MUM KNOWS BEST!

Stacey Collins
You are pregnant and have just been to the doctors'. They have bombarded you with advice; cut down on the caffeine, only eat hard-boiled or scrambled eggs, and avoid stressful situations.

 In fact, the overload of information has left you feeling more stressed than ever.
So then you worry about how stressed you are which in turn, makes you even more stressed.

Not the pregnancy predicament you expect to find yourself in after seeking professional advice.

As you prepare yourself at home with some pillows, a chocolate bar and a cup of coffee (decaffeinated of course) in order to start to read through the leaflets and 1,000 page books that could rival Harry Potter for length, you find that some of the medical advice contradicts the advice given to you by your mother.

Try and stick to about four/five cups of tea a day the pamphlets suggest, whereas you distinctly remember your mother telling you ‘Cups of tea will help reduce morning sickness!’

So who do you listen to?

Well a recent study by psychologists at Royal Holloway College, London reports that most women are more likely to listen to their mothers rather than doctors.

However, in comparison to the 1970s where family advice was the main source of information during pregnancy, researchers have found that the modern woman is willing to try to filter and combine the best medical recommendations with the sworn-by tips that have passed through the family.

As long as women stick to the general guidelines, then selecting the best bits from the strict regime-like medical advice or the lax and even ridiculous family suggestions is the best way to form a pregnancy plan that a mother-to-be can feel comfortable with. Everyone likes a pick’n’mix.

Which advice will you take? Will you be smearing the doctor-advised tretinoin cream or the not-so-professional egg whites into your stretch marks tonight?
Stacey Collins

News report on "mum knows best?"