‘A beautiful full circle moment’: New mother shares poignant video of her father in the delivery room

‘He’s not a man of many words — he doesn’t really say, ‘I love you,’ but he’ll ask, ‘Have you eaten today?’ ‘Do you need anything?’ Gilbert says of her father

A poignant moment between a father and his grown-up daughter after she’d given birth went viral on TikTok, prompting praise from millions of viewers.

Deborah Gilbert posted the adoring footage from her delivery room after giving birth to her daughter Maeve on 30 August in Singapore. While her sleeping newborn was seen in her partner’s arms, the focus of the video was on her dad’s actions.

“When everyone is here to meet your baby girl, but your dad is here to see his,” Gilbert’s caption read.

The camera panned the room, picking up all the visitors before landing on her proud father, Kwek Peng Chey, sitting by her bedside. He appeared wide-eyed, smiling under his mask as he rubbed Deborah’s hand. Before directing his attention back to his new granddaughter, he gave his “baby girl” a loving look.

Speaking to Today, Gilbert reflected on the interaction with her father after giving birth. “My husband was holding his daughter, and my dad was holding my hand, and I thought: ‘Oh my goodness, what a beautiful full circle moment,’” she proclaimed.

Gilbert explained how her father was typically a “shy person”.

“He’s not a man of many words — he doesn’t really say: ‘I love you,’ but he’ll ask: ‘Have you eaten today?’ ‘Do you need anything?’ He’s always looking after me and making sure I’m okay,” she said. “On family walks, he’ll take my hand, and my mom is like: ‘I’m your wife! Why are you not holding my hand!?’”

Fans gushed over the sweet video, which attracted more than 37 million views on Instagram and TikTok together. Touched users admitted how emotional they got watching the footage of the father-daughter moment.

“Okay... but why did this make me SOB?” one person said.

“I’m not crying there’s just something in my eye,” someone else added.

Another TikToker commented: “I’m actually tearing up this is so sweet may Allah fill your life with blessings.”

“I’m literally crying so hard rn,” one Instagram user noted.

The Independent has contacted Gilbert for a comment.