Women Are Sharing Things They Wish They Knew Before They Got Pregnant (30 Comments)

"I'd personally hoped for the best but planned for the worst with my pregnancies, as I needed an emergency section with my first baby which was a world apart from the water birth I'd dreamed of," the author of The Working Mom: Your Guide to Surviving and Thriving at Work and at Home told Bored Panda.

"Now that I practice meditation, I know I would have leaned on that throughout my pregnancies and beyond to help center and soothe me. Free apps such as Insight Timer are perfect as they have over 80,000 free meditation exercises available, some only a few minutes long."

A quick Google search would reveal there's plenty of information on pregnancy. Maybe too much. Not to some media 'filters', set in place to make this content appealing to a wider audience. Navigating such mazes can become really tricky. "I think parents and parents-to-be are discussing pregnancy more candidly than ever now thanks to social media but there are still barriers to information and education depending on where you live in the world and how much access you have to medical professionals," Broadbent said.

The Honest Mum, for example, had suffered from a pregnancy liver condition called ICP in 2010 which some studies have shown can result in stillbirth, and struggled to find enough information about it at the time. "Research was limited and I received opposing information from health professionals. Very few were openly discussing PND and birth trauma a decade ago, (I suffered from the latter) either in parenting groups or online (for fear of failure as a parent and perhaps fear their baby might be taken from them)."

Broadbent is happy that when blogging and social media really exploded, many writers such as herself found the courage to share their own experiences. "My piece on birth trauma has helped many women and many other similar pieces online are helping parents to feel less alone, and vitally able to reach the help they need to heal," she said.

One study confirmed that pregnant women and those with young children place a high value on the information and support they receive from using online sources and apps. "They are accustomed to ready and immediate access to information using digital technologies and want better access to that offered by professionals," professor Deborah Lupton, the author of the research, concluded, adding that recognizing and finding ways to meet these needs should be included in planning healthcare provision and support for soon-to-be-parents.

But this topic is relevant nowadays too. "Being pregnant during this crisis, however, has meant women are experiencing scans, losses, labor, and early parenthood in scenarios they would never have imagined. It has been an isolating, difficult time for most," Broadbent said.

So what to do? Broadbent suggests that parents trust their gut. According to her, no one knows a mother's body or her baby as well as she does, so if you have any concerns, act on those. "I've never been wrong about any cause for concern with my own kids, now aged 8 and 11. I feel I have a special connection/maternal superpower when it comes to my children and many other mums say the same," she explained.

"I've been known to wake from a deep sleep with the urge to check on my sleeping child in the other room, only to discover he is unwell or has a fever. Learn to trust yourself."