I had forgotten that Thandie Newton was pregnant, so… my bad. Thandie gave birth this week to a boy. Thandie and her husband Ol Parker named their newborn son Booker Jombe Parker. Thoughts on the name? I don’t have a problem with the name Booker in general, but the double “er” of Booker and Parker is a mouthful. Booker joined big sisters Nico (9) and Ripley (13). I didn’t know Thandie named her daughter Nico! Nico Parker… that’s a great name for a girl.
Anyway, much like Kevin Jonas, Thandie announced her son’s birth on Twitter. And much like Kevin Jonas, I think Thandie’s baby and birth had a corporate sponsor. I’m absolutely fine with Thandie giving a shout-out to her midwife (“My home birth with brilliant independent midwife Caroline Flint — and Carole Goddard at Phoenix Midwives. Keep independent midwifery alive!”), but the tweet after that was… interesting.
Our baby boy is finally here! Booker Jombe Parker. Born joyously at home yesterday
— Thandie Newton (@thandienewton) March 4, 2014
My 3rd home birth with brilliant independent midwife Caroline Flint – and Carole Goddard @PhoenixMidwives. Keep independent midwifery alive!
— Thandie Newton (@thandienewton) March 5, 2014
Blissed out with @NYR_Official supplies – from candles at the birth to Baby Balm for his skin – organic, gorgeous and nurturing
— Thandie Newton (@thandienewton) March 5, 2014
I doubt that the midwife paid Thandie for a shout-out – it just seems like Thandie was thanking her midwife and that Thandie feels strongly about home births and all of that. She doesn’t seem like she’s judging hospital births, just that she personally believes in home births. But the tweet about Neal’s Yard Remedies? That sounds like a sponsored tweet. Neal’s Yard is apparently a UK health/beauty company that does all organic stuff. I’m calling it: they paid her to tweet about the company when she was announcing her son’s birth.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Hasn’t Thandie always been super thirsty? It wouldn’t surprise me if it was a “sponsored” tweet.
I think sponsoring a birth is so dumb. Also, I’m ok with home births, but a friend of mine had one and judged everyone else for not having one and would get mad if someone said that they would rather be at a hospital. If I was a chick, I’d want all the meds you could give, but alas I’m not lol
Plus, what do you do with your bed after you have a baby in it? Throw it away?
I will be judgy. What if something goes wrong? Why put your life and your baby’s at risk? I do not understand that. The place of the birth wouldn’t matter to me as much as the lack of a doctor. Any number of things could go wrong, and I would want the best team possible to help me if it did.
My niece used a midwife and I was there for the birth. I wasn’t in the room, but out in a little waiting area. It was long, long, long, and by the end the midwives were arguing over whether or not to take her to the hospital when finally her daughter was born. She says it was the most irresponsible thing she has ever done and she had her next two children in a hospital.
Oh I agree. My mom and my sister had heart problems when they had their kids. My neice had to be kept in the hospital for three weeks due to a breathing problem none of us saw.
If they did home births, I don’t know how if any of them would be alive…hospitals aren’t that close to where I live. Anyway, I think there’s a risk, and why chance it?
What I don’t get is-why not use a midwife in a hospital? That’s what I did. It was great. I went to a practice where I saw both OBGYNs and midwives so everyone had hospital privileges. CNMs are specially trained and certified and then, you have doctors everywhere if there were ever an emergency. To each their own, I guess, but I feel like I had the best of both worlds doing it the way I did.
@Marigold
What an excellent idea
@Crank
So glad everybody’s ok!
To answer some of those questions:
Re: the bed. You don’t just hop on your bed and start pushing. Some give birth in the tub, some lay out an old mattress, and pretty much everyone covers stuff with a sheet of plastic. Easy to set up, easy to clean up.
As far as ”why” a home birth. One, some people actually feel that the best place to welcome their child into the world is in their own home, and some make the choice because choosing a hospital birth can actually have a lot of risk factors of its own. A lot of things can go wrong in a hospital that wouldn’t in a midwife center or at home. Just because its modern medicine doesn’t mean that its close to perfect. Further, there are actually a lot of standards in order to be able to have a home birth. No risk factors, the home must be with easy access to an ambulance/hospital.
Basically, it may not be your choice, but considering that women strictly gave birth at home up until midway through the last century, its not that weird. Pregnancy isn’t a medical condition. And not only has every woman I know that had a home birth safe and healthy (as is their child) not a single one chose to ‘lord’ it over everyone else. Their bodies, their choices.
Yeah I’m very much live and let live for the most part despite being a “crunchy mom”. I hate when moms get superior, just do what feels right for you while others do what feels right for them.
Having someone sponsor something as natural as childbirth feels so weird though. I guess it’s not too different from selling newborn pics, they’re still profiting from having a baby. This is just newer so it seems really awkward
I guess it seems a bit tackier because it’s like RIGHT AFTER the kid was born. You generally don’t see baby photos until the baby is at least a few weeks old.
