By Lucy NotarantonioShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberA video capturing the unexpected visitors who joined a woman during labor has gone viral on TikTok, racking up more than 12 million views.
Abigail Whitlock, 29, shared footage showing her 2-year-old twin boys darting around the delivery room. In the clip, Whitlock is supported by nurses, a midwife and her partner while the boys chase each other and push one another on an IV pole on wheels. The video, posted on November 22, has since caused a stir online.
“Can we normalize leaving your children at home while in labor,” wrote one commenter, a post that has more than 130,000 likes.
Whitlock told Newsweek that having her sons there helped her through the early part of labor.
...“I love my boys very much and having them there provided a well-needed distraction,” she said. “They can be a little rambunctious, like any toddler, but they made me smile and laugh and kept me busy.”
Research suggests that continuous support during labor, meaning a chosen companion or trained support person staying with a woman throughout birth, can improve outcomes. Studies have found that women with steady one-to-one support are less likely to need pain medication or a C-section and often report shorter, more positive birth experiences.
Whitlock said the situation unfolded quickly and unexpectedly. She initially went to the hospital for a routine non-stress test and did not anticipate delivering that day. But after evaluating her at 41 weeks and four days, a midwife recommended induction due to concerns about the baby’s health.
She arrived at the hospital in Orem, Utah, before her sons were awake. Then the separation weighed on her, she said.
“I was feeling a bit sad and nervous, and I really wanted to see my kids,” Whitlock explained. "I asked my mother, who was watching them, to bring them in. Luckily, the hospital allowed children in Labor and Delivery.”
The boys stayed for around two hours before heading home. As contractions intensified, Whitlock said she made sure to send them off gently.
...“When the labor started to get intense, I hugged them goodbye,” she said. “I think it’s special that they were able to be a part of the day their sister was born.”
Not everyone watching online felt the same. The video made up of short moments taken from her eight-hour labor has 1.5 million likes and nearly 4,000 comments, many of them critical.
“I feel bad for the staff trying to do their job!” said one and another states: "I know them nurses were not happy."
A third wrote: "That would stress me out more than the labor."
After the backlash, Whitlock posted a follow-up video to @twinmomtales responding to concerns that her sons were unsafe or disruptive. She stressed that the toddlers were supervised, and that their presence did not interfere with medical care.
She said they “weren’t bothering any nurses or doctors,” and were being watched by her mom, husband and herself.
“They weren’t harming any medical equipment. They are sitting on the metal bottom of the IV pole (which was connected to me), and I was watching them the whole time.”
References
Bohren, Meghan A., et al. “Continuous Support for Women during Childbirth.” The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, vol. 7, no. 7, July 2017, p. CD003766. PubMed, https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD003766.pub6.
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