Hey Mama,We Hear You: An Analysis of Online Parenting Support Conversations on Reddit

Peer Social Support and Social Media

Peer support is an instrumental strategy for parents, and beyond formal support, prior research indicates that informal support from peers is an invaluable resource for parents (Niela-Vilén et al., 2014; Teague & Shatte, 2021). Peer groups are one form of peer social support that parents may use that has several mechanisms that make them successful. First, peer support groups may serve as an immediate community that a person can rely on when in need. Second, a group can operate as a co-counseling system where members serve as either a counselor or a counselee to others in the group. Third, peer support may enhance self-validation, self-esteem, perceived control, and satisfaction with partner communication, and can encourage better health. Fourth, regular meetings with others with similar experiences can encourage empathy toward oneself and others. Last, peer groups may provide a space for both physical and emotional reactions to life stressors and allow disclosure in a safe environment (Davison et al., 2000). Therefore, peer support can serve as a model for individuals to learn how to disclose feelings and seek help while developing a more positive self-image (Anderson, 2013; Scrandis, 2005).

Of interest, social media platforms provide various benefits for individuals who choose to use them for group support. Individuals may remain anonymous within online settings and can avoid challenges associated with interpersonal deficits, such as interpreting social cues or non-verbal communication (Highton-Williamson et al., 2015; Mittal et al., 2007). For those experiencing mental health symptoms combined with fear of stigma and rejection, anonymity through online communication may be empowering. In addition, this resource can help overcome both geographic and time constraints, as individuals can choose whether to actively create content, disclose personal information, post comments, or passively view content created by others.

The ability to choose the level of engagement is one advantage as it may help individuals overcome debilitating effects of mental illness, such as information processing challenges, social anxiety, or difficulties with social interaction (Schrank et al., 2010). Individuals experiencing challenges can choose whether to post content, how quickly to respond to comments, revisit conversations, and seek greater clarity at their own pace. Research suggests that in online networks, both individuals who choose to share content and those who seek health information without interacting with others can experience important health benefits (Mo & Coulson, 2010; van Uden-Kraan et al., 2008). For example, while lockdowns increased the social isolation experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, online interactions reduced the risk of depression symptoms among parents (Gallagher & Wetherell, 2020). This finding illustrates how online interactions can provide an alternative resource when face-to-face communication is constrained. Overall, the combination of these features within social media may provide individuals with more flexibility, control, and agency within their interactions in comparison to in-person alternatives.

For mothers, social media may serve as a platform for challenging prejudiced societal views, questioning authoritarian medical practices and ignorance, and sharing positive attitudes and beliefs. In addition, mothers who use online support groups may, intentionally or unintentionally, violate cultural and social norms related to a modern woman’s role as a mother (e.g., through discussing negative feelings about being a mother, sexual desires, divorce, abortion) while receiving support or empathy (Holtz et al., 2015). Therefore, online settings for social support are an alternative that may serve parents’ needs while overcoming mental and physical obstacles that can occur while using in-person resources.

Types of Support

Empirical research suggests that social support is an important predictor of psychological well-being for parents, particularly women, during the transition to parenthood (e.g., House, 1981; Tully & Ball, 2017). Social support has been broadly categorized into two main areas: structural and functional support. Structural support refers to the existence and quantity of support through formal and informal social relationships (e.g., provided by partners, family, peers, colleagues, and others from within the community), whereas functional support is the specific type of perceived support (Taylor, 2011). While research varies on the number of functional support elements, studies consistently find that the effectiveness of social support depends on the perceived need, effectiveness, and the relationship between the giver and receiver of the support (e.g., Leahy-Warren-et al., 2012; Sherbourne & Stewart, 1991). In the current study, I focus on the following three forms of functional support: informational, emotional, and practical support.

