Crowd birthing – All aboard, next stop, BIRTH!

The idea that some women want to bring 5, 8, 10 people into the birthing room, along with a live-feed video camera(s), is absurd to me, however, this has been gaining enough popularity that the term was coined, Crowd Birthing.

It’s been suggested that this new popularity began with Kourtney Kardashian’s birth video where there were 8+ people coming and going out of the room (not including the hospital staff).  Nevertheless, this seems to be an (un)natural progression of the teens and twenty-something’s idea of sharing EVERYTHING on social media.  Nothing is sacred anymore.  We’ve seen the Womb-tubers sharing the pee-on-the-stick moment and the first sonogram viewing parties.  Now we’re up to, “Let’s share birth with 800 of my closest FaceBook friends!”  What’s next?  Anyone up for a close-up circumcision video?

Aside from the obvious (to me) oversharing and TMI of doing this, there are other factors to consider. Too many people in the small confines of a birthing room can hinder the nursing staff and doctors from doing their jobs, most especially if there is a medical emergency.  Many hospitals have a limit to the number of people they allow in the room.  There’s a reason for that, not the least of which is that they don’t need the circus atmosphere of multiple unnecessary people talking and milling about.

You know, It’s not like on TV, this is not a glamorous process. It’s messy and exhausting and wonderful but you may not want to invite anyone you wouldn’t want to puke or poop in front of. I mean do we really need a live feed of your placenta?  SMILE, your vagina’s on candid camera!