Dad Belatedly Realizes He's Live Streaming Son's Birth

Sarah Dome didn't know she was a Facebook star until afterward
By Luke Roney,  Newser Staff
Posted May 18, 2016 5:11 PM CDT
Updated May 22, 2016 7:03 AM CDT
Dad Belatedly Realizes He's Live Streaming Son's Birth
A screen grab from the video   (Facebook)

There is sharing, and then there is oversharing. A dad streaming the birth of his son on Facebook Live may be a case of the latter. To be fair, Kali Kanongata'a says he didn't realize the video he was shooting was viewable by the general public, at least at first. "I thought it was just going to my family and friends," he tells People. He intended to share the footage of his partner, Sarah Dome, giving birth on Monday in California with loved ones on the Polynesian island of Tonga. "I didn't notice it was on the public feed until someone said, 'Push, push' and it was my little cousin," Kanongata'a tells KCRA. Upon making the realization, Kanongata'a says he considered signing off but decided to keep rolling. "I figured, as long as I kept it PG, this is a birth. It's something to be happy about."

As for Dome: "I thought he was just filming regular," she tells KCRA, "and I didn't know until the end. So yeah, I was surprised." People notes that the 45-minute video, which had more than 222,000 views by Wednesday afternoon, has drawn some criticism. But mom and dad are letting it roll off their backs. "I know there's some people that say, 'Oh that's too much,' but I think it's not really that bad,” Dome tells KCRA. She sees it as "a blessing." Indeed, Buzzfeed adds Kanongata'a lost custody of the two kids he has with his ex-wife. "Having my son with [Dome] is refreshing right now in light of my battle to see my two children"; he says he last saw them three months ago. Kanongata'a notes streaming the birth was consistent with his Polynesian culture: "Years ago," he tells People, "we would have water births in public." (This dad's accidental selfie video didn't stay in Vegas.)

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