Here Are the Weird Things Pregnant Women Have Googled
What did we ever do before the internet existed? Seriously. Expectant mamas had no choice but to ask friends and read books (actual paper books with printed ink on the pages!). Now that a world of pregnancy and parenting advice, tips, and answers is right at the other end of a good Google search, we’ll have no more of that pesky paging through reference books time-suck stuff. Okay, so not every mommy-to-be is simply Googling, “Pregnancy facts” — some of them are searching for some pretty weird info. Like what? Check out what the moms we talked to said they searched the web for during their preggo days.
1. “What fruit is my baby the same size as?”: When Heather C. was pregnant with her second baby, she Googled this question every week to see how her little one was growing. “Forty weeks was a jackfruit, which I had never heard of.” Plenty of expectant parents probably aren’t entirely familiar with this musky-smelling fruit that looks like a massive, acne-covered tennis ball (cue, more Google searches).
2. “When to go?”: Marla T. was worried that her water wouldn’t break. More specifically, she Googled, “How will I know when to go to the hospital if my water doesn’t break?” Obviously, a sudden gush, or even an odd little drip, drip, drip, of amniotic fluid equals go time. But when you’re feeling contraction pangs and nothing is going on down there, it’s totally normal to feel some sort of confusion. Between not knowing if those kinds of contractions are real or not and having an amniotic sac that’s still completely intact, it’s no wonder that pregnant moms are searching for “When to go?”
3. “When do babies grow ___?”: Scouring the internet for “fetal development” isn’t exactly wacky or in any way out of the norm. Plenty of almost-moms search online for what’s growing that week. You want to know when your baby has a heartbeat, when her little lungs are budding, and how far along her brain has come. When Megan M. got searching, her thoughts were more on the smaller developments. “I remember checking to see when they got nails and hair.” We’ll save you some time online: Fingernails are sprouting during week 12, and hair starts growing around week 14 or 15.
4. “What contractions feel like”: It’s easy to imagine what a contraction feels like. It’s a bad period cramp. Right? Hmm, not so much. When Kristen B. was pregnant with her twin boys, her top search was, “What contractions feel like.” Even though the almost indescribable pain and pressure combo may kind of surprise you, reading about what other mamas experienced can help you to prep for the big birth day.
5. “How does ___ affect the baby?”: If it seems like the list of don’ts during pregnancy is constantly growing, you aren’t entirely wrong. Keeping up with what not to have and how the no-no’s impact baby’s growth is a completely common internet search. Megan M. said she spent some pre-baby time Googling, “How caffeine and aspartame affect the baby.” A good ol’ “do not have” during pregnancy, caffeine passes through the placenta to your baby. While the ill-effects of caffeine during pregnancy aren’t fully known, it may be linked to miscarriage or increased blood pressure (in the mother). When it comes to aspartame, the jury is still out, and there isn’t a mountain of evidence saying to stay away.
What did you Google during your pregnancy? Share your top online searches and tweet us @BritandCo!
(Photos via Getty)