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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Education and Promotion
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1525004

Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Before Pregnancy Awareness: A Thematic analysis of online forum comments and misinformation

Provisionally accepted
Nessie Felicia Frennesson Nessie Felicia Frennesson 1*Youssouf Merouani Youssouf Merouani 2Julie Barnett Julie Barnett 3Angela Attwood Angela Attwood 1Luisa Zuccolo Luisa Zuccolo 4Cheryl McQuire Cheryl McQuire 1
  • 1 University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
  • 2 Lund University, Lund, Skane County, Sweden
  • 3 University of Bath, Bath, England, United Kingdom
  • 4 Human Technopole, Milano, Lombardy, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Many women consume alcohol while pregnant before they are aware of the pregnancy, raising concerns about potential harms to the developing foetus. Official guidelines in the United Kingdom recommend abstinence throughout pregnancy, and many women turn to online forums for reassurance and information. However, online forums can also become a source of misinformation, potentially increasing confusion and anxiety among women who have consumed alcohol before pregnancy awareness. This study explored discussions about alcohol consumption before pregnancy awareness on Mumsnet to understand the nature of peer response and assess the accuracy of information against official health guidelines and the scientific literature.A thematic analysis was conducted on 71 thread starts and 1,281 comments from Mumsnet.Data was collected via web scraping, followed by manual screening. Themes were identified, and information-sharing posts were fact-checked against scientific evidence and guidelines.Two overarching themes with five sub-themes emerged: 'Type of reassurance offered', where users offered reassurance to alleviate worries, and 'Reactions to reassurance', where some users appeared reassured while others did not. While many found reassurance, fact-checking revealed that the majority of the information was inaccurate, often underestimating the risks of prenatal alcohol exposure.Online forums may provide a source of peer support to those who have consumed alcohol before pregnancy awareness but frequently spread misinformation about alcohol use in early pregnancy. Health professionals should ensure pregnant women have access to accurate information alongside appropriate support to reduce anxiety and avoid the spread of harmful misinformation.

    Keywords: Pregnancy, alcohol, Pregnancy Awareness, Social Media, misinformation

    Received: 11 Nov 2024; Accepted: 17 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Frennesson, Merouani, Barnett, Attwood, Zuccolo and McQuire. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Nessie Felicia Frennesson, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.