A MOTHER-OF-FOUR who shared a video of herself giving birth in a stream and completely unaided has insisted she isn't a “hippy drippy mum”, but wanted to show others how magical the experience is.
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Simone Thurber, 43, posted the footage of her youngest daughter Perouze, now four, being born on YouTube, where it's been viewed a whopping 52 million times.
Simone didn't have any pain relief or a midwife or doctor with her.
"I didn't put the video online to make a statement. I simply thought a few people would be interested in what it would be like to give birth in nature and to inspire women that if they wanted to they could have a child outside a hospital. ,” she explained.
“My first three girls were home births but I have always wanted to have a baby in nature.
“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 of a modern women squatting in a creek and giving birth horrified many people even before I gave birth and shared the video."
Simone is a trained doula — a person who supports women during labor.
She lives in Park City, Utah, and it was her upbringing which made her want to experience birth outdoors. My parents had been missionaries in Papua New Guinea,” she said.
"I remember mum often telling us when a local lady had her baby and how at the time when she was due to give birth she simply found a nice spot pushed out the baby breastfed it and wrapped it in a carrier cloth, tied the child to her back and went about her business.
"That stuck with me and is one of the reasons I wanted to give birth to Perouze in the wild."
When she realized she was pregnant with her fourth baby, Simone told her then partner Nick of her dream. He was supportive so she started researching where she could give birth.
Initially she hoped to find a spot near a rock pool and the sea to welcome her baby, but she was living in Melbourne at the time and the weather was too unpredictable. She was also worried the beach would be too public.
"A call out to friends saw a pal in the Daintree Forest in Queensland offering his house which was 56 minutes from the natural forest," she recalled.