Informational support often appears as advice, guidance, or information (House, 1981). One critical example of informational support during the transition to motherhood relates to breastfeeding. Many first-time mothers are unaware of how to breastfeed (Mcfadden et al., 2017) and mothers actively request breastfeeding tips (Graffy & Taylor, 2005); therefore, such support is beneficial to both a new mother’s well-being and her bond with her infant. While healthcare policies emphasize informational breastfeeding support, the quality of advice and information received related to breastfeeding via various resources (e.g., hospitals, lactation consultants, family, and friends) may not address a mother’s concerns or help overcome difficulties they are facing (Tomori et al., 2017). In addition, information can be contradictory between sources and morally loaded, which may simultaneously result in further pressure and guilt upon mothers (McInnes & Chambers, 2008; Sriraman & Kellams, 2016). Thus, new mothers must filter informational support as they may receive advice that does not meet their needs or expectations.

In contrast to informational support, emotional support is defined as the conveyance of trust, empathy, and concern and can strengthen an individual’s ability to cope with stressors (House, 1981). Previous research, for example, on online social support during the postpartum period finds that using the internet to learn about others’ experiences helped women who experienced high-risk pregnancies feel more validated and less isolated regarding their feelings surrounding their pregnancy journeys (Evans et al., 2012). In turn, this exposure and ability to confide in others allowed new mothers to feel less stigmatized. Therefore, sharing experiences, receiving reassurance, and emotional support are vital for both mother and child outcomes, especially in the vulnerable perinatal period.

Last, practical, or instrumental, support is the offering of physical help with tasks and help to change the conditions of an individual’s current environment (House, 1981). Practical support is essential for women transitioning to motherhood as they often need help in the prenatal and postpartum periods. When mothers receive practical support for household tasks, resource provisioning, and child care, the constraints on mothers are somewhat lessened (Meehan et al., 2013; Tully & Ball, 2017). In addition, this form of support is critical when a new mother is unable to physically care for her child and household as she is healing in the early stages of postpartum. However, like informational advice, while a mother may objectively receive practical support, if the assistance does not mitigate the root cause of distress, it is unlikely to alter her circumstances and consequently, may be deemed unhelpful. Overall, the combination of these three forms of functional support is both invaluable and essential to women transitioning to motherhood as they learn to navigate and cope with new life stressors.

Muted Group Theory

Muted group theory (MGT) provides one framework to examine the experiences of marginalized individuals and why certain groups are not heard in comparison to others. MGT argues that society is hierarchical where certain groups (e.g., men) are given more privileges than others (e.g., women) and therefore determine and create the norms of communication within a society. Those marginalized often have their ideas suppressed and are forced to adapt to the dominant communication structure that can dismiss their words and thoughts (Ardener, 1975; Kramarae, 1981). Subsequently, this process can challenge a woman’s empowerment as they may feel pressured to conform to have their voice heard by society (Kramarae, 1981).

Two marginalized groups of women who often suffer in silence are those experiencing the transition to motherhood and those experiencing postpartum depression/anxiety (PPD/PPA; Ardener, 1975; DeGroot & Vik, 2021; Kramarae, 1981). Women’s reproductive-related symptoms and illnesses are frequently stigmatized, and many suffer for years from reproductive-related illnesses because their complaints are silenced or misdiagnosed (e.g., Taylor, 2003; Ussher, 2003). Within medical care, doctors and staff are often positioned as the dominant group, while women receiving care are perceived as non-dominant and, in the process, their experiences may be undermined or disregarded (McKinley, 2019). For example, during labor and childbirth, mothers may find it challenging to express their feelings, not have enough information about the medical procedures and treatments being implemented, and feel rushed to make decisions. These encounters within the health care system, difficulties of disclosing one’s experiences, and lack of bodily autonomy can perpetuate the silencing of women transitioning to motherhood.

Women also encounter stigma toward poor mental health, mental illness, and discussing negative postpartum experiences (Bennett & Indman, 2019). Negative postpartum experiences can result in shame and fear as they violate the norms of motherhood and, as a result, hinder women from disclosing their experiences and symptoms (Anderson, 2013; Venis & McCloskey, 2007). Concerningly, women with PPD/PPA may encounter further feelings of isolation, which can prevent them from seeing, recognizing, and understanding shared experiences of estrangement (Ferguson, 1984). Consequently, the symptoms and experiences themselves may create a self-silencing dynamic due to a lack of understanding among those transitioning to motherhood.

