Livestreaming childbirth: TMI?
Some praise a Minnesota mom for webcasting the birth of her first child. Others say she spawned the youngest "oversharer" in history
A Minnesota couple found a novel way to share the birth of their daughter with friends, family, and the world -- they livestreamed the delivery over the Internet. Thousands of people watched the video on MomsLikeMe.com as the couple -- who gave their names only as Lynsee and Anders -- welcomed the arrival of their first child, a daughter named Solveig. Is this an educational glimpse of the miracle of birth -- or just another case of oversharing in the Internet age? (Watch the webcast birth video)
Way, way too much information: "Congrats, Solveig, you are the Miracle Baby of Generation TMI," says Azaria Jagger in Gawker. There is very little chance "the youngest oversharer in the history of the Internet" will ever live this down. "As soon as this child learns how to type her name into a search engine, she's totally screwed. At least she's adorable?"
"Livestreamed childbirth is the only sex-ed you'll ever need"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
People loved it: Judging from MomsLikeMe.com's traffic spike during the livestream, says Editor & Publisher, The website got 10 times its normal traffic when the live childbirth video was playing, which amounted to 1.3 million minutes of viewing time. MomsLikeMe.com's community manager in Minneapolis, Cindy Chapman, said that made the video just what Lynsee and Anders intended -- " a learning experience for anyone who wants to know more about having a child."
"Traffic on MomsLikeMe Online Community Spikes from Live Video of Birth"
Livestreaming's a logical leap for a blogger: Lynsee, a former teacher, made the live Web video as "an educational gesture," says David Carr in The New York Times. It makes sense -- she "had blogged extensively about her pregnancy and decided to share the end of the story when the big moment arrived." So now anyone who wants to "relive the magic or trauma -- or both -- of childbirth" is just a click away.
"This birth announcement coming to you live from the delivery room"
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The Week contest: Swift stimulus
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published
-
'It's hard to resist a sweet deal on a good car'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
10 concert tours to see this winter
The Week Recommends Keep warm traveling the United States — and the world — to see these concerts
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published