quick clicks

twins today articles

twins today q&a

community & groups

research baby names

prepare a birth plan

content channels

ip channel rss feeds

read birth stories

read parenting stories

recommended books

e-newsletters

safety recalls

ip diaries

ip store

mom of the month

dad of the month

editor's letter

letters to the editor

Blogging the Baby

Keeping an Online Journal during Pregnancy and Beyond

By Kelly Burgess

Peterson calls this a "support group" type of situation and says there's probably a sense of safety in the anonymity of blogging. Blanchard agrees, especially in her case, where she's older than the average pregnant woman in her town. "I hear from both men and women who are older and just having children," says Blanchard. "There's definitely a community of women of a certain age who are getting pregnant and have no one to talk to or to listen to them. If you can't find them in your town, where everyone in your childbirth class is 15 years younger than you, where else do you look? Online, of course."

In addition, as Peterson points out, the cost-benefit analysis of online journaling is heavily weighted toward the benefits. Blogs are generally free, you can make great friends, and, if you have an unusual medical situation, you can get support for that.

"Overall, [blogging] just speaks to the fact that pregnancy and becoming a mother are very unsupported issues in our culture," says Peterson. "The Internet gives you a little wider world."

Want to see more?

• Butterflies and Hiccups: A Guided Pregnancy Journal for the Mom-to-be
• Technology Center
• Write From the Beginning
• Talk about it!