Despite the prevalence of the postpartum experience, traditional societal norms imposed on mothers continue to diminish and ignore women’s voices. Ultimately, these patterns maintain the treatment of women, influence their position, ability to advocate for themselves, and to be heard within society. Therefore, a muted group theory framework allows me to better understand women’s experiences, the general topics related to the transition to motherhood related to support, and how women express their feelings and experiences within an online, anonymous setting in which they may feel less fear and stigma in expressing themselves.

Purpose of the Study

The current study aims to better understand the thematic content and forms of functional social support found within online peer groups that may help women during and after their transition to motherhood using publicly available data from the online discussion forum, Reddit. In comparison to other social media platforms (e.g., Twitter and Facebook), individuals can create pseudonyms (i.e., usernames) and, in addition, create temporary “throwaway” accounts (separate from their username account) where they can post anonymously. Users can post to Reddit in the form of links, text, images, or videos within various communities (i.e., “subreddits”) focused on specific topics, and their posts can be upvoted, downvoted, or commented on by other users.

Subreddits may center on a variety of topics such as politics, religion, science, video games, parenting, and each community includes a description of its purpose and rules for engagement within the community. Of interest, Reddit contains several parenting subcommunities with large followings and engagement, and each has specific guidelines and foci related to parenting or groups of parents (e.g., mothers, fathers, parents of one child, multiple children, etc.). Prior empirical work utilizing Reddit data suggests that parents use username accounts to discuss topics common to parenthood, such as naming a child, work–life balance, and vaccinations, and use throwaway accounts to discuss more stigmatizing topics (Ammari et al., 2019). Therefore, analyzing Reddit posts within parenting subcommunities may help researchers better understand parents’ authentic attitudes and concerns as they include both registered and throwaway accounts.

I consider four popular parenting subcommunities (i.e., r/Mommit, r/beyondthebump, r/toddlers, and r/pottytraining) to examine how social media facilitates support and the implications for new mothers. In doing so, I ask the following four research questions:

Data Collection and Method

Publicly available data were scraped in late May (May 25 to May 28, 2023) from four forums focused on parenting experiences on Reddit (i.e., r/Mommit, r/beyondthebump, r/toddlers, and r/pottytraining). Subreddits were selected based on the descriptions from their community information and their emphasis on parenting discourse related to motherhood, the transition to motherhood, and early child development stages/milestones that parents may seek advice related to (e.g., potty-training and toddlers). One of the most popular subreddits with more than a million users, r/Mommit, describes itself as a community for mothers and wanting to “be here for other moms who are going through the same experiences and offer a helping hand” (Reddit, 2023a). In contrast, r/beyondthebump (689,453 users) is a place for “posts focusing on the transition into living with your new little one. . . ” (Reddit, 2023b). Thus, both communities highlight parents, and of interest, mothers during their prenatal and postpartum journeys. The other two subreddit communities examined emphasize discourse related to early child development, such as r/toddlers (379,678 members) and r/pottytraining (28,375 members). As my focus is on the early years of parenting, the consideration of these two communities is helpful as toddlers are between 1 to 3 years of age, and potty-training often occurs during this period which can contribute to the stress levels of new parents.

As my first research question considers the common themes related to the term, “support” in parenting subreddit communities, I collected all publicly available posts containing the term “support” since the creation of each subreddit (the earliest, r/Mommit, established in 2012). Considering all threads containing the search keyword allows me to capture communication and general themes related to the word in each community. In addition, response messages to the original posts were included for qualitative analyses to describe the conversations, language, and social support found within thread titles. The final sample of data contained 796 threads spanning from May 2012 to May 2023 and included 235 (r/Mommit), 237 (r/beyondthebump), 235 (r/toddlers), and 89 (r/pottytraining) threads.

