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The BirthTUBE Movement
Marie F. Mongan, the founder of HypnoBirthing, said it best, “When you change the way you view birth, the way you birth will change.”
It is essential to see all birth, birth choices, and birth outcomes to help you better define what "birth plan" is best for your family.
Knowing your options is powerful. BirthTUBE is the resource where you can explore your birth options and get inspiration by watching birth videos live.
Do you want to know how BirthTUBE got started? Click here to read the Birth Story of BirthTUBE.
With each birth video, we all learn a little bit more and grow closer as a community.
Every birth story streamed live is different.
They come in various griefs and joys, struggles and celebrations.
It is a beautiful thing to see how the birth community grows as we all learn something new.
Women who’ve had cesarean sections and were told they'd never birth vaginally witness a home birth after multiple c-sections feel empowered to explore her options of a Vaginal Birth After Cesarean.
Or times where people learn that hospital suggestions and policies can be turned down - they aren’t law.
The birth videos on BirthTUBE provide color and variety to the world of birth and shows every person that there isn’t one specific way to birth.
These live streams bring people together in ways that wouldn’t otherwise happen. One can’t watch a birth without chills on their arms and a tear in their eye.
Even more so in person!
The BirthTUBE community has gone beyond on a virtual connection, people who were once strangers on the same live stream have connected in person.
A direct connection over Facebook messenger with one of the BirthTUBE moms turned into a life-changing experience for me as I was invited to attend her birth three hours away. Of course, I’m not the only one who' has been compelled by compassion to attend a birth.
One mom began her live stream at home, but her partner couldn't get to her, leaving her to labor unassisted with her children. A doula watching realized that she lived near this mom and offered her services. Then she drove to her home, picked her up and took her to the birth center. This doula stayed with her throughout the birth and provided support.
They’ve since become great friends.
Another BirthTUBE Live Mama was having a difficult time. So, a doula watching the live feed hopped in her car and met the family at the hospital to provide support.
Whether a person watches a birth or attends one, most of these people are strangers to one another. They are compelled by compassion to assist and support her as a birthing person. With all of these interactions, the community becomes family.
Watching this virtual community of people coming together has been incredible.
The impact that BirthTUBE has made on so many people is humbling.
This online community of people live streaming their births empowers everyone to confront their fears, to birth the way they desire, and to even stand up to unnecessary interventions.
Community members affirm how encouraging it is to watch births live; “BirthTUBE has pretty much eliminated my fears of labor, despite a very traumatic delivery last year. I appreciate everyone so much. Especially the live mamas." I’ve been thanked countless times “for creating an amazing space for mamas across the world to come together and share their experience!”
One member summed up BirthTUBE well with her testimony; “...tens of thousands of women are joining together in the spirit of support, love, and life in its purest and most innocent form! As a first time Mom, watching these brave women share their birth journeys and stories have been the biggest piece of encouragement as my own “birthday” approaches! Seeing how these women deal with different circumstances, different situations, and very different labors have been so educational and has helped me significantly in feeling more confident in the goals I have for my birth, and in power, I now know I have over my body and my birth.”
I love receiving testimonies like these.
It is confirmation that BirthTUBE is moving in the right direction.
As we grow, I hope we can continue to cause ripples in the medical community and stir up changes that are needed.
It's my goal that BirthTUBE continues to educate and provide resources for people exploring their birth options and get the support they need to carry out their birth goals.
What are birth goals without support?
As I’ve navigated the birthing world and watched 100s of birth videos with outcomes ranging from empowering birth experiences to birth stories that leave families feeling uneasy about how thing played out. Comparing the two experiences went me with a sobering conclusion, families who had continuous support (Doula) usually had a more empowering birth experience.
Now, this isn't always the case but over the years, studies on the benefits of women who had continuous labor support during labor and delivery back up this conclusion.
Here are the combined results from studies done between 1970-2017 on the benefits of continuous support for women during childbirth.
+ Shorter delivery
+ Fewer complications
+ Less likely to have an epidural
+ Lesser use of fetal extraction tools (vacuum/forceps)
+ Less neonatal time in NICU
+ Positive psychological benefits for mothers
+ More satisfying birth experiences
+ Higher breastfeeding success rate
+ Increase confidence, lesser desire/need for interventions
+ Less pain experienced
+ Reduced stress and anxiety during labor
+ Increased opportunity to experience the benefits of oxytocin naturally without the use of medication
The truth is, in modern-day birth settings, where particular policies guide healthcare professionals, a vast gap between an expecting family and their caregiver.
Discussing options available during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum is not often something that happens with true informed consent and exploration of risks and benefits.
A Birth Doula provides the ultimate support and has a family’s best interests in mind. Their primary responsibility is to their client, not to a hospital, doctor, midwife or nurse.
Doulas are there to bridge the gap by providing guidance, evidence-based information, non-judgemental emotional support, and physical support to assist a family with their unique birth goals. Doulas can be essential to your birth experience.
July 2018, the BirthTUBE Doula Directory was born!
The Doula Directory is a tool for Doulas to announce to the world that they are a viable and available resource for families and families to search for Doulas by zip code and apply filters to specify your needs.
If you’re a Doula, you can be featured. If you are looking for Doula support, you can search here.
Birth should not have a filter, so neither does the BirthTUBE community.
BirthTUBE has featured live streams of home births, hospital births, birth center births, and stillbirths.
Birthing a baby is a life-changing and defining moment for a family, and there is no right way to embrace that change.
Whatever works for you and is best for you - we all have options. The way we all labor is different, but the feelings are often mutual. We all become exhausted. We all work hard.
We’ve all reached that place during labor when we can’t keep going and having a community is vital in that moment.
BirthTUBE is a place where a birthing person can be sure that there is a virtual audience cheering them on when they can’t do another push or things don’t go as planned. Together, this virtual community celebrates all birth.
When people come together, powerful things happen, and that is what BirthTUBE is all about.
People are coming together, providing international support and celebration virtually to a person bringing life into the world despite each other’s differences.
Much like watching April the giraffe, we all wait in anticipation for the moment the baby emerges, and we celebrate from behind our screens in the safe space of BirthTUBE.
Thank you all for supporting this movement, live streaming your births, and being a part of the BirthTUBE community. I am so excited to grow, learn and celebrate together.
BirthTUBE's Birth Story made possible by Brandi Lawson. Because we all know, I'm better at talking than I am at typing. - Paige LoPinto