Presentation Information

Representations of Childbirth in the Media: Does it matter how childbirth is portrayed?

• Speaker: Vanora Hundley , RN, RM, PhD
• Presentation Type:
• Duration: 30 Mins
• Credits: .5 CERP, .5 Nursing CEU, .05 Midwifery CEU, .5 Dietetic CEU

Abstract:

The Media and Childbirth research team is a multidisciplinary group of researchers consisting of Vanora Hundley, Ann Luce, Marilyn Cash, Edwin van Teijlingen, Catherine Angell, and Helen Cheyne. This team of professors, lecturers, and research fellows representing Bournemouth University and the University of Stirling, is particularly interested in the role of the media in the rising rates of intervention in childbirth, the impact of the media on perceptions of breastfeeding, and the role of social media following childbirth bereavement in providing education and support. Considerable debate surrounds the influence that the media has on pregnant and birthing women; much of the academic literature discusses the influence of television, and reality television programs in particular, on how pregnant women engage with their pregnancy. It is suggested that women seek out these programs to add to their knowledge about childbirth because of a cultural void on this topic. We will explore what is known about the impact of media representation on mothers’ perceptions of labour and birth, and seek to answer the question: Does it matter how childbirth is portrayed?