The corpus of data was prepared for analysis using the R package, “tm” version 0.7-11 (Feinerer & Hornik, 2024). Figure 1 outlines the processing and data analysis pipeline performed in the current study. Broadly, this procedure is comprised of the following steps: (a) data extraction, (b) data cleaning, (c) STM topic modeling, and (d) qualitative synthesis. The process involved converting all text to lowercase, removing non-alphabetical characters, punctuation, blank spaces, non-words (e.g., numbers and emojis), and “stop words” (e.g., “the,” “is,” “at,” “which,” “on”). Terms were “stemmed” by manually reviewing the entire list of unique words and ensuring words with different suffixes (e.g., “sadness,” “saddest,” and “sadder”) were coded as the same word (e.g., “sad”). During the review, misspellings and international differences in spelling were also corrected (e.g., “gray” and “grey”).

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Figure 1.

Data Processing and Analysis Pipeline.

Topic Modeling

Topic modeling has been used to identify various thematic content on social media such as parenting issues (Westrupp et al., 2022), mental health treatment (Feldhege et al., 2020), and online aggression toward minority women (Francisco & Felmlee, 2022). In comparison to other classification methods (e.g., supervised), this approach is useful for large amounts of data and grouping objects and topics into natural groups (Roberts et al., 2014). The mathematical model behind the topic analysis used in the current study, Structural Topic Modeling (STM), is valuable for simultaneously estimating both the mixture of topics and the mixture of words within Reddit thread titles.

STM is one form of machine learning text analysis that performs probability-based text mining to extract a set of topics from a text corpus based on patterns of words associated with each topic (Roberts et al., 2019). Similar to other semi-automated approaches such as Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) and Correlated Topic Models (CTMs), STM can avoid overfitting data and utilizes a hierarchical Bayesian analysis to discover latent semantic groups in a collection of documents (Blei, 2012). In addition, the method allows documents, or in this study, Reddit thread titles, to overlap each other in terms of words used, and may include multiple topics within them, rather than having documents separated into discrete groups. In contrast to LDA, STM can employ metadata about documents to improve the assignment of words to latent topics in a corpus and these may be included within the model as covariates (Roberts et al., 2014). I included the variable, “subreddit” (i.e., which subreddit a thread title was posted to), within the STM model to assess variation in topics between the four different subreddits or, in other words, how likely specific topics are to appear within one Reddit community versus another.

To conduct the STM model, the corpus of thread titles is converted to a document-term matrix and comprises rows representing each thread title (i.e., document) and columns representing each word in the corpus (i.e., term). Each cell in the document-term matrix contains the frequency of a word occurring in a specific thread title. From the document-term matrix, the corpus of thread titles is then represented, including patterns of words that commonly occur together in the same post. I used two metrics to infer the content within each topic found. The first metric is derived from a matrix of values that quantifies the probability that each word within a corpus would be generated from a specific topic (β-matrix). The second parameter considered is from a matrix of values that quantifies the proportion of words in a thread title estimated to be generated by a specific topic (γ-matrix). ¹ Using both parameters together, I focused on the 10 most relevant posts and top words within each topic based on γ- and β-values.

A challenge when estimating any topic model is identifying the parameter, K, which is defined as the appropriate number of topics. To find an appropriate K, I experimented with different values of K, ranging from 10 to 60. Then, I evaluated the results using both quantitative (i.e., perplexity model) and qualitative diagnostics (i.e., manually inspecting the results for coherency). Based on this evaluation, a model of 40 topics was most appropriate. ²

Qualitative Synthesis

Next, I completed a qualitative synthesis of the topics and thread titles found within the STM model using manual text analysis to interpret each topic and categorize specific parenting situations described within each topic’s thread titles. As STM topics are lists of words frequently occurring together and may include overlap with other topics, the overlap between words and thread titles may suggest similarities in the thematic content. Therefore, researchers must manually interpret the groupings of words and label each topic. Topics were manually annotated using the words most strongly associated with each topic (i.e., β-value) and the titles containing the highest proportion of each topic (i.e., γ-value). Using specific inclusion criteria, I consider a subset of the topics most relevant to the current study and summarize the topic words, themes, and description of some of the support situations for the STM topics included in the final analysis (see Table 1).

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Table 1.

Summary of Topic Words, Themes, and Situation Descriptions Related to Parenting Situations Described in Reddit Support Posts.

