Birth Videos on YouTube: Sick or Slick?
I was reading a debate between some people, women and men, about individuals who post their birth videos online. The basics of the debate were that women posted birth videos online at sites like YouTube, unlike written birth stories, these were graphic and contained (*gasp*) nudity. Some people felt that this was horrible and awful and should be stopped. They felt that some of these women were attention seeking, others felt it was just tacky. The other side of the debate believed that the births were helpful from a real world perspective, that it wasn’t heavily edited (usually) like real birth on television shows or infused with intense music and dramatic interviews with care providers.
Which side of the fence do you fall on? Do you think births on YouTube are slick or sick?
(And just to fuel the fire, here’s a birth video for you…)
I’ve actually used youtube videos in prenatal classes. I prefer to start a class with film - slicker, less threatening - but I like to show a variety of births in a variety of venues, and there’s some great stuff on youtube. You need to select carefully, though!
I also ask everyone to either turn off Baby Story or to prepare to critique it heavily. Really damaging stuff.
Watching birth videos on YouTube became a bit of an obsession when I was preparing for my son’s home birth. They really helped give me confidence that I could give birth naturally. I’m all for them! I just wish more people could see them as beautiful instead of ‘icky’.
whats icky about giving birth?? those people who say that are immature or just never been through the whole parenting experience. i for one would not post my own birth on you tube , however i am 37 weeks pregnant and i plan on a natural birth so watching other women do it is empowering and informative.
I think birth videos on you tube make perfect sense. I spent hours searching for good birth videos when I was pregnant with my son. I also spent some time yelling at the tv during episodes of a baby story on TLC. Like TO Doula says, damaging stuff. It’s great to have a more holistic view of what happens and personal birth videos provide that.
I wish I had watched videos during my first pregnancy.
I watched the baby story with my first pregnancy to kind of get a general idea of delivery. I feel that I didn’t need the full visual to get the “full picture.” I believe that it’s tacky and disgusting. Women that post these videos are attention getters and want the world to see them naked. They are a worse case than public breast feeding mothers. What makes it worse is that many of these “educational” shows come on around cartoon time. What is wrong with our country?
and by the way, for the fueling of the fire….didn’t watch the video…don’t want to go there.
This site has collected hundreds of birth videos to watch http://pregnancyvideos.googlepages.com
Apparently there are a ton of women out there not afraid to show their births in graphic detail.
I’ve been thinking about putting a couple of my birth videos on youtube. I think seeing a positive good experience birth is helpful for expectant moms. Some women have a vision of birth being nothing but screaming (for vaginal births), or drugged up (for c-sections). Seeing women giving birth in control of themselves and calm can be soothing to the expectant mom’s soul.
I am all for birth videos because they can show expectant parents what to expect and can also show teenage girls a reason not to get pregnant. (and could lightn up a birds and the bees talk if they are older!)
It’s ridiculous to say that birth is disgusting. Ive experienced it throughout my life, as I lived on a farm with my parents. There is nothing more natural and it GIVES LIFE. That ‘ickiness’ is what produced you, as well as whatll produce any kids you have. If I ever gave birth, however, I’d like to include men as little as possible, unless I neede caesarian… I just don’t think they can understand or empathise with something they cannot an have not gone through.
It’s ridiculous to say birth is disgusting OR beautiful. Same goes for pooping or dying or puking. Each is a process of nature. It is when we humans get emotive, self-righteous, or political about it that we forget the MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR in this debate: the child. That is these people’s purpose in getting pregnant? Hmm?
The question is: what part of the parenting plan addresses helping the child deal with their feelings when people who they are not comfortable with view/react to the video around them? For example, a third grade boy comes home to tell his mom the kids at school found the homebirth video of his mom grunting naked in a blow-up pool.
Assuming that your child will be as accepting as you suggests that you might not be ready to be a parent.
i for one am all for birth videos on you tube. certainly, you have to be searching and looking, in order to see/watch them. they don’t just pop up without intention. I feel they are a more realistic representation of birth, vs. the stuff on tv, (baby story, et al, though I must say I have never, even once, seen one of the baby shows on tv, but have heard from others) and portray women working hard, getting down to the business of labor and most often, on you tube, they are OOH births, which I think is great for the public to see! I say, bring it on!