Mom in Labor Dances Between Contractions

Pain is for the weak. Just dance.

ByABC News
October 6, 2015, 6:34 PM

— -- You might picture a woman in labor writhing in pain and screaming for ice chips.

That woman is not Akilah Wooten.

While in labor at the Atlanta Medical Center, Wooten decided she would not settle for the squats recommended to move the baby down. She decided she would Whip Nae Nae -- the popular dance that goes with Silento's hit “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)."

"She came in labor but the baby was sitting high in her pelvis," said Angelina Ruffin, the certified nurse midwife who filmed the hallway dance that's gotten almost 1 million views on YouTube since it was posted on Oct 1. "I told her to get moving and walk or do squats, but then I didn't see her for awhile."

"I rounded the corner and there she was with her sister and cousin dancing. I had to film it," Ruffin added.

Ruffin said she thinks the dancing "definitely helped" speed up Wooten's labor. "Every time I checked her the baby had moved down," noted Ruffin.

Wooten gave birth to a 9 lb, 6.5 ounce baby girl just a few hours later.