Topic # (% of tokens)	STM topic words	Topic themes	Descriptions of situations in theme
31 (0.208%)	Tell, day, pott[ies], train, end, carr[ies], month	Potty-training, communication	Accidents while potty training, daycare rules vs at home. Three-year-old toddlers, discouragement
16 (0.218%)	Wish, anoth[er], toddler, hit, lost, hurt, dad	Child development, labor, and delivery	Refusal to eat, walking milestone, what you wanted during labor, postpartum, speech delay, nap schedules, toddler personality, guilt providing childcare
34 (0.215%)	Don’t, new, parent, hold, old, refus[e], mask	COVID-19, PPD/PPA, support	Wearing masks when interacting with children, PPD/A, Pandemic children and development, parenting in isolation, family conflict
36 (0.210%)	Home, now, toddler, feel, newborn, momm[ies], stor[ies]	Prenatal/postpartum care, relationships after baby, interactions, formula shortage	Doctor recommendations, bringing home newborn, friendships after baby, daycare advice, mom-shaming, overwhelmed, formula shortage
8 (0.201%)	Get, car, seat, fine, offer, hard, break	Parenting journey, partner relationship, car seats, driving with children,	Easier as kids get older, unsolicited diminishing advice, spouse cheating, having additional children, getting through first year, parenting styles, self-doubt
38 (0.195%)	Hate, much, breastfeed, old, walk, holiday, grandpar[ent]	Unsolicited advice and help, negative comments, breastfeeding, PPD, In-law interactions	Negative breastfeeding comments and grandparents, improving interactions with in-laws, MIL took baby, getting too much support, struggling with parenting transition, breastfeeding, burnt out, childhood cancer
1 (0.203%)	Say, famil[ies], deliver[ies], husband, done, weight, caus[ed]	Spousal relationship, parenting styles, prenatal and labor support, bedsharing	Spouse family not vaccinated, spouse not supportive in trimester and breastfeeding/formula choices, negative comment on body image, attractiveness, and weight by spouse,
13 (0.209%)	Stop, work, call, peopl[e], post, pull, craz[iness]	Interaction with other children that are not theirs, postpartum for women over 35, spousal parental time off, PPD/PPA, daycare and babysitting, holding baby	Breastfeeding in-law’s baby, etiquette for interactions with other babies, removing baby after negative daycare/nanny experiences, lack of support PPD
11 (0.207%)	Scare, sleep, bad, good, night, won’t, pediatrician	Parenting styles, nursing, bedtime routines, improving in-law relationship	Nursing baby to sleep, canceling night nurse, letting newborn sleep through night, co-sleeping, bedtime routine, how to be a better MIL
35 (0.202%)	Earl[ier], friend, tomorrow, warn, covid	Infant loss, COVID-19, guilt, family relationships	Attending funeral, lack of sleep postpartum, spouse emotional cheating, grandparents angry at children
33 (0.213%)	Mom, eat, group, expect	Eating, unsolicited feedback, expectations, interactions with other mothers	Spouse refusing to eat meals, teaching children to eat, social media mom groups hurt mental health, negative in-person interactions and judgment from other mothers, unrealistic obstetrician and stay-at-home-mother expectations
26 (0.200%)	Daycar[e], care, updat[e], arriv[al], newborn	Pull-ups, prolapse, daycare and childcare policies,	Potty training and diapers, postpartum rectal prolapse, fear of judgment related to daycare choices
30 (0.418%)	Need, advice	Relationships, paying off debt, challenges of motherhood, child development challenges	Setting boundaries for in-law interactions, student loans paid off being surrogate, respectful of others’ potty-training journeys, unfair judgment, and hurt feelings
