BBC Morning Live presenters issue on-air apology over 'dangerous' pregnancy guidance
The hosts of BBC's Morning Live were compelled to deliver a public apology on air after broadcasting advice for expectant mothers that was subsequently condemned as "dangerous" by a leading pregnancy charity. The incident occurred during a pre-recorded segment discussing private pregnancy scans, which aired on Thursday 29 January.
Charity issues stark warning over misleading advice
During the programme, presenter Zoe Hardman suggested that pregnant women concerned about their unborn babies could use a stethoscope at home to check the fetal heartbeat for reassurance. This prompted an immediate response from the pregnancy research charity Tommy's, which issued a formal statement criticising the guidance.
The charity emphasised that no home scanning device, doppler, or mobile application can reliably determine a baby's wellbeing. "This advice is not only wrong, but dangerous because you could be falsely reassured," their statement read. They clarified that only appropriately trained midwives or healthcare professionals should perform such checks, as untrained individuals can easily misinterpret sounds or confuse the mother's heartbeat with the baby's.
Presenters address error in subsequent broadcast
In a later episode, presenters Kimberley Walsh and Gethin Jones directly addressed the mistake during their live broadcast. Walsh, the former Girls Aloud singer, explained that a midwife named Debbie had contacted the programme to correct the misinformation.
"Debbie is a midwife, and said, 'rather than using a stethoscope at home, anyone who is worried about their baby should contact a midwife. Stethoscopes can often give false reassurance by picking up the mum’s heartbeat, other sounds and not the baby's heartbeat'," Walsh told viewers.
BBC implements corrective measures
The BBC has since added a correction notice to the episode on BBC iPlayer, featuring a pop-up message that states: "This programme is subject to a correction. It mistakenly claims that pregnant women can use a stethoscope at home for reassurance. The correct advice is to speak to your maternity unit if you are worried about a reduction in your baby’s movements."
This incident follows other recent apologies from daytime television presenters, including This Morning's Cat Deeley, who apologised for an "appalling" seizure joke, and Good Morning Britain's Kate Garraway, who made an awkward on-air blunder by getting a colleague's name wrong. The Morning Live correction underscores the heightened responsibility broadcasters have when discussing sensitive medical topics, particularly concerning maternal and fetal health.
