Gathering storm-birth in the media

Abstract

We patently live in an electronic age where unprecedented media representations of birth converge in a global digital environment. These include hugely popular television programmes, big budget Hollywood pregnancy romcom films, and a proliferation of websites, mobile phone apps and social media platforms. However, do the depictions we see correspond to our own experiences as women and midwives? With this ubiquitous use and plethora of media images about birth it is highly pertinent to explore the messages promoted through these multiple representations, some fictional and some ‘real’, and to talk to women about the possible effects this has on their birth expectations and experiences. Also, to consider how women, preparing for birth, and midwives supporting them negotiate this territory in order to empower partnership working, informed decision-making and ultimately increase women’s autonomy and agency in birth.