39 (0.213%)	Wife, daughter, covid, old, quarantin[e], test, now	Piercing child’s ears, negative childcare advice and comments about child, circumcision, infant has COVID-19 /RSV, experiences formula feeding	Pressure to pierce infant child’s ears, negative work interactions related to childcare, negative comments about child and their development, hospital care for sick baby
37 (0.199%)	Rant, today, hear, permiss[ion], case, buy, suck	Stereotypes of raising children by gender, advice on breastfeeding, transition to motherhood challenges, social media perceptions, motherhood regret	Negative stereotypes about raising boys versus girls, breastfeeding and formula usage, missing old life pre-baby, social media comparisons, and mental health
32 (0.210%)	Can, law, sit, talk, love, offend	In-laws and help, lack of support, challenges raising toddlers,	In-laws not properly caring for baby, lack of help to watch baby or give emotional support, emotional challenges potty training
28 (0.199%)	Anyon[e], school, postpartum, experienc[e], seem, list, extrem[e]	Lack of postpartum knowledge, postpartum care/support/interactions, sleep disruptions	Not learning of postpartum knowledge in school, lack of postpartum support, experience with PPD/PPA and psychosis, postpartum sex, body image postpartum
18 (0.207%)	Cr[ies], let, experienc[e], father, worst, miss[ing], thought	Spousal helping with baby, crying it out, negative interactions with others	Letting baby cry, negative comments after having baby, Texas reproductive bill and choice of having children, poor mental health after baby born
25 (0.566%)	Want, leav[e], regret, breastfe[ed], husband	Fear of getting help, scared of potty training, pressure from spouse, relationship conflict	Fear of therapy, toddler anxiety over poop, husband pressuring breastfeeding choices, marriage conflicts
17 (0.202%)	Child, provid[e]	Giving medication, having siblings, adoption, requesting child support	Giving medication/herbal remedy to baby, concern and regret not having additional children, putting child up for adoption, requesting child support from absent parent
3 (0.213%)	Son, preschool, handl[e], choos[e], make	Autism diagnosis, marital conflict, judgment in choices for preschool and birthing choices	Feelings after child diagnosed with autism, child seeing marital conflict, mom-shaming for choices
24 (0.202%)	Women, didn’t, better, what, your	Roe v Wade decision, unwanted pregnancies,	Roe v Wade decision and protesting, how to support other women, experiences of women with unwanted pregnancy and having child
15 (0.211%)	Pleas[e], walker	Cleaning, toothpaste, sleep, explicit request for help/support	Child development, developmental disability support, bottle cleaning and sanitation
5 (0.214%)	Littl[e], pain	Pregnancy and labor experiences and trauma, isolation, overstimulation as parent	Trauma from pregnancy and labor, partner support during labor and postpartum, feeling lonely postpartum
14 (0.220%)	Shouldn’t, effort, fantast, consid[er]	Gender parenting expectations, marital conflict, school shootings	Bare minimum expectations for cis-men partners, anger/resentment toward partner, divorce/separation, moving after school shooting
23 (0.212%)	Improv[ing], matern[ity], respons[e]	Company maternity policy, Taking Cara Babies, lactation consultants	Improving company policies, Taking Cara Babies response and user thoughts, experiences with lactation consultants
9 (0.213%)	Anti, got, friend	Anti-bottle and anti-vax pressure, friendships, baby’s interactions with others	Pressure to breastfeed from hospital, losing friendships, advice on how to respond to others’ interactions with child
21 (0.210%)	Mum, fail	Motherhood expectations	Feelings of not being “good” mothers, not expectation of what motherhood would be, body image, lack of self-care time, feeling lonely, unable to fully breastfeed, exhaustion
4 (0.205%)	Terrif[ied], diaper, sudden	PPD/PPA, sleep deprivation, isolation,	PPD and relationship with baby, negative body image, feeling isolated, diaper choices

