Gathering information in a post-truth world

Being pregnant has at times felt like standing in a minefield of information. I don’t know whether I’m about to step on a bomb or unlock a shiny gold treasure chest of understanding.

When it comes to medical information about pregnancy, simple things like whether I should be able to eat a certain food or why my hips ache so much, I begin by turning to the internet. I’m used to it – I read loads of articles about health and wellness online. Judging by the abundance of mum’s Facebook groups, pregnancy apps with hundreds of comments, and websites dedicated to staying well during pregnancy, others do too.

But something has switched these past few months: I’ve come to realise that the internet just doesn’t hold all of the answers, and that perhaps people and books hold more of them.

It happened around the time I was trying to figure out what herbal teas I was “allowed” to drink and came across a blog which told me by drinking English breakfast tea every day I was decreasing my baby’s birth weight by a specific number of grams per day. If true, the baby would weigh less than half a kilogram according to this article’s calculations, and I only drink one or two cups of tea a day! In comparison, What to Expect When You’re Expecting tells me I can safely drink up to 200mg of caffeine a day.

Does anyone else get really sick of reading medical (and other) information that isn’t substantiated?

How do you gather information in this post-truth world? When it comes to health and wellness for example, do you take everything stuff.co.nz says verbatim, do you participate in a Facebook group or ask your friends for their opinions, or do you immediately trust what a social media influencer says about how a vegan diet will save the world? (I’m not against veganism, just whether the facts are straight!)

I’ve been relying on asking my midwife questions and sometimes turning to the ‘pregnancy bible’, What to Expect When You’re Expecting, which my husband bought me when I told him I was pregnant. And somewhat controversially, trying to rely on my intuition too.

I’ve been trying to read articles published by universities, or information on the NHS or healthline.com (where clinicians provide medical review). When thinking about how trustworthy the information we’re consuming is, I came up with a few pointers. What are yours?

Can I trust it

1.     Evidence-based: Is it backed by scientific (or other) research?

2.     A trust-worthy organisation: Does this come from a trusted organisation?

3.     Be wary of opinions for personal gain: Could there be a sales pitch or other motive behind this content?

4.     Ask others: Have I asked people I know with lived experience of this?

5.     Use your intuition: I know this is supposed to be all about science and evidence, but honestly, intuition is overlooked. If it feels wrong or like there’s something missing from this story, I think it’s important to rely on your own senses and intuitive knowledge. Especially for those things you can’t easily define.

Turmeric tea: Not advisable for drinking during pregnancy, as the back of the tea packet says. And I trust that.