Before You Google Something About Your Newborn, Do This

I walked into the room to update new parents and saw a very concerned look on their faces. They had been given information about a common newborn condition, like jaundice or a heart murmur.

Maybe they didn’t know what to ask when they initially received the information. It could have even been the bedside manner of the provider. Either way, they made the decision to Google.

When you don’t know something, Google can be a useful tool for getting information. However, when it comes to your baby, sometimes Google can make a situation or condition seem worse than it actually is.

Let me give you a practical example.

I woke up one morning, turned on the faucet, and no water came out. I checked each level of my home for signs of a leak and headed outside. I didn’t see anything. I logged into the water company’s website, and no outages were reported.

I called the water company, but no one answered, so I left a message for them to call me. In the meantime, I decided to Google what could be causing my water issue.

I found every possible scenario, from catastrophic, costly damage to a simple loss of pressure in the water system.

Thank goodness it was the latter.

Google can be useful for helping you understand what something like jaundice or a heart murmur in a newborn is. But most of the time, just like in my water example, the worst-case scenario is not the case.

If you decide to Google, gather the information, write down your questions, and talk to your baby’s healthcare provider. What you are dealing with may not be as bad as it seems after reading everything online.

If possible, go straight to your provider first. That way, you may be able to get the information you need without reading through all of the worst-case scenarios and adding unnecessary worry.

That is one of the parts of what I do that I enjoy most: bringing some of the joy back to having a baby.

You may not understand everything or know everything you need to know right away. You don’t have to.

That is why we’re here to guide you along the way.

Less overwhelm. More confidence. Enjoy your baby.