Dani Austin’s three-part series about her unmedicated birth experience has more than 89 million views collectively

NEED TO KNOW

• Dani Austin’s unmedicated birth story has gone viral, with nearly 89 million views on TikTok
• She shares her postpartum journey, describing it as humbling and filled with emotional highs and lows
• Austin reflects on motherhood, emphasizing grace and learning through the challenges of raising four young children

It’s been almost three months since Dani Austin welcomed her fourth (and likely final) baby, Smith Austin Ramirez, and the longtime influencer’s vulnerable birth story has since attracted millions of views.

Combined, the three-part series, which shows Austin’s real reactions as she goes through delivering her son unmedicated, brought in almost 89 million views on TikTok alone.

“I was shocked to see how many people had such strong feelings towards my birth!” Austin tells PEOPLE about the videos’ virality. “That’s really not something I expected. When filming content, I’m not thinking about the ‘shock’ factor or anything like that, I’m just capturing genuine moments. I guess, more than anything, I learned that I express my pain more outwardly than others!”

In the captions of the posts, Austin revealed that she had a precipitous birth, which was a large reason she welcomed Smith without medication.

“By the time I got to the hospital, I knew baby was about to arrive in the next 20 to 30 minutes… I knew I should be admitted to a labor and delivery room but some of the nurses stopped me on the way in and told me to go to triage (the labor waiting room) to be ‘checked,’ ” she recounted in the caption. “I was screaming at them telling them, ‘no’ I need to go into a labor room and start pushing but they wouldn’t admit me. I started crying begging them because of my pain. My contractions were so intense.”

She was briefly separated from her husband, Jordan Ramirez, while she was temporarily wheeled to triage.

“I got to triage alone and had to go through maybe 10-15 min alone screaming in a room full of strangers,” she continued. “I understand it was ‘protocol’ but I just started crying because I felt so alone and wanted Jordan. He finally found us and once they ‘checked’ me they agreed I was about to have the baby any second and needed a labor room. 🫠.”

Part two of the series shared more intimate clips of the labor, where she admitted to struggling to find a comfortable position to push from. Despite the chaotic beginning to her hospital visit, she praised her doctor and doula for their support while she welcomed Smith.

“I edited out a lot of the more graphic + cuss words + screaming but the one thing I will say is, my doctor and doula were amazing at calming me down. I COULD NOT have done this without them,” she wrote in the second video’s caption. “You may not see the full on panic attack I had but I went a little crazy literally begging for the epidural at the end, of course it was too late!”

Women in the comments on her videos echoed her feelings with their own birth stories — and Austin admits to PEOPLE she felt “surprised” at how many women messaged her saying they “felt encouraged or seen after hearing my experience.”

“That ultimately goes back to why I started on the internet in the first place, to share as many of my raw moments as possible in hopes of even just helping one person,” she says. “I never want anyone to feel pressure from someone else’s birth experience because every mom and every delivery is so different, but I do love it when women can encourage each other instead of comparing. That part of the response was really sweet to see.”

@thedaniaustin

Here’s the backstory to why I was crying… I’ve delivered all four of my babies at this hospital, including my last unmedicated birth. By the time I got to the hospital, I knew baby was about to arrive in the next 20 to 30 minutes… I knew I should be admitted to a labor and delivery room but some of the nurses stopped me on the way in and told me to go to triage (the labor waiting room) to be “checked.” I was screaming at them telling them, “no” I need to go into a labor room and start pushing but they wouldn’t admit me. I started crying begging them because of my pain. My contractions were so intense. They rolled me into triage and because it was on the other side of the hall, Jordan lost us while filling out a form and didn’t know where I went. He assumed I’d be immediately in labor and delivery. So i got to triage alone and had to go through maybe 10-15 min alone screaming in a room full of strangers. I understand it was “protocol” but i just started crying because I felt so alone and wanted Jordan. He finally found us and once they “checked” me they agreed I was about to have the baby any second and needed a labor room. 🫠

♬ original sound – Dani Austin

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“I got to triage alone and had to go through maybe 10-15 min alone screaming in a room full of strangers,” she continued. “I understand it was ‘protocol’ but I just started crying because I felt so alone and wanted Jordan. He finally found us and once they ‘checked’ me they agreed I was about to have the baby any second and needed a labor room. 🫠.”

Part two of the series shared more intimate clips of the labor, where she admitted to struggling to find a comfortable position to push from. Despite the chaotic beginning to her hospital visit, she praised her doctor and doula for their support while she welcomed Smith.

“I edited out a lot of the more graphic + cuss words + screaming but the one thing I will say is, my doctor and doula were amazing at calming me down. I COULD NOT have done this without them,” she wrote in the second video’s caption. “You may not see the full on panic attack I had but I went a little crazy literally begging for the epidural at the end, of course it was too late!”

@thedaniaustin

Baby boy is here!!!! Backstory…. When the doctor arrived I really struggled to find a position that felt comfortable to push in. I always thought I would want to push standing up but this time around I felt like I was going to pass out multiple times and was scared to stand! So I tried all 4’s and at one point just collapsed and could not hold myself up with my arms any more. I edited out a lot of the more graphic + cuss words + screaming but the one thing I will say is, my doctor and doula were amazing at calming me down. I COULD NOT have done this without them. You may not see the full on panic attack I had but I went a little crazy literally begging for the epidural at the end, of course it was too late! Haha. They really had to keep me focused. In a moment like this sometimes you need a stern talking to, to push through. 😂 *no pun intended

♬ original sound – Dani Austin