Tweeting dads in the delivery room
To Tweet or not to Tweet during your wife's labor? That is the question.
Back in October, I used Twitter to post 9 or so updates throughout the day as my wife went through labor. It gave me something to do with my fidgety fingers in my downtime, and some friends and relatives found it useful. (I informed my Facebook friends I'd be Tweeting and sent them a link to my Twitter page.)
Twitter, in effect, was really the sole efficient way to communicate in a "one-to-many" way to people outside the comfortable bubble we were in at the hospital. My pleasant wife only begged me to not Tweet anything gross, which I obliged.
At the end of it all, we brought home a healthy, gorgeous baby girl. A few days later, I went back through my Tweets and compiled them, and saved them in a screen-shot on my computer, for posterity. It's now a cool little digital memento for us that I can print out and add to our family photo album.
My colleague Joe Burris says in a story today that Tweeting dads are becoming more common.
Of course, there's a debate on how to use such technology during such a sensitive time as a child's birth. I guess all I can say that I think it's really up to the couple to come to an agreement and set some ground rules. You both should feel comfortable about what it means to Tweet the delivery. And Dads, it goes without saying that you shouldn't let it get in the way of any of your fatherly duties.
So what do you think? Is live-Tweeting your kid's birth a ridiculous idea or just another sign of the times in our texting/Twitter digital lives?
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Categories: Apps, Good Reads, Smartphones, Social Media
Comments
I love the idea of making a few tweets during the birthing process. I don't think my wife will be too hot on the idea of me whipping out the iPhone every few minutes...maybe I will have to step outside for air during her delivery in several months.
I too am going to aggregate all digital baby mentions (from twitter, facebook, email) to add to the baby book.
Posted by: Den Spitzhacke | July 22, 2009 2:24 PM
My wife and I had twin girls last year during they came about 3 months early while we were at a routine visit to GBMC. Instead of text messaging everyone I knew, I posted on Twitter and Facebook. It helped me to get the word out. I didn't post a play by play, but just that the girls had arrived and sof of the photos. It really helped me and my wife get the word out quickly. I think it can be overkill for some Dads, but my advice is to always check with your wife to make sure the updates are ok with her.
Posted by: Chip Dizard | July 22, 2009 5:29 PM