Decoding global reproductive health discourse on Reddit: themes, regions, and misinformation challenges

Abstract

This study explores dominant themes in global reproductive health discussions on Reddit over a 12-month period (January 2021 to December 2021). We collected and analyzed 50,000 posts and 100,000 comments from key subreddits, including "r/ReproductiveHealth" and "r/Parenting," using Python libraries like PRAW and BeautifulSoup for efficient data collection and preprocessing. Employing tools such as Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) for topic modeling and VADER for sentiment analysis, we identified five major themes: Family Planning and Contraception, Pregnancy and Childbirth, Sexual Education and Awareness, Misinformation and Myths, and Support and Emotional Well-being. Geospatial analysis revealed regional variations, with North America and Europe emphasizing family planning, while Asia and Africa took the lead in discussions on pregnancy and childbirth. Our findings shed light on a global dispersion of misinformation discussions, emphasizing the challenges posed by misinformation in online reproductive health conversations. This research provides a nuanced understanding of prevalent themes and community engagement, contributing valuable insights to the dynamics of reproductive health discussions on Reddit. (Afr J Reprod Health 2024; 28 [1]: 22-30).