Modern Mums Chat Over New Virtual Washing Line

LONDON - Research has revealed that new mums are spending an
astonishing FOUR hours looking for advice online every day. Whenever baby
naps, mum is logging onto the internet to get find out more about feeding,
sleeping, development, health and shopping.

And more often then not, they are consulting other mums for
advice on their baby’s well being.

The poll of 3,000 mums, conducted by parenting club Bounty
revealed 43 minutes a day are spent talking to like-minded people in forums
and chatrooms.

In fact, 36 per cent of those polled rate other mum’s advice
more highly than recommendations from health visitors and midwives and 39 per
cent would prefer to conduct their own research online rather than asking
their own mum for guidance.

A further 42 minutes are spend trawling the web for sites
which can give advice on baby’s development - 49 per cent of mums admit they
have gone online just to check their own baby’s behaviour and progress is
“normal”.

Another 39 minutes are spent visiting health websites to get
medical advice about teething, milk spots, rashes, colic, reflux and other
common childhood complaints.

More than half of mums always look up their child’s medical
symptoms online before visiting the doctor or health visitor, and 24 per cent
have even printed off information from the internet to present to the doctor.

Approximately 51 minutes of the day is spent looking at
parenting websites, another 42 minutes are spent shopping, whilst 41 minutes
are spent reading reviews for the best baby equipment and home wares.

Faye Mingo, spokeswoman for Bounty said: “Women feel more
empowered if they can sort out their own problems and the internet makes this
possible. They feel more confident in their ability to look after their
children if armed with information, and often the best kind of advice can be
given by people who have been through similar experiences.

“Everyday we have approximately 18,000 mums using our forums -
and topics vary from trying for a baby to potty training and relationship
concerns. For some reason, new mums prefer to go online to get advice than
turn to their own mum - this might be because they don’t want to ask for help
but also advice has changed over generations. The internet is the perfect
resource to help out with funny questions, and can often offer peace of mind
if used properly.”

The poll also revealed that women are turning to the internet
during their bid to conceive - 24 per cent claimed to start using the
internet more when they were trying to get pregnant.

And 26 per cent used the internet to research ways of getting
pregnant. A fifth of women chatted in forums to other people in the same
position as them when trying to conceive, and an astonishing 33 per cent told
internet friends they were pregnant BEFORE telling their partner.

Faye Mingo continued: “We live in the information age and mums
are breaking with tradition to find the help they need because often their
family and friends don’t live nearby. Ultimately the reason they are sharing
their concerns and experiences with complete strangers is because these women
are in a similar situation and online provide a new sense of community.

Breakdown of Time Online

Parenting websites 51 minutes
Forums and chatrooms 43 minutes
Advice on development 42 minutes
Medical advice 39 minutes
Shopping 42 minutes
Reviews 41 minutes
Total 258 minutes or 4 hours and 18 mins

Source: Bounty UK Limited

For further information please contact Lisa Penney on +44(0)1707-294000 or email lpenney at bounty.com