Giving birth is arguably the most vulnerable, messy, and physically exhausting experience a human being can go through. It is a major medical event that usually involves a lot of sweat, tears, and zero pants. Most normal people understand that the delivery room is a highly private space reserved exclusively for the parents and medical professionals. But one pregnant woman on Reddit recently found out that her father’s girlfriend views childbirth as the ultimate content creation opportunity, and the entire situation is completely unhinged.
The Original Poster is currently expecting her very first child. Because this baby will be the first grandchild on both sides of the family, everyone is understandably thrilled. The pregnant mom notes that she has a perfectly okay relationship with her father’s girlfriend, who we will call Lena. They are simply very different people with completely opposite tastes. Lena can be a little pushy, so they keep things polite but distant.
One of the most glaring differences between the two women is their stance on modern social media. Lena is absolutely obsessed with influencer culture, while the expecting mom could not care less about it. Ever since the pregnancy was announced, Lena has been bombarding the mom to be with Instagram reels of random lifestyle influencers talking about their highly curated experiences with motherhood and childbirth.
A few months ago, Lena sent over a video from one of her favorite influencers who had just given birth. The influencer actually filmed the entire delivery process and posted a poorly edited, cutesy video of her family watching the birth from outside the room, complete with a cheesy country music soundtrack. The expecting mom watched the video and explicitly told Lena she would absolutely never do something like that. She made her boundaries incredibly clear.
Fast forward to the family Christmas celebration at a cousin’s house. It was time to exchange presents, and Lena handed the pregnant mom a simple envelope. When the mom opened it, she found a business card for a professional videographer. Lena proudly announced that she was personally hiring this random camera person to professionally film the birth of the baby.
Let us just pause and process that for a second. The expecting mom had already firmly stated she did not want anyone besides her husband at the hospital. She had literally just told Lena a few months prior that she found birth vlogs completely unappealing. Yet Lena still thought it was totally appropriate to hire a complete stranger to stand in a hospital room with a camera while her boyfriend’s daughter pushed a baby out of her body.
Not wanting to cause a massive scene and embarrass Lena in front of the entire extended family on Christmas, the mom took the high road. She politely thanked Lena for the envelope and tucked it away. The very next day, the expecting mom and her husband took Lena and her father out for lunch. She planned to handle the incredibly awkward gift rejection privately and maturely.
During lunch, the mom gently explained that while she appreciated the generous gesture, she simply was not comfortable having a videographer in the delivery room. She politely told Lena she did not need to buy a replacement gift, but asked her to please cancel the booking. Instead of apologizing for overstepping, Lena and the father got immediately offended.
The lunch quickly devolved into a full blown argument. Lena actually started crying right there at the table. She sobbed about how she could not possibly understand why the mom would pass up the opportunity to create such a beautiful memento of her child’s birth. The mom held her ground and bluntly replied that having a stranger film her during a vulnerable medical procedure is creepy and invasive. She also reminded Lena that she had already expressed her discomfort with this exact concept before the gift was ever purchased.
Instead of supporting his own pregnant daughter, the father completely sided with his crying girlfriend. He scolded his daughter, calling her rude for refusing the gift, and told her he was very disappointed in her behavior. Thankfully, the mom’s husband and the rest of her sane family members completely agree with her stance, but her father’s harsh reaction really messed with her head.
The internet comment section immediately rallied behind the expecting mom and crowned her completely not the a**hole. You cannot force a pregnant woman to star in a real life documentary just because you spend too much time watching influencers on Instagram. A gift that requires someone to surrender their medical privacy is not a gift at all, it is a massive boundary violation. Lena needs to log off the internet and realize that real life is not a content farm, and the dad owes his daughter a massive apology.