Peer Review

17 Pregnancy Do’s and Don’ts That May Surprise You

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Feb 24, 2024 by Psychology

Bookmark

Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

17 Pregnancy Do's and Don'ts That May Surprise You is a brief online article from the Healthline website. The list of 17 "do's and don'ts" can serve as a fun or interesting discussion starter in an undergraduate child development class covering prenatal topics and issues.

Type of Material:

Reference Material

Recommended Uses:

The article is very brief and would best be used to launch an in-class discussion in which students have an opportunity to agree, disagree, and ask questions that may provide a good segue into a lecture on prenatal care.
Students can use what they have heard -- or they can interview family and community members on what they believe leads to a healthy pregnancy and baby -- and compare that to the article.
Students can use what is on the website and search for additional information that is consistent with the site and for information that is inconsistent.
Overall, this material would be a wonderful supplement to share with students at any level of undergraduate or even high school level, as well as for professional certification. It would be well suited to post in an online and also a hybrid course on the module relating to prenatal development and pregnancy.

Technical Requirements:

Only a standard web browser is required.

Identify Major Learning Goals:

Readers will learn 17 health-related "do's and don'ts" pertaining to pregnancy (including the reasons why).
- They will learn that at least some of what they have heard does not fit with the research on a healthy pregnancy.
- They will learn physical as well as cognitive and social considerations for healthy pregnancies.

Target Student Population:

College General Ed, College Lower Division

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

No prerequisite information is required for understanding this material; however, a discussion of the research on pregnancy before or after using this site would be helpful.

Content Quality

Rating:

Strengths:

The article very concisely covers/lists a number of key areas related to prenatal care and includes both well-known and lesser known facts on prenatal health and wellness.
The article specifically, includes 9 pregnancy do’s and 8 pregnancy don’ts based on multiple included sources.
- Examples of the do’s are visiting the dentist, eating and exercising wisely. The don’ts include alcohol consumption, which has been controversial for a long time.
NOTE: The article shows updates provided by the authors, indicating that relevancy and references have been updated to reflect changes in known health information relating to pregnancy.

Concerns:

The article is not academic in nature and contains limited references or resources. Instructors would likely use the list as a lead-in to a lecture or class discussion that cover some of the 17 listed items in more detail (and with supporting research).
While some of the listed items include additional information in links, they all should. For example, a link-out to the CDC's web page on toxoplasmosis clarifies that one can safely change cat litter but should wear disposable gloves, wash hands well afterwards, and clear the box daily (e.g., “The toxoplasma parasite does not become infectious until 1 to 5 days after it is shed in a cat’s feces.” CDC, Toxoplasmosis: Pregnancy FAQS https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/gen_info/pregnant.html ).

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:

Strengths:

The article provides an effective introduction to prenatal care. It could be a good class conversation starter and might be useful in surfacing issues that students/readers might be reticent to raise on their own (e.g., smoking, drinking, sex during pregnancy).
The presentation is clear and concise and includes link-outs to additional details and readings on many of the top 17, allowing the learner to pursue additional information on many presented topics.

Concerns:

Additional examples would be helpful. For example, some may not understand the serious issues with low birth weight babies.
The article is not designed as a teaching tool. Instructors will want to design an activity to integrate the article into a class lesson.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:

Strengths:

This material requires only a web browser to view, and it is easy to navigate. As an online article, visitors need only surf the page and scroll down to read the 17 "do's and don'ts."
Headings are easily navigable. The article is text-only, and embedded links appear readily accessible.
Headings, fonts, and page colors also appear accessible.

Other Issues and Comments:: Excellent quicklist to get initially familiarized with prenatal issues and health and wellness. It is also nice to see the links to related articles on similar topics that are automatically gnerated by this site.
Creative Commons: