A mother who wanted to experience labour ‘in the wild’ gave birth in a stream without any medical assistance – and filmed it.Simone Thurber says she is proud of the footage of the birth of her fourth child but has now spoken about how shocked she is by the attention the clip has generated.Since she uploaded the video, taken by her partner in 2012, it has been viewed by more than 52 MILLION people.
The video opens with the 43-year-old already in labour in the Australian Daintree Rain Forrest in Queensland, completely unclad. She is seen squatting and getting on all fours as she breathes through the pain and contractions, eventually giving birth to a daughter as her other children surround her.Her partner Nick filmed the experience and steps in to help and encourage at several points.
The mum-of-four explained that she had always wanted to experience giving birth in the wild.She said: “I am not a hippy drippy mum but I wanted my fourth child to be born away from beeping machines and a hospital environment.
“Let’s face it women have been giving birth in the wild for thousands of years but the thought a modern women squatting in a creek and giving birth horrified many people even before I gave birth and shared the video.”
When she realised she was pregnant with her fourth child she set about finding the perfect location to fulfill her desire to give birth in the wild.
A friend offered her use of a house on the edge of the Queensland rainforest and two weeks before her due date she moved up there.
She admits her fourth pregnancy was harder than the others and giving birth in the wild draining but freeing.
“Doctors warned me as I was 39 it was a high risk pregnancy but I went with my gut,” she said, “If something had gone wrong it would have been difficult to get to hospital.I felt we had done something amazing and I wanted to share my birth with other women to show them anything is possible.”
Simone gave birth four years ago and the video was first posted in 2013 to celebrate daughter Perouze’s first birthday.But she has now spoken about the experience and the huge reaction to the video.Simone said: “It was a very intimate moment for me and my daughter and I am proud of the how many people have seen the video.”