Editorial Standards

Last updated: April 2026

The Clear Mom exists because I couldn't find honest, rigorously-sourced writing about mothers and alcohol that didn't read like a marketing funnel or a clinical textbook. This page documents the standards I hold myself to so you can decide how much weight to give what you read here.

Who I am

I'm Amy. I'm not a doctor, a therapist, a researcher, or a clinician. I'm a mom of three in Colorado who got curious about what would happen if I stopped pouring that nightly glass of wine, fell down a long research rabbit hole, and started writing about what I learned. Everything on this site comes from me, reading studies, paying attention, and trying things.

That means two things. First, my lived experience is a real signal, and Google's "Experience" pillar of E-E-A-T was added specifically to legitimize first-person voices on topics like this one. Second, my opinions are mine, not a clinician's — and you should treat them accordingly.

Sourcing rules

Every factual claim on this site traces to a real primary source. The source priority order I follow:

  1. Peer-reviewed meta-analyses (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, The Lancet, JAMA, Journal of Medical Internet Research)
  2. Peer-reviewed primary research (PubMed-indexed studies)
  3. Major health authorities (World Health Organization, CDC, NIH, NIAAA, FDA)
  4. Books by credentialed authors (e.g., Judith Grisel's Never Enough, Annie Grace's This Naked Mind, Holly Whitaker's Quit Like a Woman)
  5. High-quality journalism — only for cultural or historical claims, never for scientific or clinical claims

What I never cite: random blogs, Medium posts, content marketing pieces, press releases, unverified Substacks, Wikipedia as a primary source, or "studies show" claims without naming the study. If I can't source a claim, I cut it or soften it.

How I distinguish science from experience

You'll see two distinct voices on this site. When I say "the research shows" or "studies find," I'm reporting on peer-reviewed research and I link to the source. When I say "what I noticed" or "for me, this helped," I'm telling you about my own experience — one data point, not a clinical finding. I try to be explicit about which mode I'm in so you can weigh them differently.

Fact-checking process

Before a post is published:

  • Every claim is matched against a primary source from our citation library
  • Every DOI and URL is verified to resolve
  • Every statistic is traced back to its original study, not a secondary aggregator
  • Every quote is checked against its original source
  • Self-reported company statistics (e.g., an app's "91% of users" figure) are attributed explicitly as company-reported, never stated as independent fact

Updates and corrections

Every post shows a "last updated" date. When new research changes what I wrote, I update the post and bump the date. When I discover an error, I correct it in place and add a note to the bottom of the post describing what was wrong and when it was fixed.

If you find an error in anything I've written, please tell me. I will fix it, and I will acknowledge it.

Conflicts of interest

The Clear Mom does not take money from alcohol brands, alcohol-industry associations, or alcohol-reduction app companies. No sponsored posts. No affiliate commissions dressed up as editorial reviews. When I recommend a product, it's because I have personally used it and found it valuable, or because the evidence base for it is strong.

Where I have opinions about specific tools — like my preference for app-based neuroscience programs over 12-step frameworks for most of my readers — those opinions come from using the tools and reading the research, not from any commercial relationship. You are always free to disagree.

What this site is not

  • It is not medical advice. Nothing here substitutes for a conversation with a qualified clinician. If you're worried about your drinking or your health, please talk to your doctor.
  • It is not a diagnosis tool. I won't tell you whether you have a "problem." I'll tell you what the research says about alcohol and sleep, alcohol and perimenopause, alcohol and anxiety. You decide what to do with that information.
  • It is not a program. There's no 30-day challenge to sign up for, no coaching to book, no course to buy. This is a blog with articles, and that's it.
  • It is not a recovery community. If you need support, peer communities like SMART Recovery or r/stopdrinking exist for that. I am not in a position to provide one-on-one support and will always redirect you to resources that are.

Contact

If you'd like to flag an error, ask a question, or send feedback, reach out through the link on the about page. I read everything. I won't always be able to respond personally, but corrections always get made.

— Amy