Accounts I Follow

The pregnancy and birth accounts I keep coming back to, and what I take from each

A short list of the accounts I follow and why. Some I follow for credentials, some because I love hearing other women’s stories. Anything medical, I run by my doctor.

Key points

In a 2022 survey of 302 pregnant women, 72.8% used social media for pregnancy information, more than used health professionals (49.3%). Turn what you save into a question for your next visit.
You can check a nurse’s license for free on Nursys. If an account’s advice rests on a credential, look it up.

The list

@arike.birth: prayer and spiritual preparation for birth. I saved a reel about praying through pregnancy with Psalm 91 and a pregnancy devotional. Faith is central to how I understand what I’ve been through and what I hope for.

@themiraclesales: Black maternal safety. I saved a reel about April Valentine, a Black mother who died during childbirth in 2023. KFF Health News reported that the medical examiner listed a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot that traveled to her lung. It’s why I learned the urgent maternal warning signs by heart.

@thedoularn: induction and Pitocin (a medication used to start or strengthen contractions). The comments under one reel kept mentioning the Bishop score, a way of measuring how ready the cervix is for labor. I checked it against ACOG’s explanation of induction, and it became a question for my doctor.

@delaneyshumaker: one mother’s feeding story. She describes breastfeeding struggles after a birth where her baby’s head was tilted in the birth canal. My own baby’s latch wasn’t improving even when I followed every tip, and her story made me wonder whether birth can affect feeding.

@gilligansguide: positions for labor. Ann Marie Gilligan is a registered nurse, and Gilligan’s Guide teaches positioning for labor. I want these in my head before I’m too tired to think of them.

@justbritni: pure joy. A labor nurse dancing at work. Not advice. Just the kind of nurse I’d want in the room.

How I use them

I follow for credentials or for stories, and I know which is which. A nurse or lactation consultant speaks from training. A mother’s birth is real and worth hearing, and it’s one birth.

I don’t take anything online as a plan. I turn it into a question: “I saw this. Does it apply to me?” Then I ask my doctor.

Take this back

To discuss with your care team: I saw a video about this. Does it apply to me?

To discuss with the people in your life: If I send you something I saw online, will you help me turn it into a question instead of a worry?

Next in the series: “Help That Costs Less, or Nothing”