Rammya Mathew: The sleep fairy scandal is a wake-up call for public health

The BBC’s investigation into unregulated “sleep fairies” – self-described experts dispensing dangerous advice to exhausted parents – has rightly prompted outrage.1 Wes Streeting, then health secretary, called the revelations “dangerous misinformation dressed up as expert advice.” Calls for tighter regulation are welcome and necessary. But focusing solely on the charlatans misses a harder question: why are so many parents turning to them in the first place?I’ve been there myself: sleep deprived at 3 am with a crying baby, desperate for someone, anyone, to tell me what to do. Health visitors are stretched impossibly thin. GP appointments are precious and brief. So, where did I turn? The same place as millions of new parents: Facebook forums, Mumsnet threads, and Instagram feeds, providing answers that statutory services couldn’t give me when I needed them.These sleep “experts” built followings not through clinical credentials but through personality, relatability, and round-the-clock accessibility. They understood their…