Post a photo ten minutes after your delivery

babies and social media in 2018

Let's say, I am ever pregnant. And then comes that super exciting day when I have to push and puff. At that moment when the head has to come out, I probably won't think quickly about a selfie, I guess.

But more and more mothers are open and honest about it on social media. Take Romy Boomsma, the ridiculously beautiful wife of Arie, for example. She posted a Story on Instagram this weekend showing herself and her brand new son Mozes – ten minutes after giving birth. I am not kidding. Ten minutes after the little guy saw the light of day, he was already captured on camera and that was thrown into the worldwide web. Are we not going a bit too far sometimes with our privacy? And your son's privacy, then?

Romy is certainly not the only one. Take Lauren Verster with her own program about her childbirth. Or Robbie Williams with his hilarious live video report on Twitter, and his wife who was having contractions at the time of filming. And there are more mothers who, for example, post no less than 30 tweets while they are lying in agony in the hospital bed. Some even ask for a photographer to come. Yes, a doctor for a memorable selfie, ‘Honey, film the moment we hold her/him for the first time’, ‘Send this snapshot of the placenta to mom and dad’, ’Come on, quickly share the name of our baby on Facebook, hurry, hurry’. It happens.

‘Hey look, guys, there's my placenta.’

Everyone is free to do what they want, thankfully. But still, when you've just lost a liter of blood during childbirth, you're not looking your best, let's say. For eternity, you can find those photos online. Just Google your name and you'll be shocked at all the old junk that comes up. Are we doing it for the likes, the new followers, the attention? No idea. Maybe for all of it.

And don't get me wrong, I also want to capture the beautiful moment of a first child on film. Nice for later, when she or he is grown up and wants to look at some bloody ‘this is what you looked like when you were just born photos’. But I keep that to myself and my husband until then. My parents can take a peek and alright, maybe some good friends too. I will tell them all when I stop being contraception and want to become a mother. I will also share the happy news with an ultrasound when it happens. And I will tell them all when I feel the first contraction and the fun is about to begin. But that's where it ends. Only my close ones stay up to date. My torn and cut body is MY torn and cut body. Bye, Facebook. Bye-bye, Twitter.

Some things are more beautiful when they remain private. No 924 likes or 57 new followers can compete with that.

FACTS

• A first childbirth takes an average of 12 hours. In the Netherlands, an average of 505 children are born every day.
• It's best to give birth at night: a childbirth often goes faster than during the day.
• Most babies are born in September. December is therefore a popular month for some fun parties, it seems.