months without them? It sounded unpleasant. I won't go as far to say I'm happy to do it, but if it's really putting my baby in danger, of course I will avoid things. If, however, there isn't a good answer to the "why?" question, then why make myself even more miserable if it's not helping my baby?

I'll let the data in Expecting Better speak for itself. I didn't make all the same choices as Oster did, but that's the beauty of this book: it's not about the advice; it's about the data. It's about equipping yourself with the right information so you (and your partner) can make informed decisions about your pregnancy. Oster distills it for you, but she also features extensive citations so you can read the actual data for yourself when you're so inclined.

As hard as it is, I avoid red meat that isn't well done (and that one is getting harder as grilling out season gears up.) I avoid unpasteurized cheeses (I did thankfully find a great pasteurized Stilton to satisfy my blue cheese craving.) I eat sushi. I eat runny eggs. I drink a glass of wine most nights (only twice a week in the first trimester.) I even have one glass with lunch and one with dinner on occasion. I cut back on caffeine in the first trimester, but I never cut it out. We opted not to do first trimester prenatal screening, which surprised me. I'm opting for an epidural.

The verdict: Expecting Better is a must-read for pregnant women, women trying to get pregnant, and anyone interested in the science of pregnancy. As an economist, Oster brings a Freakonomics-style approach to analyzing pregnancy data. She also brings her personal experience of being pregnant (plus many stories from her sister and friends, who often received different information from their different doctors.) I read it in a single day (the day I found out I was pregnant), but I've continued to refer to it throughout my pregnancy, particularly when people try to tell me not to eat cold cuts or enjoy my pregnancy-portion of wine. It's a book I'll keep giving to my pregnant friends for years to come. show less

Cribsheet is the logical sequel to Oster's prior book Expecting Better, a data-driven dive into the first few years of a child's life. Having a couple of kids seems to have knocked some of the starch out of Oster's hyper-Type A personality, and this book is a fair summary of the current research.

There are two problems with the current research. First, children are unique little individuals (or perverse little monsters, depending on how well rested you are), and while there are trends, the show more range bars on them are so wide that it's impossible to aim for specific benchmarks on sleep, breast feeding potty training, walking, talking, etc, except in the widest possible sense.

The other problem is that a lot of this stuff correlates mostly with being white and having a college degree, and that this tends to overwhelm patterns. SIDS is horrific, and not co-sleeping is one of the few specific things that can make a big impact. The 'best parents' (breast feeding, no alcohol, non-smoking) have SIDS incidences of 0.08 in 1000 for not bed sharing and 0.22 for bed sharing, a roughly 3x increase from a low benchmark. For the 'worst parents' (bottle feeding, both smoking, mother drinking), SIDS goes from 1.77 in 1000 to 27.61 in 1000 with co-sleeping. But if you're in that last category, you're probably not reading this book.

One interesting area where the research is shifting is on food allergies and exposure. The conventional wisdom for the past few decades has been to avoid potential allergens, especially tree nuts and peanut butter, in the early stages of life. However, randomized controlled trials show that giving children nut butters (whole nuts are a choking hazard) significantly reduces future allergies. Similarly, diverse exposure to foods, especially vegetables and fruits, may lead to less picky eaters.

There are three areas where Oster has firm recommendations. Vaccinate your kids (I'm not sure why this is still a debate). 'Cry it out' sleep training is fairly effective, has noted beneficial effects for parents who report better and mental health, and no detected long-term effects on children. Attachment theory studies arguing against this tend to be based on bad experiences in Romanian orphanages in the 1960s, and all parents are more affectionate than overburdened communist bloc caretakers. And finally, while no particular pre-school educational philosophy shows better results than others, there are easy checklists of features you want in a preschool in regards to individual space and care.

But the final advice is probably best. Just relax, it'll likely turn out okay. Which is not something Oster would have written at the start of this parenting side project.

And in a cool aside, Oster has been involved in a childhood development side-project her whole life. Her parents were economics professors, and since she was an early sleep talker, she was a toddler research participant in how language develops. show less

I forgot to add this from my stealth reading, whoops (it popped as a Book You May Be interested In and I thought huh, pretty sure I reviewed it... I have not).

This was the first book I read in the pregnancy last spring, and it really helped set my frame of reference for the deluge of solicited & unsolicited information and advice headed my way. I really appreciated Oster's approach of looking not just at studies, but the quality of those studies: context matters, and if the correlation of show more alcohol and birth defects also coincides with cocaine usage, is that really informative? In general, I liked this more than some of the other "gal pal" type of books re: pregnancy.

Do take Oster's recommendations with a grain of salt as she's an economist by training and is essentially doing a bunch of metaanalyses and lit reviews in this book, which can be useful but context is key. She does acknowledge the choices she personally made weren't necessarily the right ones for expecting friends, and generally takes a "do what works for you" attitude.... which is why it's a little weird she became the leading voice for reopening schools during the pandemic (c'mon Oster, correlation isn't causation). I've already bought a used copy of [b:Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool|40121328|Cribsheet A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool|Emily Oster|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1534142751l/40121328._SY75_.jpg|62221619] and will probably read [b:The Family Firm: A Data-Driven Guide to Better Decision Making in the Early School Years|55997402|The Family Firm A Data-Driven Guide to Better Decision Making in the Early School Years|Emily Oster|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1606112889l/55997402._SY75_.jpg|87227302] later, but hesitant to subscribe to her substack, if that makes sense. show less

This book is designed to review and summarize all the concrete research data about various decision points in parenting. There are lots of theories, methods, and anecdotal advice that gets thrown and new parents and it can be very overwhelming. The author experienced this herself and decided that it would be very helpful to have an analysis of not just the research, but the validity of the research. Every book, system, and blog can cite at least one study that seems to support their show more philosophy, but how well were these studies conducted? How much can we really glean from them and are their any studies that show the opposite?

The author does a great job of surveying the research landscape and distilling all the data into easily digestible bites. Her logical approach will be very helpful and comforting to the panicky or over-anxious parent who is paralyzed by the contradicting advice they are receiving. show less