Cork doctor: ‘I don’t consider myself an influencer, I consider myself an informer’

Dr Niamh Lynch has more than 200,000 followers on Instagram, but the Cork-based paediatric consultant doesn’t see herself as an influencer.

“I don’t consider myself an influencer. I consider myself an informer,” she says. “I want to empower people…I think people believe what I say because I always [tell] the truth. I don’t try and sell things or push things, or dress things up in any way.”

Lynch started her Instagram (@dr_niamh_lynch) and Tiktok (@tiktokkiddydoc) accounts during the pandemic, at a time of heightened worry and limited access to medical professionals.

In her first post, she acknowledged that it was a tough time for parents and said she would do her best to share accurate and helpful information.

“Within about five or six weeks, I had thousands of people following me for sharing very simple tips… because public health nurses weren’t available, so kids weren’t having their developmental checks, and stuff like that,” she recalls.

“So I shared all of those kinds of things, like what were normal developmental milestones at certain ages and things like that, and it just kind of took off.”

Now, Lynch is releasing her first book, Should I Be Worried? It builds on what she has shared on her social media platforms over the last five years, and organises information into different stages of a child’s development.

“I basically break it down in terms of age,” she says. “Within each of those age groups I cover the common ailments that they might have and and also their developmental milestones, things like how to child proof, what kind of accidents might happen… just a sensible kind of mammy voice in your head, really, with a bit of medical knowledge thrown in as well.”

It’s this mammy or “big sister” voice that she feels many people value when it comes to their children, particularly in the early weeks and months of being a parent.

“A lot of people, myself included, we’re living away from our families. The grannies aren’t around, and that experience isn’t there, so people can feel very isolated. So I just want to be that voice in the background that’s saying, ‘Yeah, this is okay and this isn’t okay’,” she says.

Lynch sticks to HSE guidelines and evidence-based information in her content, as she doesn’t want parents to feel shamed for their choices, or for making mistakes. “There’s no right way to rear a child, but there are ways to rear them safely, and that’s why there are guidelines,” she says. “Some of those guidelines can come as a surprise to people - like don’t feed your toddler popcorn.”

As a mother of two herself, Lynch knows from personal experience how hard it is to think clearly when your child is hurt or sick, and shares her own learnings in the book.

“Basically, all the mistakes that I made, so other people don’t have to make them,” she says.

“One example was when I went to hospital with my child when she had an accident, and how I was so unprepared. So I’ve got a list of things that people should bring with them and stuff like that, just simple things that I wish I had known.”

The book contains some of the most popular content she has shared online, such as information about sepsis, choking and irregular breathing. She wants to equip parents with the knowledge to advocate for themselves when their child needs urgent medical attention.

“The book has a lot of sections on red flags,” she says. “An under one who’s breathing faster than 60 breaths per minute - that’s an absolute, that is too fast. You need to get medical attention. Sometimes, it’s easier when it is black and white, and parents can stand solid then and say, ‘Look, I’m not imagining this, I have data’.”

Lynch never gives personal medical advice, doesn’t promote or sell anything, and always researches her posts before sharing. This takes time, but she believes it’s important to be accurate.

“I try to limit my time on social media, just for my own mental health as well… but I try to post something five days out of seven anyway, something that’s informative for parents,” she says. “It has to be based on facts… So I’ll always do a bit of research before I make a video because you want to get it right… it’s important that you can be a trusted source of information.”

Her commitment to honesty prompted her to share her experience with using the GLP-1 medication Ozempic to lose weight. While she was hesitant about disclosing personal information, she wanted to be transparent.

“I was getting comments saying, ‘Oh, you’re looking really well’...and I didn’t want to say, ‘Yeah, thanks, diet and exercise’, [because] that’s dishonest,” she says. “I don’t regret sharing it… it’s something that has helped a lot of people. And it’s not that I’m recommending that everybody does it, I’m just sharing my own experience.”

Maintaining an active social media presence is a lot to take on for a busy mum and doctor, but she sees it as her duty to provide evidence-based information in a time of so much misleading content online.

“As healthcare professionals, if we don’t go online to counter that, then it goes unchecked… I just kind of have this moral obligation,” she says. “I don’t do any voluntary work or anything really. So I feel this is my way of volunteering for the community.”

Above all, her aim is to give parents the knowledge and confidence to make the right decisions and advocate for their children.

“I try and present information in as neutral a way as possible, so that nobody feels judged and people feel empowered… that’s my vibe.”

• Should I Be Worried?: A No-Panic Guide To Your Child’s Health, by Dr Niamh Lynch, is published by Hachette Books Ireland, €16.99