Technology has invaded our lives in many ways. While you might think of the normal invasion (teenagers and college students posting party pictures that their parents find… parents posting embarrassing pictures of their kids as they’re growing up) there’s other ways that it’s invading our lives as well.
Some of our most PERSONAL moments are sharing on social networks- and one of the biggest personal times in our lives being shared and explored is pregnancy.
While the actual process of conceiving and having a baby hasn’t changed, the way that anxiously-waiting parents learn about pregnancy and communicate with their friends and family has changed drastically with the growth of the Internet. Instead of simply attending a birthing class or reading traditional books, today’s parents can learn about fetal development, labor issues and early childhood development with a push of the button. They can share sonograms with family on Facebook. They can put videos up of their nursery building on YouTube.
Let’s take a look at even more ways that technology and social media impact the modern pregnancy:
Tracking Your Pregnancy
In the past, most pregnant women relied on their doctor and a wall calendar to keep track of each stage of their pregnancy. With plenty of online pregnancy resources on sites like Planning Family, it’s easier than ever to know exactly what’s happening during each and every week of your new baby’s pre-natal development. With easy-to-understand diagrams, useful articles, and helpful tips, every pregnant woman will know exactly what is safe and unsafe throughout this special time. Finding and stalking your favorite websites can certainly help you get as much information as you can without spending 30 dollars on baby books.
Telling Everyone About the Pregnancy
While most families used to wait for a phone call to let them in on the latest news about the coming baby, today’s technology makes communicating easier than ever. Whether you’re posting sonogram images on Facebook or tweeting about your contractions, you can keep everyone up-to-date on the latest developments. Of course, you wouldn’t want everyone knowing about your most private details. Luckily, most social networking sites have security measures in place that can restrict certain information to just your friends or followers.
How About a Little Support?
Although it’s great to have the support of your friends and family, it can be even better to talk to other pregnant women who are going through the same thing you are – or have just passed that point. Because the memories are still fresh, it’s often a much more interesting conversation. Some women are lucky and have a friend or sister who’s pregnant at about the same time they are, but many others only come in contact with a truly sympathetic ear at the OB-GYN’s office.
However, there are plenty of online forums and blogs with users from all over the world that are ready and willing to listen to all of your little joys and problems at any time, day or night. Because these women are going through the same thing, they never get tired of hearing all about it.
The Maternity Ward
Most hospitals are now wired into the Internet. If you have friends or relatives who can’t make it in for the birth, they can simply sign into the hospital’s website using a special password and take a quick peak of their own. While all hospitals don’t have this feature, it’s a rapidly growing trend. By allowing long-distance relatives a virtual view of their newest family member, it eases the mind of the new parents and makes everyone feel like an important part of this special time.
Like most other parts of our lives, technology and social media has had a huge impact on pregnancy. Would you tweet from the hospital?