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Expecting Better

Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong - and What You Really Need to Know

• Written by Emily Oster
  • An economics professor
  • Who was frustrated by opaque rules given to pregnant women by doctors
  • and prefers to take a decision theory approach
    • look at the data
    • consider pros & cons relevant to you
    • make a decision
• During pregnancy
  • women are given lists of behavioral rules
    • that often differ by provider
    • and are rarely explained or supported with evidence
  • and there are many norms, myths, and misunderstandings in popular culture that tend to steer the behavior of pregnant women, whether justified or not
• The author dives into the scientific research backing many of these rules in order to provide a more nuanced understanding of risk

Content

Part 1: In the Beginning

1. Prep Work

2. Data-Driven Conception

3. The Two-Week Wait

Part 2: The First Trimester

4. The Vices: Caffeine, Alcohol, and Tobacco

5. Miscarriage Fears

6. Beware of Deli Meats!

7. Nausea and My Mother-in-law

8. Prenatal Screening and Testing

9. The Surprising Perils of Gardening

Part 3: The Second Trimester

10. Eating for Two?

11. Illness in Pregnancy

12. Pink and Blue

13. Working Out and Resting Up

14. Drug Safety

Part 4: The Third Trimester

15. Preterm Birth, Fetal Size, and Bad Rest

16. High-Risk Pregnancy

Part 5: Labor and Delivery

17. I’m Going to Be Pregnancy Forever, Right?

18. The Labor Numbers

19. Labor Induction

20. Caesarean Section

21. To Epidural or Not to Epidural?

22. Beyond Pain Relief

23. The Aftermath

24. Home Birth: Progressive or Regressive? And Who Cleans the Tub?