The study seeks to assess the utility and informational quality of Instagram postings regarding water birth, an alternative birthing method recently gaining popularity. The two most used hashtags related to waterbirth have been selected: #waterbirth and #birthpool. The Instagram search algorithm identified 376,000 posts for #waterbirth and 13,800 posts for #birthpool. The 'Top 100 posts' related to every hashtag were recorded (n=100). Of the 200 communications 90 were deemed suitable for examining this subject matter. The accuracy of their overall understanding has been evaluated by two independent physicians with a modified DISCERN analysis consisting of five questions. The data clearly shows that 16% (n=15) of the posts were shared by the patient, 50% (n=45) by the physician, and 33.3% (n=30) by the sales company. No substantial difference was observed in the dependability of general information across posts uploaded by physicians, patients, and sales companies (p>0.05). When the quality of Instagram posts about water birth was evaluated, no significant difference was observed between the accounts that made the posts. For this reason, it was concluded that the Instagram platform does not contain reliable information about water birth.
Key words: Birth, database, natural childbirth
|
