Having a baby is incredible, but it can also be pretty scary. If you've never given birth before — or even if you have — there are so many possible unknowns. Even if you've read every book and blog, nothing can perfectly capture the labor and delivery experience.
Chrissy Horton is a social media influencer who calls herself "Your big sister through pregnancy, postpartum, & motherhood." She recently gave birth to her fifth baby and documented the entire process on TikTok.
The video is timestamped and takes viewers through the 13-hour labor and delivery process from the first contractions to the final pushes. It's a compelling and vulnerable look at what women go through to have a baby, and it's exactly the type of video we would have wanted to watch back when we had our first babies.
Horton recorded the video for other moms.
Horton explains in the video's description that as a mom of five, she is experienced but thought back to her time as a first-time mom and wished she'd known more. She began to document as soon as she started to have consistent, strong contractions.
"I wish I had someone to walk me through how long labor could potentially be, the interventions that are used, and what my options were. So I decided to document and share my entire birthing experience from start to finish," she wrote.
She made the most of her time at home.
Horton did what many women do toward the end of their pregnancies. She "nested." As she worked through her contractions, she did laundry. Some commenters thought that was nuts, but as moms who've been there and done that, we totally get it.
Horton said she didn't want to "come home to a bunch of dirty clothes." Makes sense.
She's an experienced mom who knew how crazy things were about to get and wanted to be a step ahead. She then tried to go to sleep, but when things got too intense, she headed to the hospital.
Her labor was fast and strong.
Horton admitted wishing she had gone to the hospital sooner to get an epidural. She kept the camera on her face, and it's obvious she was in some pretty intense pain. Within an hour of leaving the house, she was dilated to 8 centimeters and received her epidural.
Horton warned that her video is unedited. "If you can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen." We see her beginning to shake, a common side effect of an epidural. At this point, things are relatively calm, but it is about to get intense.
Horton takes us through the whole pushing process.
Despite having four other children, she explains that this baby was coming so fast and the pressure was like nothing she had experienced before. We can hear her crying out and momentarily doubting that she could do it. At one point, you can hear her saying, "He's never gonna come out, I feel like."
Her nurses were kind and reassured her. After what she describes as a "primal scream," the baby is out and crying. He is perfect, and she is a queen.
She reassures us to be brave.
The video cuts to Horton and her baby in a matching gown and swaddle. She is glowing, and her little guy is nestled happily in her arms. The voiceover says, "I know it may seem scary, but you were meant to do this. You are stronger than you realize."
It is an excellent message for first-time moms and those who have experienced labor and delivery already. Every birth story is different, and moms likely feel nervous no matter how many times they have been there.
The video is a viral success.
The birthing clip has been viewed more than 7 million times. People are amazed at her bravery and thankful for the realistic view of what giving birth is all about.
"I wish I had someone to walk me through how long labor could potentially be, the interventions that are used, and what my options were. So I decided to document and share my entire birthing experience from start to finish," one person commented.
"I'm pregnant with my 4th baby and it's so funny how everything still feels brand new," someone else wrote.
The whole point of the video was to educate. There were plenty of questions.
"Omgahh … I didn't know about the catheter. I'm due in may and this is my first.. could you feell them [p]ut the catheter in?" someone asked.
"if you have an epidural why does it hurt so badly still? I thought it numbed your … and the crowning, what is that?" another question read.
Horton also wants to make a couple of things clear.
In her birth video, she shares that she did a last-minute load of laundry, which some people thought was crazy. She defends her desire to throw the wash in saying, "I was in a mission mode, cleaning mode, need to get distracted. Wanted to get my house ready, wanted to feel like I was doing something."
She also wanted to let people know her husband is not an insensitive jerk who made her walk four flights of stairs. When asked why he didn't leave her at the door and go park the car, she pans to a video of herself in the car crying as he offered to drop her off, and she barked back, "No you're not. You're gonna walk with me. I don't want to be separated."
Again, when a woman in labor tells you to jump, just ask how high.
Thank you for sharing your birth story with the world. People need to see what it really takes to bring a baby into this world and how much respect moms deserve.
