BEIJING: A Chinese influencer with more than 12 million followers has sparked controversy after filming his wife’s 23-hour childbirth and posting the video online.
The footage included her suffering severe post-partum bleeding and images of her exposed body.
The influencer known as “Paul in USA”, who was born in 1990, graduated from Columbia University in the United States and is based in Seattle. He previously worked as a product manager at Microsoft.
In February 2019, he began posting videos online documenting his daily life in Seattle. He quickly went viral for his unique persona as a “Microsoft product manager who speaks in a Northeastern Chinese dialect”.
As of February 2026, he has amassed over 12.2 million followers on the platform.
Recently, he faced a backlash after sharing a video documenting his wife’s entire childbirth process, stating that the labour lasted 23 hours.
During the delivery, his wife, whose name has not been disclosed, suffered a third-degree perineal tear, one of the most severe types, which can potentially lead to faecal incontinence.
She also experienced post-partum haemorrhaging and lost 3,344 millilitres of blood.
Following an emergency operation and blood transfusion, both the mother and their newborn daughter were declared safe.
However, Paul was widely criticised for his actions.
The video also included footage showing his wife’s exposed body and Paul even continued recording during the medical emergency.
Adding fuel to the public outrage, he even inserted a nappy endorsement into the video, reading out the advertisement script himself.
According to data from the Xingtu platform, Paul charges 250,000 yuan (US$36,000) for videos lasting between one and 20 seconds, 278,000 yuan for 21 to 60 seconds and 298,000 yuan for videos over 60 seconds.
It is unclear how much he earned from the nappy advertisement.
The controversial video has since been deleted.
On Feb 10, his wife responded on social media: “Our intention was to authentically document the childbirth process. We did not anticipate complications during filming, but still felt it was important to share the footage.
“Some people told us it helped them better understand the risks and unpredictability of childbirth: not every delivery is smooth; some are extremely dangerous,” she said.
On Feb 11, the account “Paul in USA” was banned by the platform for “violating relevant laws, regulations and platform policies”.
Netizens on mainland social media have accused him of exploiting his partner’s suffering for online traffic, showing a blatant disregard for her pain and privacy.
One person said: “For the sake of traffic, he completely lost his bottom line. Absolutely shameless.”
Another added: “His wife was suffering from a severe perineal tear and massive bleeding and her life was at risk, but he was still filming, even inserting ads. Banning him feels too lenient.”
A third person agreed: “If it were a genuine documentary or educational piece, that would be one thing. But while his wife was being rescued, he was busy reading an ad script on camera. That is not making content, it is shameless marketing.”
A fourth person said: “True respect is not about exposing the most vulnerable, painful and dangerous moments to the entire internet. Someone who truly loves their partner would be panicking, not filming for views.” - South China Morning Post
