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He clearly doesn't believe in the miracle of birth.
By Alexandra Blogier — Written on Jan 10, 2023
A father-to-be took to Reddit in a now-deleted post to ask if he was wrong for telling his pregnant fiancé that he won’t watch her give birth because “childbirth is nasty.”
Posting on the subreddit r/AmITheA–hole, user ClinkClackMack asked if he was the a–hole after a discussion with his pregnant fiancé about what the experience in the delivery room would be like.
When his fiance asked if he planned on “taking a look down there” while she gives birth, the man replied, “no, that’s nasty.”
He went on to say that he’s seen videos of childbirth before and that the process “does look pretty gross.”
"It’s bloody, slimy, gooey, stretchy, etc,” the man posted.
He attempted to justify his opinion by stating “that doesn’t mean I don’t respect what women go through to carry and bring forth life,” yet his word choice to describe birth seems to prove that he doesn’t actually respect the birthing process.
He claimed that his fiance is 'incredibly mad' at him for saying that birth is gooey and gross.
His fiancé told him that calling childbirth gooey was “insensitive and an insult to the whole process of her bringing [their] child into the world.”
Many commenters on Reddit agreed that childbirth isn’t for the faint of heart, yet most people also agreed that he shouldn’t have said so to his pregnant fiance.
“Yeah it is a mess, but maybe in that moment try to say something supportive,” noted one commenter.
Another user commented that “there are so many different ways he could have said ‘no thank you’ without being juvenile about it.”
According to that same user, the man could have said something along the lines of, “‘I’m not sure what I'll be comfortable with when the time comes,’” to explain his position on the matter, as opposed to insulting the woman who’s carrying his child.
One commenter agreed that “pregnancy and childbirth can be gross,” but went on to say “Do you lie to your concerned, pregnant partner about finding it gross? YES.”
“It just isn’t that hard to be decent and reassure your PARTNER,” said the same user.
Childbirth is an intimate act, and those giving birth have to be able to trust their partners to support them during such a vulnerable time.
In addition, if this man thinks birth is so “gross and gooey,” he’s in for a rude awakening when his fiance asks him to help change diapers or clean up spit-up.
Babies and the people who birth them need care, love, and support, not name-calling and immature opinions, or anything else that makes them feel unsafe and unprotected.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers celebrity gossip, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.