Prenatal alcohol exposure before pregnancy awareness: a thematic analysis of online forum comments and misinformation DOI Creative Commons
Nessie Felicia Frennesson, Youssouf Merouani, Julie Barnett

et al.

Frontiers in Public Health, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 13

Published: Feb. 19, 2025

Many women consume alcohol while pregnant before they are aware of the pregnancy, raising concerns about potential harms to developing fetus. Official guidelines in United Kingdom recommend abstinence throughout and many turn online forums for reassurance information. However, can also become a source misinformation, potentially increasing confusion anxiety among who have consumed pregnancy awareness. This study explored discussions consumption awareness on Mumsnet understand nature peer response assess accuracy information against official health scientific literature. A thematic analysis was conducted 71 thread starts 1,281 comments from Mumsnet. Data collected via web scraping, followed by manual screening. Themes were identified, information-sharing posts fact-checked evidence guidelines. Two overarching themes with five sub-themes emerged: "Type offered", where users offered alleviate worries, "Reactions reassurance", some appeared reassured others did not. While found reassurance, fact-checking revealed that majority inaccurate, often underestimating risks prenatal exposure. Online may provide support those but frequently spread misinformation use early pregnancy. Health professionals should ensure access accurate alongside appropriate reduce avoid harmful misinformation.

Language: Английский

Prenatal alcohol exposure before pregnancy awareness: a thematic analysis of online forum comments and misinformation DOI Creative Commons
Nessie Felicia Frennesson, Youssouf Merouani, Julie Barnett

et al.

Frontiers in Public Health, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 13

Published: Feb. 19, 2025

Many women consume alcohol while pregnant before they are aware of the pregnancy, raising concerns about potential harms to developing fetus. Official guidelines in United Kingdom recommend abstinence throughout and many turn online forums for reassurance information. However, can also become a source misinformation, potentially increasing confusion anxiety among who have consumed pregnancy awareness. This study explored discussions consumption awareness on Mumsnet understand nature peer response assess accuracy information against official health scientific literature. A thematic analysis was conducted 71 thread starts 1,281 comments from Mumsnet. Data collected via web scraping, followed by manual screening. Themes were identified, information-sharing posts fact-checked evidence guidelines. Two overarching themes with five sub-themes emerged: "Type offered", where users offered alleviate worries, "Reactions reassurance", some appeared reassured others did not. While found reassurance, fact-checking revealed that majority inaccurate, often underestimating risks prenatal exposure. Online may provide support those but frequently spread misinformation use early pregnancy. Health professionals should ensure access accurate alongside appropriate reduce avoid harmful misinformation.

Language: Английский

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