At Mother&Baby we know that being a parent can be tough enough as it is, so shopping for the basics shouldn't be another stress on your list. That’s why we strive to make things simple, so you can spend less time scrolling and more quality time with your little one. If you fancy finding out a bit more about how all of the products on Mother&Baby are chosen, scroll down for more information…
Who tests for us?
All our testers are either pregnant or real parents with a baby or toddler. This could be members of our editorial team, freelance parenting journalists or external reviewers from the Mother&Baby awards.
Do we physically test every product we feature on our website?
As you probably know from your own experience, there are a lot of parenting products out there and unfortunately, we are unable to test every product included on our website, as much as we’d like to. However, we will only include products that we are 100% certain deserve to be featured in our guides and we know this by relying on our many years of industry experience and knowledge.
Can manufacturers pay for a positive review?
No and that will never change. While Mother&Baby work with a number of commercial partners on advertorials that will always be clearly labelled, no brand or manufacturer can pay for a positive review. We will always be honest in our opinion and this includes if we dislike a product. It is incredibly important to us that we do not recommend products we would not be willing to spend our own money on.
How we test products
The products we review are tested for a minimum of three weeks before our reviews go live so that we can be sure our testers have really put a product through its paces before recommending it to you for consideration. As they use the product, the tester will consider all aspects including safety, ease of use, comfort, cost and even how easy it is to clean, all to help you decide if the product is worth your money.
How we select products
For all those essential products, our annual Mother&Baby Awards shortlist the top products tested, and you can find full reviews from our mum testers provided on the product page. The winners and runners-up for each category then will appear in our top picks article for that product, along with other products that were rated highly by our team.
The rest of our product recommendations are based on a combination of real-world testing from our burgeoning army of mum testers and our experienced editorial team and product specialists. Where we can, we also consult experts who specialise in that field to ensure you get the right advice along with the right product.
At times when we can’t get our hands on something personally, we’ll select products only from reputable brands, scouring reviews, forums and real parent experience to ensure all products are fit for use and deserve a space in your home.
We also listen to what you say as well. Our thriving mum community on our Facebook group #mumtribe also often hold great insights as to which products mums really like best and why, helping us highlight the products that meet your needs.
Product pricing
Once our recommended products are chosen, we have a third-party system set up that aggregates all the different prices on the web for that product. This means we can see the latest prices from a range of suppliers and show you the best price and where to buy it from. Some of these retailers offer us a commission, which, if you click, helps support our work, but the primary focus of our system is making sure you can find the best price.
Because of the way our system is set up, this always means that choosing the best products comes first, then the retailer comes with whoever can offer you the best price. This way we can guarantee our product recommendations are independent and free from retailer bias.
Mother&Baby has been a trusted source of advice for over 60 years and remains one of the UK's top parenting sites. We take great importance in our responsibility to provide you with the best parenting and product advice and hope our team and testers' hard work makes your life easier, and you and baby happier!