Pregnant Mom Defends Search for Baby’s Name in Cemetery After Video Goes Viral: Not a ‘Place of Evil’

Thanks to Haley Hodge

Good things are frequently discovered where you least expect them to be.

Haley Hodge has gone beyond books and online in her quest for baby names as her due date approaches. This mother of three, who will soon become a mother of four, made the decision to search local cemeteries for names from earlier generations and former lives in order to find inspiration.

Hodge documented this extraordinary journey in a now-viral TikTok video that has elicited conflicting responses from its 2.5 million viewers. In the video, Hodge can be seen talking about names with her husband Rivers and their kids while touring the Old Smithville Burying Ground in Southport, North Carolina.

Thanks to Haley Hodge

Many viewers were moved by Hodge’s inventiveness and appreciated how she honored the memory of the deceased with her choice of names.

One individual remarked, “This is the first video I’ve ever seen like this; never would have thought about it.” But I adore this concept so much! particularly if you investigate the individual.

“This really is stunning. Another TikTok user said, “What a way to honor those that have passed away.”

Not everyone, though, had the same sentiments. The concept unnerved other viewers, who brought up beliefs about pregnant women not being allowed in cemeteries. Hodge tells PEOPLE that although she had always felt at ease in cemeteries, she had expected some criticism because of different cultural perspectives on death.

Thanks to Haley Hodge

“It seems to me like going to a site where people’s greatest friends, grandparents, and other loved ones are buried. It’s not an evil place, according to Hodge. “These are people who were good people who lived lives, hopefully good lives.”

Furthermore, Hodge finds it inconvenient to be close to the deceased.

She continues, “I don’t think spirits are restricted to cemeteries if they exist.” “We’re already surrounded by it; hospitals have morgues, and we have babies born above morgues.”

Hodge also remembers her own early years, when her mother would take the family on trips and visit graves to teach them about the local history.

Thanks to Haley Hodge

According to Hodge, “she realized we’d be more interested if it was a spooky story rather than just history.” “It just grabs your attention more, kind of like kids telling scary stories at a bonfire.”

Hodge had used more traditional means to find names for her first three children, Finley, 10, Banks, 1, and Crew, 3, frequently making notes of names she heard on television. When asked where her name came from, she wanted this fourth kid to be able to tell an intriguing backstory.

Thanks to Haley Hodge

In addition, Hodge made the decision to film their trip to the grave, hoping to show it to her daughter in the future. She had originally intended to keep the videos to herself, but she ultimately decided to share the naming process with everyone.

“At first, I wasn’t going to post them,” she acknowledges. However, I later decided that sharing this was sort of cool. I anticipated that because it was unique, it would draw attention.

Why Were Olympic Athletes & Other Celebs Spotted with Dark Red Circles on Their Bodies?

This year’s Olympics are now in full swing and it’s all eyes on the athletes.

From archery and shooting to athletics and gymnastics, there’s all kind of sports taking place across Paris, France, at the moment.

One fan-favorite sport to watch is the swimming, and this year there’s a whopping 854 athletes from 187 different countries comPeting.

But there’s a common theme you might have spotted with some of the swimmers and that’s the unusual dark red circles they have on their backs.

While it might look like they’ve had a fight with an octopus and lost, there’s a very different reason for the odd markings.

It turns out that the large spots are from cupping therapy – an ancient healing technique that involves placing cups on the skin to create suction and increase blood flow to the area.

The unconventional method is supposed to help with muscle recovery and is used as a type of deep tissue massage.

Some athletes were spotted with cupping therapy bruises back at the Rio Olympics in 2016, and it’s still seemingly popular now.

Gymnast Alexander Naddour told USA Today back in 2016 that cupping was supposedly the ‘secret’ to his Health.

He added: “It’s been better than any money I’ve spent on anything else.”

Away from the Games, basketball player Kyle Singler has also praised cupping therapy.

“The bruises do look more intense than what they actually feel like, but the benefit from it is really great,” he previously insisted.

Singler continued to tell Sports Illustrated: “You’re not necessarily getting the immediate response that you might want but over time it does help with recovery and loosening tissue and stuff like that.”

But does cupping therapy actually work according to experts? It’s seems as if the jury’s still out.

According to Harvard Health, some studies have found that cupping might provide some relief for a number of musculoskeletal and Sports-related conditions. The quality of this evidence was ‘limited’, however.

Elsewhere a 2022 review found that wet (as opposed to dry cupping) was effective for lower back pain.

While the bruises people get from cupping are pretty gnarly, the therapy is generally seen as safe to practice – even if people aren’t 100 percent on how affective it is.

“Most experts agree that cupping is safe. As long as those treated don’t mind the circular discolorations (which fade over a number of days or weeks), side effects tend to be limited to the pinch experienced during skin suction,” Harvard Health explains.

“It’s quite unusual that cupping causes any serious problems (though, rarely, skin infections have been reported).”

There you have it, folks.