The Baby Fact Check

Social media is full of skincare advice for newborns - but what if your baby doesn’t need all those creams, washes and lotions?

In this episode of The Baby Fact Check, new dad Greg Foot is joined by trusted experts to fact check some of the most common pieces of social media parenting advice around newborn skincare:

With help from Dr Emma Wedgeworth (Consultant Dermatologist) and Professor Lindsay Hall (Chair of Microbiome Research at the University of Birmingham), Greg explores what newborn skin really needs, which common baby skin complaints may be best left alone, and the emerging science around your baby’s skin microbiome.

If you’ve seen a piece of parenting advice you’d like us to fact check, email us on ⁠[email protected]

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Join The Baby Fact Check Family on Patreon:⁠ patreon.com/TheBabyFactCheck⁠

Follow us on social media:

Instagram:⁠ @TheBabyFactCheck⁠

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The Baby Fact Check is a Science Media Studio production.

Series Producer: Greg Foot

Content Producer: Graihagh Jackson

Video Producer: Adrienn Rusz

Audio Mix: Jonnie Howard

Recorded at: The Raspberry Pi Foundation, with help from Daria Hupov & Peter Simison

Special thanks: Teddy’s mummy, Katrin!

Social media is full of advice about what’s the best toy for your newborn baby - but what does the science say? Are we buying toys we simply don’t need?

In this episode of The Baby Fact Check, new dad Greg Foot is joined by trusted experts to fact check some of the most common pieces of social media parenting advice around newborn play:

With help from Professor Sarah Lloyd-Fox (University of Cambridge) and Lindsay Carr (Great North Children’s Hospital), Greg gets a bunch of “tummy time” tips, hears how early play actually begins, and why supporting your baby’s development doesn’t have to mean expensive toys.

PLEASE NOTE - Since recording, new guidance has been released in the UK. In March 2026, the UK government published its first screen time guidance for under-5s. For under-2s, the advice is to avoid screen time other than for shared activities that encourage bonding, interaction and conversation, like video-calling relatives. So, the advice is to avoid solo viewing of screens, however interactive use could be ok in small durations. The guidance also warns that fast-paced, social media-style videos may affect how young children learn to concentrate (echoing Sarah's "sticky fixation" point), and advises to keep mealtimes and bedtimes screen-free. Also new for 2026 is the suggestion to avoid AI-based toys, tools and chatbots until there's more evidence on how they might affect a child.

Source: Screen time guidance for under 5s, Best Start in Life (DfE/DHSC), 27 March 2026 — https://beststartinlife.gov.uk/screen-time-under-5s/

If you’ve seen a piece of parenting advice you’d like us to fact check, email us on [email protected]

Join The Baby Fact Check Family on Patreon: patreon.com/TheBabyFactCheck

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The Baby Fact Check is a Science Media Studio production.

Will introducing a bottle ruin breastfeeding? 

In this episode of The Baby Fact Check, new dad Greg Foot is joined by trusted experts to fact check some of the most common pieces of social media parenting advice around introducing a bottle to a breastfed baby:

“Don’t introduce a bottle until 6 weeks or you’ll cause nipple confusion and ruin breastfeeding.”

“Breast milk pumped late at night contains sleep hormones so don’t feed that to your baby in the morning.”

“Formula-fed babies feed less often and sleep for longer.”

With help from Nina Morley (Infant Feeding Lead for the health visitor service at Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust) and Amie Field (Lead Midwife for Infant Feeding at the Rosie Maternity Hospital), Greg explores what “nipple confusion” really means and how parents can navigate introducing a bottle to a breastfed baby.

If you’ve seen a piece of parenting advice you’d like us to fact check, email us on ⁠[email protected]⁠

Join The Baby Fact Check Family on Patreon:⁠ patreon.com/TheBabyFactCheck⁠

Follow us on social media:

Instagram:⁠ @TheBabyFactCheck⁠

TikTok:⁠ @TheBabyFactCheck⁠

Facebook:⁠ @TheBabyFactCheck⁠

The Baby Fact Check is a Science Media Studio production.

Series Producer: Greg Foot

Content Producer: Graihagh Jackson

Video Producer: Adrienn Rusz

Audio Mix: Jonnie Howard

Recorded at: The Raspberry Pi Foundation, with help from Daria Hupov & Peter Simison

Special thanks: Teddy’s mummy, Katrin!

From ‘anti-colic’ bottles to gripe water, there are countless ‘cures’ for a gassy baby - but which are evidence-based, and which are just marketing hype?

