Maybe it's just me, but what's up with all of the personal electronic gadgetry that people are so focused on while in Labor and Delivery? Everyone has a cell phone: mom, dad, every one of her labor partners, sometimes even the kids.
EVERY. SINGLE. ONE!
And they're all using them. Constantly!
Can we have one aspect of our lives that doesn't need to be documented/twittered/facebooked/texted minute by minute? I understand the idea of keeping loved ones updated from time to time, but this is really getting ridiculous. Is there no sanctity and intimacy in labor and birth anymore?
(And.........ironically........cue the power going out in the house, cutting off my precious INTERNET!!!)
(Power restored, internet back!)
Yes, I guess that does tell me what kind of technology-filled and driven world we live in.
Technology is here to stay. Even during labor and birth. Like it or not.
Photo from: http://www.hardwareinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/cell_phones.jpg
13 comments:
I agree. In our home life, I spend a lot of time telling my husband to PUT THE VIDEO CAMERA/PHONE DOWN and actually live the moment rather than obsess about recording it. I notice the same thing at births.
I didn't do anything during labor beyond tweeting "I'm in labor and it hurts", mostly due to my wife's wishes. However in retrospect and now that I've seen how helpful the twitter community has been for me during breastfeeding, it might have been good to get out of my head and get talking to my people - not my wife, who was just as freaked as I was, despite our preparation. I wish now that I HAD gone more towards the twitterbirth side of things. That and good headphones to drown people out when I wanted to - technologies I think could have been helpful for me.
I don't get it either. With my first, no one even knew I was in labor until about an hour after my son was born. No way I would have wanted to have been facebooking or tweeting through that. And for my daughter, everyone knew, but only because my family told everyone. They only knew because I needed them to watch my son :( They didn't get any updates though. They came to the house to watch my son, we left, and they got a phone call after she was born.
I have found that my laboring teen moms have used texting as a great coping mechanism... who woulda thunk it? It's their world, it's what they know... it's just now starting to trickle over into the non teen parents... phones and computers are a part of labor... its a strange concept to get used to.
I must have a dirty mind, b/c I was thinking of other *ahem* personal electronic devices.
M
I intended to tweet about my labor -- I didn't due to a lack of wifi in the labor room (versus the recovery room) -- because our closest family was 2 hours away, with the majority of my family being 13 hours away up in Wisconsin, and my closest friends being on the east coast -- etc, you get the idea.
Military lifestyle being what it was to my upbringing, I saw it as a way to bring all the people closest to me into this personal experience who I would have wanted there if they were able to make it.
I agree that sometimes we need to remove the technology and enjoy life, but I do believe that it has its place.
I never even thought to pick up a phone when I was in labor until I called my doula- who very helpfully told me to wake my husband up because I probably was actually in labor. Good thing- otherwise my daughter may have been born unassisted. I think this was because it was also really early in the morning- who wants to get woken up then, even if someone is in labor?! Maybe I'm just not as connected as a lot of people..
I get so frustrated when parents are too busy texting or posting to Facebook right after birth. I just want to yell LIVE IN THE MOMENT!! Your child was just born, you can't relive this time. Skin to skin and holding the baby gets in the way of telling the world.
I find this to be the norm and the rare family that doesn't do this.
It is interesting how many do this. I would say about 1/3 of my doula clients are pretty connected during the birth. 2/3 are sending pictures right away, within minutes of baby being born.
I want them to just treasure the moment too. But it is what it is, my job is to support them in their choices.
I was so glad to have email access on my phone during my 48 hours of labor with my stillborn son. That connection to my living son - my parents sent me photos and updates about how he was handling being away from us - kept me connected to the world. I kept being afraid someone at the hospital would ask me to turn the phone off, but instead, they asked to see the photos.
I always love to see pictures of the children at home (and the four legged children too!), and oftentimes, parents will show me their children's pictures on their cell phones.
I really don't mind the use of person gadgets/cell phones, etc, but like others above said: sometimes I just wish new families would live in the moment. You NEVER get those first precious minutes/hours back again!
Honestly, my husband calling family often to update them on how labor wasn't going actually was a hinderence. When I needed his support most he was off calling other people. The frustration this caused certainly didn't help the labor. With our upcoming birth he has been banned from even having his phone on unless there is an emergency. Our family that will watch our son will have my doula's number to call in case of emergency, but they won't be updated until our baby is born and we have had a chance to bond as a family.
Jeez Louise, I hadn't thought of that. Though I have seen people texting during fairly bad traumas.
Just wait till someone tries to coach via Twitter!
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