Dad livestreams the birth of his child on Facebook Live
It's been watched more than 60,000 times. Would you let your partner film the birth for social media?
A Christian comedian named Fakamalo Kihe Eiki, from California, livestreamed the birth of his child using Facebook Live’s video platform.
And no, it wasn’t a joke!
The original video, which has been watched over 62k times and still counting, is over 45 minutes long and shows Fakamalo’s partner giving birth to a (seemingly) healthy baby boy (around the 37 minute mark).
But if you want to skip ahead to watch the actual birth moment, watch the YouTube clip below.
Unlike many recent posts on Facebook, it's not bloody or graphic - although watching someone being born isn't for everyone
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In fact it's incredibly calm. Where's the shouting? Where's the swearing?
And yet, despite its gentleness, naturally the reaction online has been pretty mixed.
Some users commented on the video to congratulate the couple…
"Thanks for sharing this to the world," wrote one.
Fakamalo wrote back: "Thanks guys for enjoying the gift of life with me."
However, some people thought sharing such a personal moment was a bit too much…
"A woman gave birth on Facebook Live, so this is probably a good time for us all to save ourselves and quit the internet," wrote one Twitter user.
We’re not surprised by the reaction, because choosing to livestream your baby’s birth to the world on Facebook does invite a lot of questions about how we use the internet and social media.
However, we think that whether or not you film the birth, share details, pictures or even videos on social media is ultimately a personal decision.
That said, we're not obliged to see these things in our feed if we don't want to, which is why there are 'mute' and 'unfollow' options on Facebook.
UPDATE: The ma behind the Facebook Live birth told People magazine that it was all an accident, and that he didn't mean to livestream the birth to the world. The perils of social media, eh?
What do you think? Would you livestream your child’s birth? We’d love to hear your thoughts on Facebook and Twitter!
Images/Video: Fakamalo Kihe Eiki/Facebook
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