Facebook has lots of pros about it for
organisations like Pregnancy Sickness Support. But recently for me
it's become more FaceAche than FaceBook.
I cannot deny that social networks have
enabled Pregnancy Sickness Support to grow so dramatically over the
last couple of year. I have been able to network with sufferers and
interested healthcare professionals which I would otherwise never
have found. It is also a useful tool for promoting the charity and
our work, raising funds and generally raising the profile of the
condition.
During pregnancy Facbook (FB) was
wonderfully supportive and massively reduced the isolation and misery
of months in bed.
But, and it's a big BUT... It is NOT
the place for seriously ill pregnant women to seek medical advice and
information! Yet an awful lot of women do, and many of them go on to
take the advice from these random internet strangers. In the last
couple of years I've even witness women offer to post their
prescription drugs to each other - crazy!
The sad truth is that the reason women
are looking for info from FB friends and on twitter is, more often
then not, because they have been let down by their health care
professionals. The ones with the good doctors and midwives go to
them. But when you have found the strength to go and seek help from
professionals and are fobbed off with “It's normal and you mustn't
take any medication in pregnancy - try ginger” then, naturally,
you turn to the large online community of peers who know it's not
normal to be that sick, the meds they are on are fine and ginger is a
load of b*******.
In response to the increasingly
worrying content on the facebook group yet recognising this need for
women to seek online peer support, 24/7, PSS have set up a forum on
their website for women to get support and information instead. It is
run by our volunteers who not only have training but also have direct
access to our medical experts and can provide accurate information
about treatments. We have a number of nurses and doctors as members
of the forum and you can see who are registered volunteers from their
avatars.
I want to implore women suffering, not
only from HG but any condition which is often misunderstood or
under-appreciated to not just take the advice of strangers on a
social network - seek proper information from the charity
supporting the condition, from experts in the field, from trained
healthcare professionals - there are good ones out there and we can
help you find them.
Use facebook for what it is intended
for - socialising, support and friendship. By all means go on and
have a moan about what an awful day you are having or how the smell
of you partner is making you sick or the fact that your doctor was
really unhelpful. Be empowered by the united voice of hundreds of
women with a shared experience. But for goodness sake, when it comes
to actual medical advice don't go on Facebook!
The link for the UK PSS forum is
http://www.pregnancysicknesssupport.org.uk/online-support-forum/
If you are in the USA the HER
Foundation also have a forum: http://www.helpher.org/forum3/
In the Netherlands they have a support
forum also: http://www.steunpunthg.nl/phpBB/
Women from other countries are welcome
on all the forums but bear in mind that information about treatment
will be country specific.
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