The inclusion procedure follows Westrupp et al.’s (2022) classification where each post within parenting subreddits was coded according to whether they met a pre-specified definition of a ‘parenting situation.” The authors defined the criteria for inclusion as the following when analyzing Reddit posts: (a) the post referenced a scenario involving a child aged 0–18 years; (b) the scenario involved a parent and their child; (c) referenced a potential or actual difficulty or issue, for which the parent was giving or seeking advice in how to manage or improve. As I aim to understand the broader topics related to the transition to motherhood, I also include within this classification a fourth category, (d) the post referenced the individual or their partner experiencing a difficulty related to themselves or an interpersonal relationship during the transition to parenthood. Using the abovementioned criteria, each STM topic’s posts were examined and those that matched any of the categories mentioned were included in the final analysis.

To answer the fourth research question on the forms of social support received, I also define three different forms of functional social support (i.e., informational, emotional, and practical) using prior literature (e.g., House, 1981) to code which forms of social support appear within thread conversations. Messages were coded as informational support when they indicated advice, guidance, or information. In contrast, emotional support was defined as the conveyance of trust, empathy, and concern. Thus, messages indicating sympathy, reaffirming an individual’s experiences, or validation of feelings were coded as emotional support. Finally, practical support was defined as the offer of physical help with tasks, the exchange of tangible resources, and help changing the conditions of an individual’s current environment (House, 1981).

Common Themes

Based on the manual text analysis of the top 10 thread titles related to each topic (i.e., highest γ values), 29 of the 40 STM topics contained posts that met the inclusion criteria in terms of being consistent and meaningfully reflecting the topic words (i.e., the highest β) ³ and the parenting situation categories described previously. Table 1 summarizes the STM topic words, themes, and descriptions of some of the titles within the 29 STM topics included in the final analysis. The STM topics meeting the inclusion criteria could be grouped into five broader themes, each identified in more than a third of the parenting situations from the STM model, relating to (a) pressure and influence on baby care/visitation during COVID-19, (b) child care, (c) child health development, (d) self-identity and emotions, and (e) prenatal/postpartum period.

Variation Within Subreddits

To address the second question considering the extent to which the thematic content varies by subreddit, I examined differences in the words used in the STM model topics. As mentioned, one advantage of STM is that it allows researchers to discover topics and estimate their relationship with document metadata. Therefore, to understand these differences, it is helpful to focus on the top words within each subreddit community related to each STM topic. Unsurprisingly, differences exist between the four subreddit communities.

Across all topics, the subreddit, r/pottytraining, tended to contain a variety of words related to bodily functions (e.g., “pee[ing],” “poop[ing],” “smell”), foods, night training, clothing (e.g., diapers, underwear), and behavior (e.g., “confus[ion],” “development,” “concern”). While r/pottytraining was more limited in its range of words and thematic content, the other three subreddits were less constrained. For example, the community, r/toddlers, contained top terms such as, “activ[e],” “ruin,” “ador[able],” “asham[ed],” and “ate.” In contrast, the subreddit r/Mommit’s top terms included “bod[ies],” “place,” “father,” “vaccin[e],” and “opinion.” Similar to r/Mommit, the r/beyondthebump community also reflected a diverse range of words and themes (e.g., “medic[al],” “labor,” “mental,” “well,” “bab[ies],” “formula,” “ask”). It is important to note that while these terms relate to each subreddit and are within the STM subtopics, the top terms from each subtopic within the subcommunities vary and contribute to the STM topics’ general thematic content.

For instance, in Topic 38—which focuses on unsolicited advice/commentary and in-law interactions—the subreddits r/Mommit (−0.025) and r/pottytraining (−0.030; p < .05) are moderately smaller in the expected topic proportions in comparison to the subreddit r/beyondthebump. In r/beyondthebump, some of the top words included “villag[e],” “mil” (mother-in-law), “updat[ed],” “hard,” “entitl[ed],” “negat[ive],” and “cancer.” Whereas, in the subreddit r/Mommit, the top words included “love,” “caregiv[e],” “daytim[e],” “among,” “breastfeed,” and “hate.” While all subreddits (i.e., r/beyondthebump, r/Mommit, r/pottytraining, and r/toddlers) vary in the issues mentioned, each discuss unsolicited advice, commentary, and/ or in-law interactions.

Types of Social Support

To address the third and fourth research questions examining how mothers request social support and which forms they receive, I focus on the content and conversations within threads. Thread titles were most often phrased as questions, hypothetical situations, or experiences. Within these threads, users who posted the thread would then elaborate on the topic of interest, explicitly asking others for advice or whether they had similar experiences. Interestingly, mothers frequently expressed interest and sought explicit advice on how to navigate parenting transitions from others in their online communities. In response to a request for support, posts and their related conversations generally illustrated two types of social support: informational and emotional support. For each type of social support, I provide examples within the Reddit communities studied.

