Daily Times

Mums-to-be are turning to Dr Google for pregnancy advice as they receive so much conflicting information, a new study has found.

Pregnancy can be a confusing time for many women and while many may previously have called on their mothers for the answers to common pregnancy-related questions, new research has found more than three quarters now head straight online.

The study of 2,000 women, by Vitabiotics Pregnacare vitamins, revealed that 78% turn to Google to solve their pregnancy queries, which range from ‘where can you buy maternity clothes?’, to ‘how much weight should you put on during pregnancy?’.

Other common searches for mums-to-be include ‘what vitamins and minerals are important to consume during pregnancy?’, ‘how long does morning sickness last?’ and ‘how much folic acid do you need?’

More than half (56%) of the expectant mums polled believe they Googled more questions than they asked in ‘real life’, with 67% saying the internet was their lifeline as they felt able to ask questions they were otherwise too embarrassed to pose.

And 17% of pregnant women said they looked to the mums of social media for answers and information.

After the Internet, which a fifth believe to be a reliable source for information, mums-to-be turned to their midwife for advice, with 51% asking the healthcare professionals for pregnancy advice, while 34% still ask their own mums for insight.

The typical mum-to-be heading online for answers will ask four different questions every day while they’re expecting, which adds up to more than 1,000 in total.

The most common question is ‘baby name ideas?’, followed by ‘how big is the baby?’.

But worryingly, more than three quarters (78%) said they have received conflicting answers, with 15% saying the advice was ‘extremely different’.

The study also found 63% of women found pregnancy to be a turbulent time, with 87% brimming with unanswered questions.