3 Tips To Handle The Noise On Decisions For Baby-To-Be

​How to cut through confusion when pregnant women are 'bombarded' with health advice

Original Article By Amina Zafar on CBC News Posted: Aug 18, 2016.

Earlier this week Yoga Mamas' Chiropractor Dr. Aliya Visram was interviewed in our studio by CBC as part of a story on the recent news that use of the popular pain reliever acetaminophen during pregnancy may increase the risk of behavioural problems in children is a recent example. 

With so much information available, and many of it conflicting, mamas and mamas-to-be can be left even more confused than before they set off looking for answers.  

Dr. Aliya Visram is seven months pregnant with her second child and focuses her practice on prenatal and postnatal chiropractic care in Toronto. She's seen pregnant women come to her fearful about how to deal with pains in the back, groin, hip and elsewhere. She often recommends non-pharmacological approaches to pain, such as yoga. 

"As mothers and mothers-to-be, we all want to do what's best for our babies and children," Visram said to CBC.

"I think building a relationship with your health care practitioner, especially during pregnancy, is crucially important and is a great place to start when faced with conflicting information."

Emily Oster, author of Expecting Better, offers 3 tips to cut through the confusion and handle the noise on decisions for baby-to-be:

1. Compare probabilities in pregnancy with the risks women are often willing to take, such as driving a car. 
2. Take a  closer look at the risk. Studies often present risks as odds ratios, such as something increases the risk by five times. But it matters if it's the odds of something that's one in a million or one in 20.
3. Consider how believable the results of a study are. 

Read the full article by Amina Zafar, CBC News, HERE.