Use of a parenting newsletter series and other child-rearing information sources by mothers of infants

In an evaluation of a parenting newsletter series, 457 mothers of infants completed surveys assessing the newsletter’s usefulness relative to nine other sources of information. Mothers reported an average of four very useful sources, with the newsletter the most frequently used professional source and the baby’s grandparent the most used informal source. Mothers who reported a higher number of very useful parenting sources ranked the newsletter as more useful than those with fewer valuable sources. Approximately 28% of mothers described conflict between newsletter information and information from other sources, particularly grandparents and physicians. Mothers resolved conflict through such strategies as gathering more information, relying on instincts, or ignoring one source. Implications of findings for educating parents of infants are discussed.