A MUM has revealed how cruel trolls have said her kids will be left ‘permanently traumatised’ after she let them – and 16,000 strangers -watched her push and pant as she delivered her baby on a YouTube livestream.
Alexis Wild, 32, gave birth to 8lb baby girl Isobel Wild on June 30 in the living room of the home she shared with partner, renovator Scot McIntee, 56, and children Aprilia, Ember and Jaxon in London, Ontario, Canada.
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“It was magical,” she told Fabulous.
“After more than 12 hours little Isobel arrived in the world.
Aprilia was going to pull her – out she had practiced on her doll – but lost interest so Scot did it.
“Everyone is healthy and happy and it all worked out for the best.”
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She’s speaking out to raise awareness of the normality of birth.
It’s especially important to her as cruel internet trolls have abused her since she aired the footage.
“I’ve been told I’m gross, that it was weird… all sorts of things,” she revealed.
“Some people said I was a bad mother and the children would be ‘permanently traumatised’ and ‘in therapy forever’ as a result of watching me give birth.
“But I think it would be more traumatic for them not to see me give birth.
At some point in the future they may deliver their own children or Jaxon may have a partner who has a baby and they need to know the reality of it.
Alexis Wild32
“At some point in the future they may deliver their own children or Jaxon may have a partner who has a baby and they need to know the reality of it.
“Yes, labour is painful but it is not something to be scared of.”
She admitted the issue of her children seeing her in pain had crossed her mind, but added she was happy for them to witness it because she’d spoken it over with them beforehand and they knew what was coming and that mum would likely be screaming.
“They understood it was how they’d arrived and how all babies were born,” she explained.
“They knew while I might be in pain, I was not scared – it was just a necessary physical pain.”
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She told how her children had actually watched her deliver all her babies, always at home except for a surrogate baby boy in 2017 in hospital.
“I just think it is nicer to be able to have a baby and then go to my own bed where I am most comfortable,” she said. “It’s always worked out for the best.”
Alexis initially wanted to livestream Jaxon’s arrival but, owing to personal reasons, decided not to.
But because she has decided not to have any more children she knew Isobel was her last chance.
“The midwives were a bit stunned,” she confessed. “Their major concern was if anything went wrong then I would be on air, but we decided if there was an issue the cameras would go straight off.
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“As it was I started labour in the night and she arrived at 3pm – there were no problems.
“I delivered during the pandemic and there was only meant to be one person with me apart from medical staff.
“But I wanted more.
“So in the end I had Scot, my children, my mum Janeen, birth photographer Melany and my friend Ian who is a documentary filmmaker who is working on a project about giving birth.
“The midwives weren’t over-the-moon.
“But in the end the birth was so straightforward we didn’t even end up calling them until after she’d arrived.”
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Alexis, who is a doula providing emotional, educational and physical support to pregnant women, told how she fell pregnant in autumn 2019 and immediately knew she wanted to air the birth.
“But you can have all these big ideas and then they might not happen,” she said. “If one thing goes wrong it can be over.
“Initially I only told a few friends and thought they would be shocked but they thought it was a great idea.
“They were all messaging me saying, ‘I will tune in’.
“I wasn’t self conscious at all. Birth is so natural and people really need to realise that.
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“People who say it is gross are the weird ones.”
As her due date grew closer she set up a website where people could log on but also a YouTube page – issuing a press release in her local paper in Canada to let people know the big news.
She also set up an email alert so would-be viewers would receive a notification when contractions had started.
She had 180 viewers when it happened but a replay has generated 16,000 viewers – with thousands more watching daily.
“The kids were fine on the day,” she laughed. “I needn’t have worried. They were playing on computer games as I screamed, peering down there and wandering in and out.
“As I was actually delivering one of the girls was asking for some pop.
Ember even cut the umbilical cord.
Alexis Wild32
“So I am fairly certain she is not permanently damaged.
“Ember even cut the umbilical cord.”
Now the family are relaxing at home with Isobel – and they plan to show her how she arrived when she’s old enough.
“It’s just a part of life,” smiled Alexis. “And that’s why I did it – to make people realise what birth really is.”