Specialist Brock Howland wasn't able to attend his son's birth, but he did the next best thing: Howland Skyped with his wife, Mary, throughout the delivery.
Howland, who is stationed in Afghanistan, communicated with his wife at a Michigan birthing center via a laptop positioned next to her bed, WWMT News reports. The soldier was able to see her face at every moment, and was thrilled by the experience.
"It chokes me up. It really did. Especially when he first came out and I saw him on Mary's stomach, I lost it. I absolutely was in tears," Howland told the station.
Thanks to technology, other soldiers stationed abroad have been able to witness their children being born the way Howland did.
In 2010, Angela Campbell asked her hospital if they'd be willing to set up equipment to have her husband Skype into the birth, the Statesville Record & Landmark reports. Sgt. 1st Class George Campbell was already in Iraq when they learned she was pregnant. The hospital allowed Angela to bring the camera to the operating room, as well as the intensive care nursery, to allow dad to share in the experience.
Similarly, a hospital in Kentucky worked with new mom Brittany Bradley to ensure her fiance Dustin Farmer, a National Guard member serving in Iraq, could witness the birth of their daughter, WKYT reports.
After experiencing connection difficulties with her own laptop, the hospital's information and technology team came to the rescue and ushered in their own equipment so Farmer would not miss any part of the special moment.
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