One of the things I like most about being a millennial mom is that we have had to live motherhood at a time when we have a lot of information at our fingertips.
However, just as there is useful and true information, there are many sites that publish erroneous data or inaccurate information, creating only confusion in the mothers and fathers who read them. That's why this time, I want to ask you something: don't believe everything they read on the internet.
My idea to write this article came about as a result of a series of publications that I read from one of the largest maternity sites in Mexico. I couldn't believe when I saw that they recommended giving them coconut water from newborns as a replacement for breast milk or that they said that children aged 0 to 6 months should drink 700 ml of water daily. We know perfectly well that the World Health Organization recommends that babies be fed exclusively with milk for the first six 6 months.
But my biggest surprise and courage was when I read a post in which they said that if you fed your baby often and poached at least 3 times a day, you were giving him the milk he needs. To a baby of what age? What food? How much is "often"? This is the kind of misinformation that makes this belief of "my milk not fill you" perpetuate.
The purpose of these words that I write is not to highlight this site because, although I think they should not trust its contents, just as they publish it there will be others that also come to recommend things that are not safe or those indicated by professionals.
I think what we really must do is be informed mothers and fathers. But seriously informed. What do I mean by this? To not only stay in reading an article and now.
It is extremely important to keep in mind that not because a popular or famous page publishes certain information means that it is true or recommended. That is why I want to invite you to always read your truth when you read something.
How to know if an information is true
When I became a mother I was very innocent and inexperienced. Although I had read some books, most were of pregnancy. I never really prepared for the moment my daughter arrived. Then, in addition to leaning on the pediatrician, I turned to the Internet. I found that there were many maternity sites where I could seek some advice or recommendation.
Unfortunately, just as there are very professional sites, there are others whose contents are written informally or without citing sources that support the content they mention. For this I want to propose that Whenever you read something, especially when it comes to your own health and well-being and ask your children the following questions:
- Who recommends it?
- Where is the study or research that supports this data? (Especially when statistics are included)
- Do they link to good sources of information?
- Are you a reliable health professional?
- Is it a brand and therefore an interested party?
- Is a person wanting excessive attention?
For some sites it is very easy to publish articles mentioning that "professionals recommend" or adding statistics to give seriousness to the content but they never mention where they got that information. Somewhere he had to leave, right?
Quoting sources is very important, and it is one of the things I like most about Babies' content and more. The editors have indications that if we are going to talk about health studies or recommendations, we must include the scientific study or the research carried out. Similarly, when it comes to information, we regularly cite the sites of the World Health Organization and the Spanish and American Pediatric Associations.
Of course we are also human and we make mistakes, we can get a detail to escape but we do our best to always provide true information and with substantiation or evidence to support it.
In the same way, we should not take the rumors or alarmist experiences that start from social networks like Facebook without support from the police or medical sources. Before sharing and assuming that they are true, you must verify their truthfulness.
So moms, dads: always ask everything you read. It is not that they do not trust any place or that they do not believe in anything. It’s just that confirm that the information and advice you are reading are recommended.
Photos | iStock
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