YouTube as a source of (mis)information for morning sickness self-help - A content analysis and literature review of recommendations for nausea and vomiting in pregnancy.

BACKGROUND

One of the most common pregnancy complications is nausea and vomiting (NVP). Most women use the internet to search for information about pregnancy complications, which raises concerns about encountering misinformation online.

OBJECTIVE

This study assessed which recommendations regarding NVP women encounter in YouTube videos, and the extent to which these recommendations are evidence-based.

DESIGN AND METHOD: This was a two-phase study. First, we conducted an inductive content analysis of the 45 most frequently watched full-length English YouTube videos on the topic of NVP targeted at pregnant women to obtain a list of recommendations to deal with NVP. Second, a literature review was conducted to evaluate the evidence supporting the recommendations identified in the videos.

RESULTS

We identified 85 unique recommendations, which could be sorted in 6 categories: pharmacological interventions, alternative and herbal medicine, dietary suggestions, supplements, lifestyle changes, and other recommendations. Of the 85 recommendations, fewer than 10% were evidence-based (vitamin B6, ginger and several medications), and 5% were potentially unsafe. The effectiveness of almost half of the recommendations had received limited research attention, and more than one third was entirely unstudied.

CONCLUSION

Women who seek NVP relief on YouTube are exposed to a wide variety of recommendations to reduce their symptoms. However, only few of these are evidence-based, and some may even be dangerous. Overall, there is a lack of research on effective non-pharmacological interventions for NVP relief. This highlights the need for improved guidance and dissemination of evidence-based interventions for NVP online.