Pregnant Women Stress About Health Related Issues On Internet

It might be time for pregnant women to step away from the internet or put the smart phone down.

Mums-to-be are still favouring a consult with Dr Google when it comes to dealing with pregnancy advice, but it comes at an anxiety inducing cost.

A 41 per cent of pregnant women said they had read information about pregnancy on the internet which had caused them anxiety, and 38 per cent said online forums had caused the same worries.

But Dr Google and his internet consultancy was still the top place for women to head to for non-emergency prenatal advice.

Linda Bryceland, head of midwifery at Private Midwives who ran the study said: “Traditionally during pregnancy, women often found themselves receiving huge amounts of conflicting information – everything from well-meaning loved ones, to media and even strangers in the supermarket. But the internet has opened up a whole range of new sources of information, which in many cases may not be medically qualified and given without context or taking into consideration women’s individual circumstances and medical backgrounds. What’s more, this is available at the touch of the button, on a whim – so it is not surprising that women are finding themselves logging off and feeling more worried than they were to begin with.

“If women have concerns or questions about their pregnancy, the best thing to do is to resist the temptation to quickly search for more information or the answer online, and instead speak to a medical professional – whether that’s their midwife, the non-emergency NHS 111 phone line or their GP, who can provide professional, clinical information and guidance, which takes into account their medical history and individual circumstances.”

The research from 300 UK mums who had given birth in the last five years, was published in UK Maternity Report.

Findings also showed that people stressed about pregnancy health issues after chatting to friends (32 per cent) or reading a blog (27 per cent).

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