So. What. I love her.
Eh I love her and its less in your face than the horrible Jonas birth.
I am so grossed out by this “sponsored birth” stuff. At least she waited until the next day I guess and it isn’t as blatant at the Jonas one, but it still seems wrong.
IA Lucy2. This sh*t is so weird!
I know right? So repellent 🙁
I love that the last tweet has so few favourites/retweets compared to the others. Fans clearly don’t like the whole “obvious sales pitch” thing.
Independent midwifery-is this an English thing? Like, they operate outside of NHS?
At first I thought it was shade throwing on her part because I like my Certified Nurse Midwife who is educated and hospital affiliated but I don’t know anything about the English healthcare system so if anyone has any light to shed, I’m all ears (eyes, I guess).
I still am angry over her role in Crash. If there was ever a character to hate and an over done performance, that was it.
It really is embarrassing that celebrities use Twitter. I’m sorry but to me, it is just so juvenile and pointless.
It really depends on the person. Some are juvenile or use their accounts mostly promotional tools, but there are some very smart, witty people on twitter.
During my whole pregnancy and birth (in a hospital) I never met a doctor only midwifes. In Sweden you only have a doctor in if the midwife finds something she cannot handle on her own.
They have really nice stuff…if I was totally loaded I would also have lots of that stuff…whatever.
Home births in the UK are very common. I was born at home, I’m the youngest at 43, my brother was born in hospital. I don’t see a problem with home births, the midwives are very well trained and very experienced.
Cue the home birth/intervention free/midwife-model-of-care backlash…
Tacky as hell IF it was a “sponsored birth” (even that phrase makes me cringe).
As for everything else, I don’t understand how/when a family’s choice of birth place or provider became up for debate. Some models of care work for some families, while others don’t. Midwives & home births are very common in Europe & the midwife movement is growing in the States.
@Bodhi: I find it both comical and maddening that some moms say, “Don’t judge my choices!” out of one side of their mouth while judging the heck out of the next mom’s choices out of the other side of their mouth. We shouldn’t judge some moms for not BFing, having hospital births or epidurals, but we can judge for BFing too long, having home births and home schooling. I can never seem to keep track of which parenting choices we CAN judge and which ones are verboten. 😉
I really don’t care if people have their babies at home or at a hospital. As long as your educating yourself and making the best decision for you then knock yourselves out. My mother did home births for her last two after having my brother in the backseat on the way to the hospital. She chose an ob-gyn who was married to a midwife so they made house calls together. I considered doing a home birth (I’d never been a patient in a hospital before and hospitals scared me!) but decided to do a hospital birth with a midwife. I wound up tearing like crazy (even after months of perineal stretches–so much for that great idea) so I’m glad I wasn’t home. Altho, with my second I had the bitchiest nurse ever who treated me like in idiot, which really made for an unpleasant birth experience–I wish you could choose your doctor/midwife AND your nursing staff for hospital births.
I’d run a mile if someone I know would start touting Neal’s Yard Remedy.
They’re selling homeopathic quack to help fight measles and malaria, and they’ve been investigated by the British Medicines Regulator more than once.
Their stuff looks nice on (virtual) paper, but their behind-the-scenes ethics don’t.
Interesting. If you have a twitter account, you should ask her about it. Even is she doesn’t respond, her followers will be able to view replies to her tweets.
I prefer to leave that to the people who really know their business, Dr Ben Goldacre from Bad Pharma/Bad Science, and Dr Andy Lewis from Quackometer – who uncovered that Neal’s Yard Remedy is ripping people off by selling a £4250 Aromatherapy & Essential Oil Science (!!!) Diploma. I wouldn’t want any supporters of esoteric woo in my timeline… 😉
Or she wanted to give a shout out to show her support for an organic products line she likes. It’s a very common practise on twitter. Not everyone expects money, merch, or free services in return. Is her twitter timeline littered with promotions? If not, I wouldn’t be so quick to assume or judge. It’s not like she has a reality show like those Jonas people.
I like Thandie, and I don’t get why this seems “sponsored “. Seems to me that she was tweeting happily . My grandmother was a midwife, and while she didn’t deliver us another midwife delivered for my mom. My mother had eight kids and four were born at home. They are fine.
Was baby born here in the US? Homebirth midwifery is an absolute mess in the US. Little to no regulation and a large number of undereducated and uneducated people calling themselves midwives. Check out the hashtag (I have no idea how to do this) #notburiedtwice. Crazy stuff happened on Facebook with a disasterous birth just a few days ago.
Apparently the British has been doing home births w/ midwives in the early 1900’s. Masterpiece Theater has a series on English Midwives.
Hey everyone, I work on the PR team at Neal’s Yard Remedies and just wanted to leave a quick comment to let you know that we did not pay to sponsor the birth of Thandie’s son. She’s always been a big fan of our products, and it was great to hear that she’s loving our Candles and Baby Balm. Thanks!
Yay! Thanks, Jane.