Sci-fi and cyberpunk media did not prepare y’all for this one. Twitch streamer Fandy is currently going viral online for giving birth during an eight-hour livestream for nearly 30,000 viewers. As any experienced Twitch streamer would do, Fandy helpfully gave viewers a heads-up beforehand. “My water just broke so I think I’m going this live … Baby time :)” Fandy posted alongside a selfie.
Fandy had a home birth surrounded by friends, family, and two birthing specialists during a livestream that was tagged as World of Warcraft gameplay. Viewers were largely in shock, wondering if she was actually going to go through with it and if this was truly the first birth on Twitch. After all, birth can be a difficult, messy affair. It’s not uncommon for laboring mothers to vomit, fart, or pass stool. The birth itself could have complications that would play out on camera, and viewers would be able to react in real time as there didn’t seem to be a streaming delay. The birth was also happening earlier than Fandy expected.
Before prime time, real-life bystanders told viewers that they were hoping to avoid the possibility of a 24-hour livestream. As Fandy takes sharp, deep breaths, she can be seen checking Twitch chat on her phone. There’s also a giant display in the background dedicated to her channel’s Twitch chat. Fans watched along as Fandy was examined by a midwife, who prepared her for the proceedings. During this time, viewers commented on everything from the baby’s heartbeat to Fandy deliberating over her positioning for delivery. About 45 minutes in, the birthing professionals can be seen prepping the area with plenty of towers, plastic coverings, and enlarging an inflatable pool.
As word spread about the unusual livestream, the chat saw an influx of strangers who don’t typically watch Fandy’s content. At that point, viewers began debating whether Fandy should have been livestreaming any of it at all. Critics called the stunt cringe, potentially unsafe, and wondered if it was even allowed under Twitch’s content guidelines. Notably, Fandy’s livestream never showcases any nudity and is not sexual in nature. Twitch prohibits graphic content, but much of the birth happens beyond the frame of the camera. Twitch does allow for educational content, but requires streamers to tag anything that could feature mature themes. Realistically, though, the existing Twitch rules likely do not account for the possibility of a streamer birthing a baby on the platform. So far, Fandy hasn’t been banned. In fact, Twitch CEO Dan Clancy dropped in on the stream to wish her well and offer congratulations.
Much of the livestream is low-key, as Fandy lays on her side waiting for nature to take its course. She appears to be in pain, and her support network can be seen holding her hands or rubbing her back. A birthing specialist emphasized that the birth could move to a hospital if needed. Things start picking up around five and a half hours in, at which point the pain seems unbearable for Fandy. She screams, moans, and cries. About six hours in, Fandy goes into the pool and things start to go into overdrive. “Just push into that sensation,” a midwife tells Fandy, who responds with an excruciating “oh god.”
While this transpires, the chat becomes a sea of emotes referencing everything from 4chan memes to The Legend of Zelda’s Tingle. Chat displayed a particular predilection for typing “PUSH” in all caps as Fandy tries her best to hold it together. “It’s gonna be crazy intense, and on the other side of that is bliss” a midwife tells Fandy amid contractions. It takes just under eight hours for the baby’s head to become visible, but once it starts crowning, everything else happens quickly. The baby comes out and begins crying almost immediately. It’s a girl. The chat erupts into endless purple hearts, which is a shorthand for Twitch itself. Rather than passing out cigars, Twitch chat opts to gift each other subscriptions to Fandy’s stream. The livestream doesn’t end after the baby arrives. Instead, the crew rearranges the camera into a new location, where Fandy lays down with her baby as the birthing specialists help her deliver the placenta.
Honestly, the whole thing is an incredible yet surreal spectacle that’s worth scrolling through. Beyond the whole miracle of life thing, it’s wild to watch an army of humans reacting in real time. While many of them say inane things like “I WAS HERE,” there’s no shortage of ridiculous responses to Fandy’s boundary-breaking stream. Some of my favorite highlights:
- time to backseat a birth as i am an expert as a twitch chatter
- Character creation in real time
- Shouldn’t this be a hot tub stream?
- has chat voted on a name yet?
- IF YOURE SELLING MILK IM BUYING
- BABY IF YOU CAN HEAR THIS I WANT YOU TO SUBCONSUOUSLY REMEMBER THIS WORD ” POGGERS ”
- this baby does not understand content scheduling at all
- Little dude is gonna watch their own birthing VOD back in 15 years
- Fandy can you pause i gotta poop
- Soooo no World of warcraft then???????
- FINAL STAND!!!! POP ULTS AND PUSH!!!!!
- ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ Fandy take our energy
- I never thought I would be watching a child birth at 3am on the internet. But here we are.
For her troubles, Fandy gained 5,000 new followers on Twitch and millions of impressions on social media sites like X. Is this whole thing dystopian? Maybe. But then again, everyone around Fandy met the moment behind a phone camera as well. When Twitch streamers do everything from eat and sleep in front of eager eyeballs, it’s shocking that it took this long for a birth to happen on Twitch.
