Abstract
Historically, women have learned about childbirth from their mothers and sisters, and from seeing childbirth in the family or community. In the more recent past, women would have gone to books for advice. Today, we see that women are turning to media to learn about what the experience of childbirth is like. This poses an interesting dilemma for midwives who support mothers during their pregnancy. This chapter will discuss the findings from two closely linked research projects that speak to midwives about their experience with women who are allegedly influenced by the media in their decisions about childbirth. The chapter will explore how midwives understand their profession to be depicted in the media and will also explore how midwives engage with the media. We will provide some suggestions for midwives moving forward who wish to create more positive representations of childbirth and early labour in the media.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Clement, S. 1997. Childbirth on television. British Journal of Midwifery 5 (1): 37–42.
Dahlen, H.G., and S. Caplice. 2014. What do midwives fear? Women and Birth 27: 266–270.
Declercq, E.R., et al. 2006. Listening to mothers II: Report of the second national US survey of women’s childbearing experiences. New York: Childbirth Connection.
Department of Health. 1970. The peel report. London: HMSO.
Donnison, J. 1977. Midwives and medical men. London: Heineman.
Eriksson, C., G. Westman, and K. Hamberg. 2005. Experiential factors associated with childbirth related fear in Swedish women and men: A population based study. Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynecology 26 (1): 63–72.
Gutteridge, K. 2014. Q&A interview: Katherine Gutteridge. MIDIRS. http://www.midirs.org/qa-interview-kathryn-gutteridge/.
Hundley, V., E. Duff, J. Dewberry, A. Luce, and E. van Teijlingen. 2014. Fear in childbirth: Are the media responsible? MIDIRS Midwifery Digest 24 (4): 444–447.
Hundley, V., E. van Teijlingen, and A. Luce. 2015. Do midwives need to be more media savvy? MIDIRS Midwifery Digest 25 (1): 5–10.
John, B. 2015. Online professionalism. World of Irish Nursing and Midwifery 23 (7): 47.
Jones, C., and M. Hayter. 2013. Editorial: Social media use by nurses and midwives: A ‘recipe for disaster’ or a ‘force for good’? Journal of Clinical Nursing 22: 1495–1496.
Laja, S. 2011. Trusts reveal staff abuse of social media. Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/healthcare-network/2011/nov/09/trusts-reveal-staff-abuse-of-social-media-facebook.
Luce, A., M. Cash, M. Hundley, H. Cheyne, E. van Teijlingen, and C. Angell. 2016. Is it realistic? The portrayal of pregnancy and childbirth in the media. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. Accessible Online: https://bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12884-016-0827-x.
Maclean, E. 2014. What to expect when you’re expecting? Representations of birth in British newspapers. British Journal of Midwifery 22: 8. Published online: http://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/abs/10.12968/bjom.2014.22.8.580.
Nursing and Midwifery Council. 2016. Guidance on using social media responsibily. London: NMC. https://www.nmc.org.uk/globalassets/sitedocuments/nmc-publications/social-media-guidance.pdf.
Otley, H. 2011. Fear of childbirth: Understanding the causes, impact and treatment. British Journal of Midwifery 19 (4): 215–220.
Prasad, B. 2013. Social media, health care and social networking. Gastrointestinal Endoscopy 77 (3): 492–495.
RCM. 2014. Social networking—Dos and don’ts. London: RCM i-learn.
Riddoch. L., and L. Orr (n.d.) Handle with care: A guide to responsible media reporting of violence against women. Zero Tolerance. http://www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk/data/files/ZT_Handle_With_Care_Media_Guide.pdf.
Schwitzer, G., G. Mudur, D. Henry, A. Wilson, M. Goozner, et al. 2005. What are the roles and responsibilities of the media in disseminating health information? PLOS Medicine 2 (7): e215. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0020215. http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.0020215.
Taylor, M. 2012. Midwives in the media. Midwifery Matters 132: 3–6.
Tuckett, A., and C. Turner. 2016. Do you use social media? A student into new nursing and midwifery graduates uptake of social media. International Journal of Nursing Practice 22: 197–204.
WHO and IASP. 2008/2017. Preventing suicide: A resource for media professionals. Geneva: WHO. http://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/suicide/resource_media.pdf.
Wylie, L. 2014. The social media revolution. British Journal of Midwifery 22 (7): 502–506.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Luce, A., Hundley, V., van Teijlingen, E., Ridden, S., Edlund, S. (2017). Midwives’ Engagement with the Media. In: Luce, A., Hundley, V., van Teijlingen, E. (eds) Midwifery, Childbirth and the Media. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63513-2_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63513-2_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-63512-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-63513-2
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)