Popular Media May Influence Your Choice For Childbirth: Here's Why

New findings published in the journal Women & Health show that the media could ultimately influence how a pregnant woman decides to give birth to her baby.

These days, a natural birth, or a birth that may take place in the home and without an epidural in less complicated pregnancies, has been the decision for many mothers-to-be. On the other hand, some prefer the old-fashioned hospital approach, while others may want a water birth or something different, still.

Researchers at Monash University and Queensland University of Technology found out just how popular media can ultimately influence up-and-coming mothers on what they should chose, boasting the benefits or risks of a certain birthing process.

"We wanted to look at how women's decisions might be influenced by communicating the alternative benefits of non-medicalized birth," lead researcher Kate Young said in a statement.

For the study, researchers surveyed women between the ages of 18 and 35 who had never given birth. They gave them magazine articles that emphasized the benefits of non-medicalized births.

The findings provided preliminary data on social communication strategy needed to offset the current information bias toward a medical birth that might contribute to reducing the rates and dangers of certain medical interventions that are unnecessary for pregnant women during the birthing process. 

"Women's expectations and attitudes about birth are shaped by various sources of information long before they become pregnant, with one of the most popular being the media, and in particular, magazines," Young said. "We found that women who were exposed to a magazine article endorsing childbirth with no medical intervention, were more likely to change their intention towards having a more natural birth."