One Born Every Minute slammed for 'terrifying' new mums

One Born Every Minute has been criticised for scaring new mums with the show's dramatic portrayal of child birth.

Alexia Leachman, a pregnancy coach from Nottingham, has called for the program to ‘just stop’ because it portrays an unbalanced and frankly ‘terrifying’ view of childbirth.

The 41-year-old, who hosts a podcast called Fear Free Childbirth, says the program is ‘scaring the crap’ out of women.

Alexia accuses Channel 4 of picking only the most dramatic and emotional births for the show: ‘For TV companies, their agenda is entertainment not education.’

In a blog post for the Mail Online she said; ‘This would be okay if childbirth was something really dangerous that we'd rather fewer people do - like injecting heroin - but humanity depends on it.’

The mother-of-two said she worries that the program makes women fearful of labour and is directly responsible for creating ‘bad experiences’ for both mum and baby.

‘A quick jaunt on to Twitter…will tell you all you need to know how it [One Born Every Minute] makes women feel about giving birth.

'That early fear was reinforced by years of childbirth portrayals on TV and in films that are always so dramatic; hoards of medical staff, machines beeping, midwives shouting 'PUSH!' and mothers screaming in pain.

'It's a sorry state of affairs that we aren't educated adequately about childbirth - it means that shows like One Born Every Minute become our main source of education.'

Alexia has started a petition, titled 'Portray a more balanced view of childbirth through your programming' to address the issue which has since received over 900 signatures.

It reads: 'Please sign this petition to give a clear signal to Channel 4 that future mothers-to-be deserve the opportunity to approach childbirth free of fear and suitably informed about their choices and the reality of such a momentous life event.'

One Born Every Minute first aired in 2010 and was an instant hit, with viewers loving the personal insight into the emotional experience.

But do you think the portrayal of labour in One Born Every Minute is a true reflection of the birth process or has it been dramatised for TV? Tell us your view below...