Dr. Anne Gonzalez, Dr. Sherri Levin and Dr. Amelie Chu aren't characters in the latest fictionalized reality television fad.
In an alternate universe where actors act and real people do real things, the trio of medical professionals at Women's Memorial Hermann Hospital at Memorial City are part of the first-ever surgical birth broadcast team via social media channels. The hospital pledged to provide an educational inside look of a Caesarian section with live video, extreme close-ups and text updates via the hashtag #MHbaby.
Beginning at 7 a.m. Tuesday, with the consent of the parents, whose identities remain confidential to protect their privacy, viewers who could stomach the wonders of the human body commenced this journey with a look at the operating room theater.
"He's all yours now — no returns."
After poring over past ultrasounds, the patient was wheeled in at 8:35 a.m. and given anesthesia through a spinal block. Procedural safety checks preceded the first cut at 9:12. a.m.
The GoPro camera attached to Dr. Chu's head captured all the action, including the physicians hands executing the uterine incision and the manual delivery of the placenta, which patients can opt to take home for religious reasons (lunch anyone?).
One forgets all the bloody guts and gory once the little guy is freed from the uterus, begins to cry and meets his mommy and daddy for the first time. The healthy baby boy is 6 pounds, 1 ounce, and measures 19 1/4 inches long. Welcome to Houston.
"He's all yours now — no returns," quips one of the medical professionals in a YouTube video.
While critics of exposing such a tender moment in the life of a family may feel such a public display unnecessary, the vast misunderstanding of medicine at the hands of websites, blogs and reality television needs a dose of factual intel. Bring it on.
Tell us in the comments: Are there any medical procedures you would love to see streamed live?
The baby is born!
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Photo by Leonid Furmansky