Some people take photographs to document and remember the birth of their child.
But dad blogger Stephen Skinner decided to go one step further and broadcast his wife’s labour and birth story to 100,000 viewers on Facebook.
Skinner, 32, and his wife Holly, 28, shared updates through five videos on the Channel Mum Facebook page.
The couple were hoping to document their water birth, however things took an unexpected turn when the baby’s head moved into a sideways position.
The videos were filmed on 28 December, but broadcast on Facebook on 6 January.
The earlier clips showed the couple talking in hospital, as well clips where Holly is crying on the hospital bed in bed.
In part four, Skinner vlogs while his wife is being prepped for a C-section and explains that he won’t be filming in the operating room.
“I’m about to go to theatre,” he said. “Obviously things have changed from our birth plan but we’re both really excited.
“The next video will be with me, Holly and our new boy or girl.”
In part five, the couple welcome their newborn son, Atlas.
“We hope you’ve enjoyed seeing our story,” the couple said to the camera, while Holly cradled their son.
The couple put together a video summing up the birth, including photos from inside the operating room when their son was born.
“I feel like the videos were really real and raw,” Skinner said on the video. “We were not editing life.
“But Holly and I are both really happy that we did manage to capture the down moments as well as the high, elated moments.
“It was very, very difficult as some points but the birth was one of the most beautiful things both of us have experienced.”
The couple said they hope sharing their birth story will remove any stigma around unplanned births and c-sections.
“The C-section was not what I wanted and when I found out I cried a lot,” said Holly. “In the end it was never up to me. His life is so precious and he had to come into it safely.”
View the couple’s birth story videos here.
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