Internet use by pregnant women during prenatal care

High internet use: 92% of pregnant women used the internet to access health information during prenatal care.
Top search topics: fetal development, nutrition, and childbirth were the primary topics of interest.
Doctor-patient discussions: 88.1% discussed online findings with doctors, emphasizing patient engagement.
No impact on delivery route: despite extensive internet use, no statistical impact on delivery route choice was observed.

ABSTRACT

Objective:

The search for medical information on the internet is a part of people’s daily lives. Exponential volumes of data are available through various media and platforms. There are several problems related to the ease of creating and accessing medical information on the internet, as evidenced by the quantity of false content and increasing anxiety due to the consumption of these data. In light of this accessibility, it is necessary to understand how people use internetbased medical information and its impact on specific populations. This prospective study aimed to analyze pregnant women’s behavior when searching for health-related information on the internet, and how they were influenced by the information.

Methods:

Questionnaires were administered to the participants during their immediate puerperium, and their answers were tabulated.

Results:

Three hundred and two patients answered the questionnaires. We observed that internet use was frequent, and most patients discussed the findings with their physicians. However, this did not affect the delivery routes.