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The Digital Birth: Twitter, Facebook, and Labor
Forget birth announcements. Moms these days are tweeting their births, livestreaming video to Facebook and blogging baby’s first breaths.
Would you want all that technology in your birth room?
For a lot of us, the answer is just no. But more and more moms are saying yes.
When I gave birth, back in the stone ages of 2004 and 2007, these things were less of an option. But in the past year I’ve attended two births with an iPhone burning a hole in my pocket.
It stayed there. As the labor started, I posted a cryptic update to let waiting friends know what was up, and a few hours after the baby came, I blogged about the experience. In each case, it took the new moms a few days to start updating their own digital lives with stories and pictures of their birth experiences.
I’ve written before in defense of women inviting the Internet into their most private moments, as in the case of a Florida woman who tweeted her child’s accidental drowning death as it was happening. Our on-line communities are often real support networks. While a few of us are broadcasting our thoughts to thousands, for most people Twitter and Facebook are just ways to connect with friends and family.
Some of those friends and family would like us to stop sharing so much. My mom got a Facebook account a few weeks ago. Over brunch, she looked at me with horror and said, “Sierra, you would not believe the things people put on the Internet. I do not want to know these things about my friends!”
I don’t really think there’s a right or wrong way to go here. But I am surprised that women in labor can manage to type updates to their virtual communities. When I was in labor, typing was the last thing on my mind.
How about you? Did you tweet your birth? Will you next time?
Photo: subewl
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1 Comment
Tonia Sanders @thechattymomma commented on May 19 11 at 5:35 pmGreat article. I actually did tweet the whole birth of my second child. It was the most fun I had throughout my pregnancy, after spending the entire seven months I was pregnant on bedrest.
My personal opinion about sharing experiences so intimate online is “different strokes for different folks” I dont mind reading people’s stories on social networks. I actually enjoy it, which is what was a deciding factor when posting my own.
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