PODCAST: It Takes a Village

In this new podcast from The Nursery, join our Health Team and our guest Mum, Frankie.

Navigating pregnancy and new motherhood can be both an exciting journey and one riddled with so many unknowns. This becomes exacerbated when partnered with complications like gestational diabetes.

Diagnoses such as gestational diabetes can be met with worry and a fear that ‘I’ve caused this’ or ‘I’ve put my unborn baby in danger’. With endless online information, pregnant women are often left feeling overwhelmed.

“I was worried about what it meant for my unborn child. And I was concerned that I'd bought it on myself. I'd been eating cake a day up until that point, so I thought I'd actually caused the gestational diabetes.”

While professional medical advice is still the first port of call and crucial, we discovered that increasingly, women are turning to online platforms to ask medical questions and discuss their experience. Around topics like gestational diabetes, they find comfort in the shared experience of other Mums and Mums-to-be.

Platforms like Mums-net and Peanut (app) allow pregnant women and new Mums to seek advice, comfort and guidance. All without fear of judgement. Which plays a key role in creating a community for many of these women.

“I don't live near my parents, I don't have that ‘village’ / support network that's physically close. So, it's really nice to have a support network virtually, one you can rely on and talk to, knowing they’re going through the same things as me.”

Our two key learnings from this podcast session that can be applied to broader patient support areas:

1. Online communities can foster an environment of togetherness and support. They are capable of eliminating feelings of loneliness and worry via shared experiences. This becomes especially true for those who may not be surrounded by people going through the same thing in their day-to-day life.
2. There is an overwhelming amount of information available online. Expectant parents are looking for clear and easy-to-digest answers. They seek information they can trust, serving as an extension to advice they get from HCPs and close family members.

Listen now.

Want to know more? Get in touch by emailing health@the-nursery.net

Listen to Episode 1 or see more of our Health work here.