Abstract
BACKGROUND: Many women consume alcohol while pregnant before they are aware of the pregnancy, raising concerns about potential harms to the developing fetus. Official guidelines in the United Kingdom recommend abstinence throughout pregnancy, and many women turn to online forums for reassurance and information. However, online forums can also become a source of misinformation, potentially increasing confusion and anxiety among women who have consumed alcohol before pregnancy awareness. This study explored discussions about alcohol consumption before pregnancy awareness on Mumsnet to understand the nature of peer response and assess the accuracy of information against official health guidelines and the scientific literature.
METHODS: A thematic analysis was conducted on 71 thread starts and 1,281 comments from Mumsnet. Data was collected via web scraping, followed by manual screening. Themes were identified, and information-sharing posts were fact-checked against scientific evidence and guidelines.
RESULTS: Two overarching themes with five sub-themes emerged: "Type of reassurance offered", where users offered reassurance to alleviate worries, and "Reactions to reassurance", where some users appeared reassured while others did not. While many found reassurance, fact-checking revealed that the majority of the information was inaccurate, often underestimating the risks of prenatal alcohol exposure.
CONCLUSIONS: Online forums may provide a source of peer support to those who have consumed alcohol before pregnancy awareness but frequently spread misinformation about alcohol use in early pregnancy. Health professionals should ensure pregnant women have access to accurate information alongside appropriate support to reduce anxiety and avoid the spread of harmful misinformation.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 1525004 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1525004 |
| Journal | Frontiers in Public Health |
| Volume | 13 |
| Early online date | 19 Feb 2025 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 19 Feb 2025 |
Data Availability Statement
The datasets presented in this article are not readily available because the site contents are copyright of Mumsnet, publishing a data set collecting posts or threads is not possible. Instead, the summary statistics or analysis results will be published via data.bris. Requests to access the datasets should be directed to [email protected].Funding
The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported in part by grant MR/N0137941/1 for the GW4 BioMed Medical Research Council Doctoral Training Partnership, awarded to the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, and Exeter from the Medical Research Council and United Kingdom Research and Innovation for NFF. During this work, CM was supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research School for Public Health Research (grant PD-SPH2015)
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| BIOMED Medical Research Council | |
| United Kingdom Research and Innovation for NFF | |
| Medical Research Council | |
| National Institute for Health and Care Research School for Public Health Research | PD-SPH-2015 |
Keywords
- alcohol
- misinformation
- pregnancy
- pregnancy awareness
- prenatal alcohol exposure
- social media
- thematic analysis
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
