Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations are made:

In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the need for more supportive and inclusive maternal care, with a focus on promoting women's autonomy and choice during childbirth. Media portrayals of childbirth have played a significant role in this shift, highlighting the importance of evidence-based care and patient-centered practices.

Conversely, the rise of reality television and documentary-style dramas has given birth to the "empowered, serene birth" trope. Programs like One Born Every Minute and certain celebrity-driven specials often highlight unmedicated, "natural" births in tranquil settings, complete with soft lighting, affirmations, and a silent, supportive partner. While promoting bodily autonomy and reducing unnecessary medical interventions is positive, this portrayal can inadvertently become a new form of judgment. By glorifying a specific, aesthetically pleasing version of birth—often involving hypnobirthing or water births—media marginalizes the majority of births that involve epidurals, emergency C-sections, or vacuum extraction. A mother who screams for an epidural or sobs through an unplanned surgery may feel like a failure if her only frame of reference is the "serene goddess" narrative sold by popular media. The message becomes: there is a right way to give birth, and anything else is a deviation.

Programs often use "clocks" and frantic editing to imply a race against time, whereas actual labor typically starts slowly and can last many hours.

The portrayal of childbirth in popular media is characterized by high levels of dramatization and medicalization, which often contrasts with the clinical reality of most births. Currently, entertainment content regarding childbirth has shifted from traditional cinematic depictions to more interactive and pervasive digital media forms, including social media and reality documentaries. 1. Representation in Traditional Popular Media

Lights, Camera, Labor: Why the Big Screen Gets Birth So Wrong