Limitations

Despite the strengths of the present study, there are some caveats to consider for future research. First, systematically studying the Reddit threads associated with specific keywords has its challenges. As the sample consists of threads only containing the term “support,” the sample may not contain all conversations seeking assistance. Second, the inclusion of posts from four different parenting subreddit communities means that the results potentially reflect all parents’ opinions, rather than solely the mother’s perspectives. Although many conversations were written by mothers, fathers did post their opinions or concerns related to their partners (e.g., conflicts related to sex, or concerns that a partner might be experiencing PPD). Therefore, future research should consider differences in social support sought by different kinds of caregivers (e.g., mothers, fathers, non-binary parents, and other caregivers). Third, the current findings may be limited by the scope offered in the Reddit parenting forums studied. Furthermore, individuals in specific Reddit communities may only discuss certain topics and not disclose all experiences to adhere to a subreddit’s community rules. Fourth, not all mothers utilize Reddit or the subreddits examined, and as a result, the experiences of all mothers cannot be reflected in my results. Last, the demographics of users on Reddit cannot be determined as demographic characteristics on Reddit are prone to error due to mistakes with research coding or intentional misinformation supplied by users (e.g., throwaway accounts). Therefore, future research should evaluate how demographic features such as gender, sexual orientation, and racial and ethnic background influence the themes related to social support.

Implications for Practice

The results from the current study expose how social media can provide a space for mothers to disclose their experiences and engage with others in conversations about the transition to motherhood and parenting. These platforms may be used for emotional and informational support, where mothers can seek advice and discuss challenges in their parenting journeys. The use of online platforms has several benefits that may aid social workers and social media platforms in creating interventions in comparison to more traditional, in-person approaches.

Previous research finds that several parenting programs often rely on local services and resources (e.g., face-to-face and time-constrained), which often add additional challenges such as time, cost, travel, and geographical constraints. These obstacles may limit broader participation in these services, especially for fathers, working mothers, and disadvantaged families (Hackworth et al., 2018). In addition, parental figures, and in particular, mothers, may encounter further barriers related to the stigma associated with parenting interventions or support, which can reduce their willingness to participate (Flores et al., 2015). In contrast, internet-based parenting interventions provide an alternative resource that does not require face-to-face interactions, may provide more privacy, and can be both therapeutic and allow individuals to feel less isolated (Miller et al., 2022). While the current study highlights some of the benefits of using social media for social support, it is important to recognize the potential drawbacks of using these resources for communication. Like other social media platforms, women are likely to encounter hostile, aggressive language (e.g., Francisco & Felmlee, 2022) and misinformation (e.g., Hussain & Soomro, 2023) while engaging on the platforms. Therefore, while online peer groups in which users can seek help and interact with others may provide several benefits, individuals must also navigate and disseminate the conversations and information they receive with caution.

Importantly, the present findings have practical implications for professionals, such as therapists, educators, and social workers, who deal regularly with vulnerable, race, and gender populations in society. As researchers and policy makers create parenting interventions, they must consider how to fit them into parents’ daily life, motivate, and keep parents engaged in the longer term to continue developing their skills. Professionals must also be aware of the everyday nature of challenges documented herein, especially given the detrimental, mental, and physical health consequences for individuals who do not receive the support or resources necessary to thrive in their new role as parents. Information imparted to women regarding the challenges of parenting and motherhood, and its stereotypical themes, could help raise awareness that many others share parallel experiences and perhaps help to form more solidarity, coping mechanisms, and support when encountering such challenges. Furthermore, directing new parents to support systems, some of which indeed exist on social media, could aid in increasing self-esteem and reducing the influence of negative parenting experiences an individual may encounter.

Another objective of this study is to encourage individual internet users, social workers, and intervention programs to explore various ways of taking advantage of online forms of communication. The findings and methods described herein could be used to aid in detecting certain cases of isolation, PPD, and abuse, potentially leading to new algorithms in the detection of users who may need additional support based on patterns of words and thematic content of their posts. Finally, knowledge of the parenting themes common to online parenting groups may encourage individuals to feel less stigmatized in their discussions. Overall, these findings related to common support topics could be used to tailor resources in population-based parenting interventions and exemplify the critical need for support and a safe space for mothers to voice their challenges.