How Google and YouTube can help fathers deliver babies
By Dave Parrack
What do you use Google for? Searching for all and sundry I’m sure. And what kinds of videos do you watch on YouTube? I’ll bet it’s cats playing with boxes, music videos, and Susan Boyle. But the two sites can be used for much more practical and necessary reasons, such as helping fathers deliver babies safely.
Google and YouTube are two sites I use on a daily basis. The former helps me find everything I want on the Web, acting as a directory pinpointing the exact sites I need at a particular moment. The latter entertains me, educates me, and gives me a good laugh when I watch what fat Japanese cats do when they come face-to-face with a big box.
However, according to BBC News, the two sites came in a lot more useful and necessary for one British man recently when he was faced with his wife going into labor at home and no chance of getting her to hospital before the new arrival turned up.
When his wife started feeling discomfort in the later stages of pregnancy with her fourth child, Marc Stephens, an engineer from Cornwall, decided to bone up on delivery techniques just in case. He Googled how to deliver a baby, watched some videos showing how to do so, and basically learned as much as he possibly could do so in order to be more useful if the situation arose. Which it promptly did.
Four hours after the impromptu lesson in home delivery, Marc’s wife Jo went into labor. Their midwife was too busy to get to the house quickly and while they were waiting for the ambulance to arrive, the 5lbs 5oz Gabriel showed up. Rather than panicking or struggling to cope, Marc helped his wife deliver the baby safely, all thanks to Google and YouTube. He said:
The videos gave me peace of mind. I think I would have coped, but watching videos made things much easier. This is our fourth child now and while for our first I spent most of the time at my wife’s head, now I’m not afraid to go down to the business end.
I’ve heard people learn to play guitar and solve a Rubik’s Cube by using Google and YouTube, but delivering a baby trumps both of them by quite some way. I’m just glad the couple didn’t decide to honor the Web sites which helped them in their hour of need by naming the child after either of them. Baby Google or YouTube just wouldn’t be right.
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May 5th, 2009
Out everything Ive seen and heard about how the internet has helped! people, this has got to be the best! and surprising case by far!
May 5th, 2009
@Joshua
That has to be the best! Use of exclamation points! I’ve ever seen!
May 5th, 2009
It is nice to get a good news story for a change.
May 6th, 2009
Given the fact that my Wife is due in November and I have not heard anything positive about watching a Baby being born and the fact that I’m sensetive to seeing real Blood, I found this intresting and went to look at what I have to look forward to. After watching a few birth it was not as bad as I thought. I remember seeing it on TV once a long time ago and it grossed me out. I guess I’m a little desensitized. Thanks Blorge for telling me about this. I never thought the internet was going to have so many women spreading their legs. LOL. But it was educational.