I am quite concerned than an economist is writing recommendations regarding pregnancy...can someone give me insight into this prior to reading this book/moving along to a better read?

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6 years ago
6 answers

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Neelie I think you are right to be worried. I can't speak to all the info in her book, but as a neuroscientist who focuses on studying the impact of prenatal alcohol exposure on the brain, I can say that her chapter discussing alcohol is dangerously misleading. She discusses only a couple studies on light or moderate drinking during pregnancy and fails to put them in the context of the larger literature. She may be well qualified to perform statistical analyses, but what she lacks is the broader knowledge of the field on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and the clinical expertise and experience to put the studies she is reading into the appropriate context. I have personally interacted with children who have fetal alcohol syndrome despite their mother's reporting that they only had occasional drinking during pregnancy. There are other factors at play that can make an individual more or less susceptible to fetal alcohol spectrum disorders besides alcohol, genetics, stress, and nutrition to name a few. Does she discuss this at all? No. She's not allowing you to make informed decisions on drinking alcohol during pregnancy, she's muddying the waters. If you'd like to see the response to her chapter discussing alcohol use during pregnancy by the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Study Group, a group comprised of medical doctors and research scientists devoted to fully understanding fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, you can do it here: https://www.proofalliance.org/2013/09....

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Lindsay Great question! The author is an economist, but she doesn't make recommendations as an economist. In fact, she doesn't make recommendations at all. Her background as an economist professor has given her the critical thinking and research tools to #1 find the studies that talk explicitly about pregnancy issues #2 deduce which studies are profitable and how and #3 offer data from the studies, which empowers mothers to make the best decisions for them.

She explains more about her approach and purpose in the introduction, so if you're worried, check out the introduction first before diving in. I think it will help you make your best decision about whether to read it or not.

Personally, I've found the data very useful, and I appreciate how the author encourages my autonomy and gives me the tools to make smart, informed decisions for myself. Many of my decisions will make conventional advice, but where my decisions stray from convention, it's because of how take in data from scientific research.

Good luck!

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David The other answers are correct. There are few recommendations other than obvious things like "do not smoke".

My opinion is that this book is more about statistics and research methodology than it is pregnancy. I feel there is a degree of tunnel vision applied to the data that is not informed by any practical medical experience.

I recommend you read Mayo Clinic's Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy for a useful clinical viewpoint. The author actually cites this book in her research but misrepresents it's viewpoint on caffeine during pregnancy...and that was enough to make me suspicious of everything that preceded in Expecting Better. If you want to read an account of pregnancy that includes fun science facts and explanations behind certain things in pregnancy, I think Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies by Jena Pincott is much better.

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Sophie I am still at the beginning of the book, but the author made a point that she won't recommend you to do anything. Every time she said that she did something one way, she always referred to a friend who after reviewing the same data decided to do the exact opposite.

So far she is quoting studies, trying to give you an idea where the current recommendations regarding pregnancy stem from, if there is a scientific basis for the recommendations, if there were actual studies done, what the results of those studies were and if the studies had any faults (e.g. too small sample, not taking other important factors into consideration, etc).

I am a pragmatic person, and I like this approach very much. I feel like I am given a better idea of the risks involved in certain things so I can make the decision myself.

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Linda Hultman Oster tells women they should be "comfortable" drinking a glass of wine a day, far more than any health expert in any country recommends.

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