In this episode of The Baby Fact Check, new dad Greg Foot is joined by trusted experts to fact check some of the most common pieces of social media parenting advice around newborn gas:

With help from Professor Afif El-Khuffash (Rotunda Hospital, The Royal College of Surgeons, and The Baby Tribe Podcast) and Nina Morley (Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust), Greg explores what is really going on in your baby’s gut, why parents are so often encouraged to buy their way out of gas, and what can actually help when your baby is uncomfortable.

If you’ve seen a piece of parenting advice you’d like us to fact check, email us on [email protected]

Join The Baby Fact Check Family on Patreon: patreon.com/TheBabyFactCheck

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The Baby Fact Check is a Science Media Studio production.

Is “baby talk” really the best way to talk to your newborn to help them develop their language skills? Can “baby sign” help babies communicate sooner? And if your family speaks multiple languages, how can you help your baby understand and learn them? 

In this episode of The Baby Fact Check, new dad Greg Foot is joined by trusted experts to fact check some of the most common pieces of social media parenting advice around newborn language:

With help from Professor Sarah Lloyd-Fox (University of Cambridge) and Dr Elizabeth Kirk (Anglia Ruskin University), Greg explores when language learning really begins, the truth about baby sign language, and why parents do not need to be naturals at speaking “parentese” to make a real difference.

Join The Baby Fact Check Family on Patreon: patreon.com/TheBabyFactCheck

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The Baby Fact Check is a Science Media Studio production.

Hearing your baby cry is one of the hardest parts of early parenting - but how much of the advice around how to soothe your crying newborn is backed by science?

In this episode of The Baby Fact Check, new dad Greg Foot is joined by a trusted expert to fact check some of the most common pieces of social media parenting advice around newborn crying:

With help from Professor Dieter Wolke (University of Warwick), Greg explores the “crying peak”, why some crying is simply unavoidable, and how to cope when nothing seems to soothe your baby.

This episode includes a brief archive clip of a TV item on the Dunstan Baby Language from a 2006 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, used here for commentary and factual analysis.

If you’ve seen a piece of parenting advice you’d like us to fact check, email us on [email protected]

Join The Baby Fact Check Family on Patreon: patreon.com/TheBabyFactCheck

Follow us on social media:

The Baby Fact Check is a Science Media Studio production.

There’s a huge amount of pressure to get everything “right” from the moment your baby arrives, including “uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact during Golden Hour”. But is that really helpful? And is it worth continuing skin-to-skin in the weeks and months after birth?

In this episode of The Baby Fact Check, Greg Foot - new dad and creator & host of the popular BBC podcast Sliced Bread - is joined by trusted experts to fact check some of the most common pieces of social media parenting advice around newborn skin-to-skin contact:

With help from Professor Topun Austin (Addenbrooke’s Hospital) and Professor Carolina de Weerth (Radboud University Medical Center), Greg explores why skin-to-skin contact can be so powerful, what the evidence says about the “Golden Hour”, and why parents can let go of the idea that everything has to happen perfectly to matter.

If you’ve seen a piece of parenting advice you’d like us to fact check, email us on [email protected]

Join The Baby Fact Check Family on Patreon: patreon.com/TheBabyFactCheck

Follow us on social media:

The Baby Fact Check is a Science Media Studio production.

Social media is full of newborn sleep advice - but what if some of the “rules” are actually making life harder for new parents?

If you’ve seen a piece of parenting advice you’d like us to fact check, email us on [email protected]

Join The Baby Fact Check Family on Patreon: patreon.com/TheBabyFactCheck

Follow us on social media:

The Baby Fact Check is a Science Media Studio production.

The new parenting podcast where trusted experts fact check the baby advice filling your social media feed. 

As a new dad, Greg Foot - creator and host of the popular BBC podcast Sliced Bread - is being bombarded by parenting tips so he’s making this podcast to work out what’s fact and what’s fad. 

With Greg’s son Teddy only a few months old, Series 1 focuses on newborn babies - fact checking advice on newborn sleep, skin-to-skin contact, crying, language development, gassy babies, bottle feeding, playtime and baby skincare - to find out what really helps, and what’s just noise!

As always, our podcast promise to you is... no influencers trying to sell you stuff, no pursuit of parenting perfection, and no judgement. Just evidence-based advice from experts you can trust, to help you be the best parent you can be today. Let's figure this out together. 

If you've seen a piece of parenting advice you'd like us to fact check drop us an email to [email protected] and come join The Baby Fact Check Family on Patreon at patreon.com/TheBabyFactCheck

Instagram: @TheBabyFactCheck

TikTok: @TheBabyFactCheck

Facebook: @TheBabyFactCheck 

The Baby Fact Check is a Science Media Studio production.