Tina Cassidy has a piece in New York Magazine today in which she examines the growing trend of texting during labor and the issues that go along with our culture's need for immediate and constant communication. She argues that, because birth has become so controlled and cold within the hospital setting, parents are doing everything possible to stay connected with supportive family and friends, most of whom are outside the delivery room.
I'll admit that I am uncomfortable with labor updates from friends and family, especially the cervical dilation checks. That just seems really private to me, and when I was in labor, I didn't want my husband's friends (or my dad) knowing how far my cervix had opened. As if they even cared.
I do know several women who have tweeted their way through home births after cesarean (HBAC), and it was interesting to read their experiences as I cheered them along from the privacy of my own home.
And I'm forever grateful for the birth videos of both my children, which our hospital allowed my husband to film, since without them, I would have no actual memories of their very first moments.
I guess, as Cassidy points out, it's just one of those things that happens as times change and we seek to maintain the personal connections that society used to value more.
