Oh, childbirth. Just the thought of it can make some people break into a cold sweat. Let’s face it, it’s one of the experiences that’s no walk in the park.
From morning sickness to crazy cravings, and then the ultimate battle of pushing a baby out, it’s no easy feat. And while some women are lucky enough to have a smooth and easy delivery, others have to endure hours of labour and excruciating pain.
But what about the dads? They may not be the ones pushing out a tiny human, but they still have a role to play. And let’s just say not all of them are cut out for it.
We’ve all seen those videos of men fainting in the delivery room. Yes, it’s happened, and there’s even a platform dedicated to sharing these hilarious moments. But sometimes, it’s not just about the dads fainting, it’s about the moms in that moment.
One Reddit user shared his experience of watching his wife give birth, and let’s just say, she’s a superhero. Despite crying and going through an immense amount of pain, she still managed to crack jokes and encourage her husband.
“She even said things like ‘you’re going to be such a good dad’ and ‘I hope she has your eyes’,” wrote the Reddit user.
Talk about strength and grace under pressure.
But what happens when a proud husband gushes about his wife’s labour experience in front of a friend who had a totally different experience?
The Reddit user shared his experience with his best friend and his wife, things got a little awkward. The best friend’s wife was not happy that he was gushing over his wife’s delivery experience.
Turns out that because she had a different delivery experience, she felt he was "shitting on" her own childbirth experience. The incident caused a fight between the couples. Writing about it he shared that he felt bad for not reading the room, but his wife told him not to worry about it.
Childbirth is different, and every woman (and man) handles it differently. But at the end of the day, the goal is the same - bringing a new life into the world.
The husband said: “I guess I should have known something wasn't right because I did notice my buddy start laughing and his wife was silent. When I finally caught on and had my ‘oh shit’ moment, I asked what was wrong and my buddy goes ‘she basically bit my head off.
“She was screaming at the doctors, told me I was a POS, said my son better not look like me after everything she's gone through’, etc., etc. I guess she just had a rough one, which is totally fine!”.
The Reddit users wasted little time in commenting.
One wrote: “NTA. They asked how the delivery went, and you told them. IMO gushing about your wife was the right response regardless lol. They need to lose the mindset of 'comparing' deliveries...
“Or anything else for that matter. You may want to be cognizant if they're going to start negatively comparing milestones down the road, unfortunately.”
Another wrote: “This. I cringed reading this. Like his wife could have died. She had to take on an additional mental load, making sure you were okay.
In the future, I would suggest having extra support there or taking a breather outside of the delivery room. Look, things happen. My husband passed out when I was having my epidural put in. He feels awful, but he got help quickly and turned his attention back to me as soon as he could.
And every delivery is different. Some are incredibly hard, and women can be impacted for months after the fact. However, it doesn't give the other wife to be upset.”