Universal Pictures/Max PixelListen up folks, it’s time for me to impart some knowledge to you which I feel you should already know, but perhaps don’t. And hey, who am I to judge?
Here it is: if your wife/partner/girlfriend is in the middle of giving birth to an actual living baby, please – whatever you do – don’t try to out-do her in the pain stakes. Please.
No one’s saying you can’t be in pain, but just maybe don’t spend hours complaining about it as one man did while his other half was literally pushing a human out of her.
PexelsThe unknown man was suffering from toothache when his wife unexpectedly went into labour with their first child around two years ago. Writing about the incident on Reddit, the couple gave both sides of the story before asking if the husband was, in fact, an asshole.
Prior to her going into labour three weeks early, the wife explained how her other half ‘had been complaining about a toothache for months and months’ throughout her pregnancy, but refused to go to the dentist.
Hence why, when he started complaining about his toothache as she began having contractions, she was less than impressed – so much so, that the couple have been debating the issue for almost two years now.
From her own perspective, the wife wrote:
For a few hours while I was in the hospital getting ready to push a child out of my body he continued to complain frequently about his toothache.
I had asked him multiple times to get it checked out, and there were other things at the moment I felt I should be focusing on.
PixabayWhich, fair. From the guy’s perspective, he said his tooth began hurting a couple of hours into the 19 hour labour ‘in an ungodly way’. He added: ‘I’m talking sharp, eye-watering pain.’
As the husband mentioned, at this point, his wife’s contractions were ‘very far apart’ and so she was in ‘very little discomfort’ – hence why over the next couple of hours ‘the toothache became a competing topic of conversation with the imminent birth of’ their first child’.
The man soldiered on through his discomfort as his wife faced one of the most excruciating 19 hours of her life, and said he didn’t want to leave her side to look for medicine until her parents arrived.
Luckily, once they did arrive, he managed to find an oral numbing medication at the hospital shop and he was able to ‘alleviate the pain’ just as his wife’s contractions started to pick up. If only she’d have been able to take the pain away with some numbing meds, hey?
PixabayAfter asking the wise people of Reddit their thoughts on whether the hubby was an asshole or not, there was one overwhelming response: yes. Or in Reddit-speak: YTA.
Several women took the opportunity on the thread to slate their husbands who had also complained during the birth of their children – namely for being hungry, tired, and having stomach ache (yes, really).
Come on guys, I know you can do better.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).