With so many sources of information, where do moms and dads-to-be go for the right information? 

Ultimately, no two pregnancies can be the same.

Every woman experiences pregnancy differently. Even though millions and millions of women all over the world have given birth since the beginning of time, it’s unfortunate that there is no one source of truth. 

Since it’s a shared experience across most women, everyone has an opinion —your neighbor, aunt, grandmom, mom, friends, colleagues++

You can’t even dismiss them since they’ve experienced it themselves. Hence you have an itch to follow their advice blindly. The downside is too high, so you enamor your closest confidantes with your limitless trust. But then again, every woman’s body is different, how you react to X will NOT be similar to how your mom experiences it.

Your pregnancy is personal and unique—hence, own up and learn the facts.

Make your own decisions based on what is actually true, not what you think might be true or have heard to be true from a friend. The do’s and don'ts of pregnancy have become nonsensical, almost like Chinese whispers, wherein years of wisdom around pregnancy have become biased and diluted versions of the facts.

For any mom-to-be, finding the ‘right’ answers to the smallest of questions can be exhausting. Finding information is not tough, it’s super easy — there are limitless recommendations from doctors, medical boards, and blogs ++ online.

There is no shortage of opinions, but a definite shortage of arguments.

Ironically, official recommendations differ among themselves as well. We spoke to over a hundred moms and dads-to-be and everyone echoed the same concerns — they’re eternally confused and scared. If they get it wrong, who is to blame? While there are trusted OBGYNs for every mom, the parents need to be enabled and empowered with impartial facts that are backed by data, experience, and expertise where sources are altruistic and have no hidden agendas embedded.

Googling something as simple as ‘Can I have coffee? ‘Can I have alcohol?’ has no one unified answer, conflicting responses are what you’ll find, so your fall-back becomes checking in with your OBGYN or closest friends to get your right answer.

The answers to these questions can’t be generalized, but need to be personalized

But guess what, contrary to popular beliefs, women can have both coffee and alcohol during pregnancy. The exact data points are as follows:

• For coffee consumption*:

  • All evidence supports having up to 2 cups of coffee, so you can safely consume in case you enjoy your coffee and your nausea is not stressing you out

  • Evidence is mixed for more than 4 cups a day, so best to avoid

• For alcohol consumption*:

  • Up to one drink a day in the second and third trimester

  • 1 to 2 drinks a week in the third trimester

  • Speed is crucial here - you can’t be chugging your alcohol in one sitting - if you want to drink, drink responsibly

**this data is based on the research seen in “Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom is Wrong and What You Really Need to Know” by Emily Oster - a two-time mom & economist

You might wonder why official recommendations are so disparate. We think it’s because there are nuances to ‘how much’, ‘when’, and ‘how many’, and the downsides are high if not followed. Hence, doctors almost always make the executive decision to err on the side of caution.

While it is completely okay for a mom-to-be not to drink at all (coffee or alcohol) — they should be taking that call after the right unbiased information has been provided to them.

How to get this info? Simple: Get a solid doc, get a solid backup doc for a second opinion, and finally, do your own reading with solid sources - take the time out to find your own truth. Go with data, speak to experts, and go with what feels best.

No one, but you should be making decisions for you and your body.

It’s key to have a source that has your best interests in mind, your baby’s best interests in mind, with unbiased, expert, data-backed & personalized information at your fingertips.