Reality Television as a Source of Information about Birth: The Messages and Their Implications

Abstract

Purpose: Childbirth information in reality television programs needs critical examination. Messages regarding interventions and options were examined in the most popular show, A Baby Story. Research Question: How prevalent are medical interventions and potential alternatives on A Baby Story and how are these discussed by program participants? Significance/Background: Two-thirds of expectant mothers watch childbirth reality television programs, while maternal–infant outcomes worsen, medical intervention rates increase persistently, and midwifery remains underused. Methods: Forty episodes of A Baby Story were randomly sampled, recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for content, including frequencies of depicted birth options and interventions as well as comparisons by provider type and birth method. Conversations about childbirth and birth sequences were coded to evaluate discussions. Findings: Physician-attended births predominated (74%) and depicted routine interventions as necessary to facilitate labor progression and minimize pain, allowing medicalized births to appear normative. Alternative birth options were unclear and infrequent, occurring most often when midwives attended or when birthing women were identified as particularly well informed or motivated to avoid intervention. Discussion: Episodes of A Baby Story were not neutral arbiters of information. The majority mirrored the medical model, reinforcing women's fears about pain while inconsistently mentioning alternatives. As impersonal sources of birth information become more common, media messages that normalize medical intervention in childbirth need to be countered. Offering accessible, interesting, widely available information supporting midwifery and childbirth options seems a valuable national strategy.