Mother knows best
Mums to be believe their own mothers can give better health advice on pregnancy and bringing up a child than medical professionals.
A team from the University of London talked to a number of women who gave birth during the 1970s, 1980s and 2000s and found that modern women from the noughtie’s are more likely to take on board a mixture of advice but even so are still likely to follow family tips.
Women who had babies between 2000 and 2010 were found to examine a wide range of information and advice from doctors, midwives, books, magazines and the internet as well as receiving advice from family members. Although when it came to choosing between advice many would choose the latter especially when dealing with a specific symptom.
It was the mother’s of the 1970′s that were the most likely to take family advice and though this can be of great help its also important for mothers to seek medical advice if they do have worries ether during or after pregnancy.
Leader of the study, Professor Paula Nicolson, said: “When it comes to the crunch – if women feel sick for example – they will take their mother’s or their grandmother’s advice.
“They wouldn’t necessarily recognise how important it was to them, but it would override the science.”