TV is full of pregnancy tropes—surprise conceptions, demon births, the works—but we all can recognize that this is just television stuff, and in no way accurately represents real life. Right? Well, maybe not so much, as recent research presented at the American Sociological Association’s Annual Meeting suggests that pregnancy on television can alter the expectations of even the most skeptical women.
The research, undertaken by Danielle Bessett, an assistant professor of sociology in the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Cincinnati, looked at 64 subjects—all pregnant women of socioeconomically and racially diverse backgrounds—from the New York and Connecticut metropolitan area. Over two years, Bessett studied their use of pregnancy-related popular media, noticing how it shaped perceptions and expectations of childbirth.
Of the group, 28 women (44%) indicated that they had watched at least some pregnancy-related reality television. (Fictional television pregnancy shows were considered separately.) These women were more likely to be those who were unemployed or full-time parents; social class (as measured via education levels) also played a role.
“We found clear class differences in how women saw television influencing their pregnancy knowledge,” said Bessett in a press release. “When asked what part reality shows or fictional TV played on their learning or education about pregnancy and the birthing process, the groups professed two entirely different perspectives.”
According to the study, the more highly educated women downplayed the role of television in shaping their expectations, and tended to disavow them as information sources for themselves. Instead, reality and fictional TV sources were seen as entertainment and education for young children.
The women with lower educational attainment, however, tended to view televised pregnancies much differently—as in, they were more likely to view them as an alternative to traditional childbirth education. However, despite greater belief that these shows could be educational, they often cast a critical eye on what was presented, assessing for credibility.
Reality TV doesn’t portray reality
According to Bessett, previous research has shown that reality TV shows on pregnancy tend to portray births as needing medical interventions much more often than real life. “So there is a strong sense that what women are getting from those reality shows is a more skewed and medicalized view,” she explained.
Meanwhile, fictional television programs are less researched (and Bessett’s study itself did not assess the content of fictional programs). However, Bessett posits these programs are probably even less realistic: “My best guess is that they are even more dramatically scripted to keep people’s attention and kind of ramp up the emotions of the viewer.”
This can become problematic, because while most women denied the influence of television, the majority made references to multiple impressions formed from years of potentially misleading and overdramatic television programs—which Bessett refers to as part of the “cultural mythologies of pregnancy”.
“Hearing women — even women who said TV had no influence on them — trace their expectations back to specific television episodes was one of the few ways that we can see the power of these mythologies,” she explained.
For instance, many of the women cited overly dramatized medical scenes as they expressed fears about the outcomes of their own births. And these scenes weren’t just in the minds of those who professed to using television as an educational resource.
“If we believe that television works most insidiously or effectively on people when they don’t realize that it has power, then we can actually argue that the more highly-educated women who were the most likely to say that television really didn’t have any effect on them, may in the end, actually be more subject to the power of television than were women who saw television as an opportunity to learn about birth and who recognized TV’s influence,” said Bessett.
“This research implies that many women underestimate or underreport the extent to which their expectations of pregnancy and birth are shaped by popular media. This important new awareness suggests that scholars must not only focus on patients’ professed methods for seeking information, but also explore the unrecognized role that television plays in their lives.”
(Image credit: Thinkstock)
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