An influencer has come under fire for giving birth at home in front of her seven other children.
Popular Spanish influencer ‘Verdeliss’, 36, boasts over 1.4 million followers on Instagram, and she shared images showing her huge baby bump shortly before she gave birth at 6.47pm on Tuesday, 8th February, to her eighth child, whom she named Deva.
A couple of days after welcoming Deva into the world, she then shared images of the birth on social media, including one image of her cradling her newborn baby while her husband can be seen smiling as he holds her shoulders.
Sharing the images online, she said: “The sun went down and she appeared. My Deva, my moon. Nine months ago I asked the moon for your name and she brought you.”
Verdeliss, whose real name is Estefania Unzu and who comes from the city of Pamplona, said her baby had been born “with a blanket, dancing in her amniotic fluid, she never broke the bag. Such a phenomenon happens in one birth out of every 80,000”.
The birth reportedly took place in the couple’s home while they were surrounded by their seven children, along with two midwives.
But her decision to give birth at home in front of her seven young children outraged many of her followers. Many reportedly stated that home births were not safe.
Verdeliss responded to the criticism by saying: “I thought a lot about how to announce Deva’s birth…and I chose to go with the flow. I didn’t decide anything until I had her in my arms.
“There was the possibility of protecting myself with the typical Instagrammable picture plus the photo caption with the date/weight…or being true to myself and sharing the reality of our birth, stripping myself of fears.”
Verdeliss said she and her husband had decided on a home birth to protect their privacy, adding that they they took the decision despite such births being stigmatised in Spain.
She added: “Don’t misunderstand me. It’s not about opening a debate between home birth and hospital birth, I do not want to convince anyone, both options are lawful, wonderful and valid.”
She also said: “It is about demystifying it, it is about whatever our option is, we can find the respect we deserve. It’s about being informed, that’s the only way to make free decisions.”
