In Brief
Internet impact on prenatal care: Brazilian study found that 92% of pregnant women used the internet to access health information. Fetal development, nutrition, and childbirth were the top search topics. While 88.1% discussed their findings with doctors, the study showed no impact on delivery routes. Caution is required because of potential misinformation. The authors advocate improved guidance and quality control of online health information.
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 internet-based 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.
Conclusion:
The search for health information by pregnant women is very prevalent but does not interfere with the delivery route.
Keywords:
Prenatal care; Medical informatics; Pregnant women; Internet search; Information-seeking behavior; Consumer health information; Surveys and questionnaires
Highlights
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.
