And Now, Live From the Maternity Ward

By Mac McKean Tuesday, June 16, 1998
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Could "Truman" -- the story of a man whose life is televised from birth -- really happen? Only on the Internet. Starting at 6 a.m. EST this morning, a Florida baby's emergence from the birth canal was broadcast to the public on the Web by America's Health Network.

But art and life were separated somewhat at birth: While Jim Carrey's Truman was born right on cue, producers of the real-life baby Sean's birth battled a few glitches. They included one of the oddest pregnancy complications ever: server trouble. Access to the the AHN site was difficult if not impossible as would-be watchers clogged the lines. Some 300,000 people tried to log in to the site, which was set up to handle only about 10,000. Which is probably just as well: Doctors had to induce labor. Perhaps this baby was suffering from stage fright.