Fully revised and updated for 2025, from the bestselling author of Cribsheet, The Family Firm, and The Unexpected
“A revelation for curious mothers-to-be whose doctors fail to lay out the pros and cons of that morning latte, let alone discuss real science.” —The New York Times
“Emily Oster is the non-judgmental girlfriend holding our hand and guiding us through pregnancy and motherhood. She has done the work to get us the hard facts in a soft, understandable way.” —Amy Schumer
The award-winning economist named one of TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people disproves standard recommendations about pregnancy to empower women while they’re expecting.
Pregnancy—unquestionably one of the most profound, meaningful experiences of adulthood—can reduce otherwise intelligent women to, well, babies. Pregnant women are told to avoid cold cuts, sushi, alcohol, and coffee without ever being told why these are forbidden. Rules for prenatal testing are similarly unexplained. Parents-to-be desperately want a resource that empowers them to make their own right choices.
When award-winning economist Emily Oster was a mom-to-be herself, she evaluated the data behind the accepted rules of pregnancy, and discovered that most are often misguided and some are just flat-out wrong. Debunking myths and explaining everything from the real effects of caffeine to the surprising dangers of gardening, Expecting Better is the book for every pregnant woman who wants to enjoy a healthy and relaxed pregnancy—and the occasional glass of wine.
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Discover all of Emily Oster’s Books
What to Expect When You’re Expecting meets Freakonomics: an award-winning economist disproves standard recommendations about pregnancy to empower women while they’re expecting. A data-driven guide to better, more relaxed parenting, from birth to preschool, covering topics including feeding, sleep, and potty training. Oster offers a classic business school framework for data-driven parents to think more deliberately about the key issues of the elementary years: school, health, extracurricular activities, and more. A guide to navigating a second pregnancy when the first did not go as planned—with Dr. Nathan Fox, maternal fetal medicine specialist.
ASIN : B00AEBEQUK
Publisher : Penguin Books
Accessibility : Learn more
Publication date : August 20, 2013
Edition : 1st
Language : English
File size : 10.2 MB
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 383 pages
ISBN-13 : 978-1101617939
Page Flip : Enabled
Book 1 of 4 : The ParentData
Reading age : 18 years and up
Best Sellers Rank: #4,932 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store) #1 in Motherhood (Kindle Store) #2 in Pregnancy & Childbirth (Kindle Store) #4 in General Women’s Health
Customer Reviews: 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (11,694)