The graphic birthing scene at the centre of new Twilight film Breaking Dawn has been blamed for causing a wave of seizures in US cinemas.

The latest installment of the smash hit contains a tense scene where Bella gives birth to her vampire husband Edward’s child.

The scene, shot with flashes of red and black has proven too much for the cine-goers, with some of them suffering epilepsy attacks in the theatre.

One viewer, Brandon Gephart of California, told local news channel CBS Sacremento that he was watching the scene when he began having convulsions and later woke up on the cinema floor.

"He was convulsing, snorting, trying to breathe. He scared me big time,” his girlfriend Kelly Bauman said.

Gephart was later treated in hospital while the rest of the screening was cancelled.

Similar incidents have now been reported around the country.

According to ABC4, one man in Utah reportedly blacked out during the film and his wife said that he was shaking, mumbling and blinking rapidly.

Epilepsy specialist Michael G Chez was quoted by CBS Sacramento as saying that that the scene may be triggering photosensitive epilepsy in those who are genetically predisposed to it.

"It's like a light switch going off, because it hits your brain all at once,” Chez said.

Similar seizures can be triggered by strobe lighting, Chez said, but added that an one-off seizure was unlikely to cause much harm to those who had been affected.