A woman who is expecting her first baby this May says she's now feeling even more anxious about giving birth after learning her husband wasn't planning on coming into the delivery room with her. The mum-to-be recently opened up to her other half about feeling 'a lot more anxious and nervous' as the due date draws near, remarking that she feels 'much better' knowing he would be there with her during labour.
At this, he shot her a surprised look, asking whether she wanted him there with her. She replied that 'of course' she did, having assumed they were both on the same wavelength about what would happen when the big day came.
After a moment's hesitation, her husband revealed that he actually didn't want to be in the delivery room at the time of the birth, much to her dismay.
Although they'd never discussed it before, the 27-year-old had always pictured her husband by her side while welcoming their baby into the world, and now wonders whether she was wrong to assume.
Taking to Reddit, where she goes by the username u/progressiveHawk876, the expectant mother wrote: "He said he thinks he won’t be of any use because he’ll be freaking out with all the screaming and blood and intensity and he would end up being a disadvantage.
"He suggested that instead of him I take my mother or a friend but I told him that I didn’t make this baby with my mother or my friend and I don’t want them I want him. He said 'not everybody can stomach childbirth' and that 'Seeing you in so much pain and agony would just break me'."
She continued: "Now I obviously don’t want to force him to be there but I also don’t think I can move past this. It’s made me feel even more anxious and nervous. I got very upset and told him I can’t believe he would refuse. We haven’t really spoken much since."
Although she's been hurt by her husband's unexpected response, she does now wonder whether she might have overreacted and has reached out to fellow Reddit users for advice.
One person sympathised: "Does he live in the 1950s? Did he just imagine he’d be at home handing out cigars to his friends and sipping whisky?
"I can’t imagine being so selfish that I’d leave my wife to have OUR child alone. Childbirth can be incredibly traumatic for the woman and having the person she wants there can mitigate those fears."
Another commented: "My husband faints at the sight of blood. Guess what? He was there for our son’s birth. He focused on me and did not look down past my midsection.
"Tell your husband that this is one time in your life it is most definitely all about you and your comfort. He is being incredibly selfish."
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