If you’re like many first time moms, you likely have endless pregnancy questions that you want answered. While your doctor can help with some (many women bring a list of questions with them to each appointment), you can’t call your doctor every time you have a question. And you can ask your mom or friends some questions, but others seem far too personal. So where do you turn? Many women turn to the Internet to ask all of their pregnancy questions.

Asking Pregnancy Questions Online

There are countless websites where you can ask questions about your pregnancy. Popular sites such as ivillage.com and babycenter.com have a storehouse of information. Most have sections with articles that answer many frequently asked questions (FAQs) about pregnancy. Many questions can be quickly answered in this way. There are also message boards where members can post questions that they may have. On some websites, a doctor answers questions about pregnancy; on other websites the community members answer questions. You can also see if your doctor, insurance carrier or local hospital has online office hours. A new trend has some doctors hosting questions and answer chats in the evenings where patients can ask quick questions that they want answered by a doctor, but don’t really need a full appointment. If your doctor’s office offers this service, it is one of the best places to go to find answers online for your pregnancy questions.

Perils Of Misinformation

Like any subject, with as much good information there is on the Internet, there is also a great deal of misinformation as well. Pregnancy and childbirth are no different. So if you are asking your pregnancy questions online, be careful with the answers you receive. If you are looking it up on a reputable site, and the information is contained in an article written by a doctor, you can be fairly certain that the information is accurate. But when you are asking your pregnancy questions on a message board or forum, there is no guarantee of the knowledge or experience level of the person who is answering your questions. Other pregnant women or moms, who are simply sharing their own experiences or second hand information, may not necessarily have accurate answers. And while their advice might have originally come from a doctor, what worked for them might not work for you. If you’re not sure that the advice you are getting is valid, follow your instincts and call your doctor. Also be aware of who is writing articles that you are reading. On user-written sites such as wikipedia, it is hard to tell if the information comes from a medical professional or is simply the writer’s own experience.