Social Media use by Midwives – an Untapped Potential?

Abstract

Introduction Whilst many women turn to social media for advice in pregnancy, midwives have little involvement with social media within their professional roles. This research aims to explore midwives’ views and experiences of using social media, as well as begin to unpack how midwives are using it. Methodology Phase 1 - A scoping review of the literature was undertaken to explore nurses’ and midwives’ views of using social media. Data were extracted using a tool, codes were generated and then thematic analysis undertaken. Phase 2 - Social media content analysis was used to assess observational data from midwives’ Instagram accounts. Five midwives were identified from the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand. URLs of their posts about birth from 1/9/20 to 31/08/21 were inputted into a datascraping tool. A coding sheet was then created including elements of birth such as location or mode, and a second developed to further analyse posts categorised as ‘Education’. Ethical Approval Ethical approval was achieved through Bournemouth University Ethics Committee (Ref:34773). Results Phase 1 - Eight papers were identified. Most study participants reported having at least one social media account. Three themes were identified: Knowledge Sharing, Community and Reluctance to Engage. Phase 2 – A total of 1218 images or videos were included, from 918 posts. Most midwives (n= 17) had personal businesses associated with their accounts and were of white ethnicity (n=18). Many images/videos categorised as ‘Education’ (47%). Across all countries, 75% of births were vaginal and 42% used hydrotherapy. Most women portrayed were white (69%). Conclusion Research into social media and midwifery is limited. Midwives are reluctant to engage with it, but literature suggests that social media training could positively influence communication with people using maternity services. Current Instagram usage by midwives is not representative of birth. More research is required to understand the motivation behind midwives’ posts.