Giving birth is a very intimate and vulnerable moment in a woman’s life. While some mothers-to-be want to record the moment to remember forever, some women are okay with just getting it over with and forgetting the very painful experience.
So, imagine one woman’s surprise when she learned her mother-in-law filmed her delivery without her permission. Needless to say, she wasn’t impressed. The frustrated mother turned to Reddit to share her awkward experience and ask whether she’s in the right or not. The anonymous woman explained the incident happened almost a year ago on Halloween. However, the labor lasted so long the mom didn’t give birth until November 4th.
She explained that everything was going well until her MIL came by. Evidently, the grandmother-to-be really wanted to get the show on the road. "Everything seemed fine and calm until MIL wanted a cigarette and started to demand I start to push, then she tried to threaten that if I didn't start pushing, she will have to push down on my stomach to force my daughter out," the mom wrote. "Nurses heard this and made her take a walk and she left for a good 40 minutes."
The laboring mother was understandably exhausted and distracted during the process, so she didn’t immediately noticed when her MIL pulled out her cellphone and began recording. It wasn’t until the baby was almost out that the mom saw what was going on.
"The moment my daughter was born was the moment I noticed that the entire labor MIL had her cell phone out and was recording my ENTIRE birth!" she explained. "From my pushing [to] the stitching process (I tore 100 percent)."
The new mother clearly wasn’t pleased and asked her MIL to delete the graphic video, which she agreed to. However, the MIL didn’t hold up her end of the bargain. Shortly after the baby’s birth, the mom learned the video hadn’t been deleted and was instead being showed to anyone and everyone. "It wasn't until a week later when we went to visit her (she had an 'emergency') that I found she was showing random strangers this video and many of these strangers were men that she barely knew," the mom wrote.
Things got even worse when the MIL refused to delete the footage. The new mother and her partner ended up taking the mother-in-law to court to get the video deleted. "And after that, she wasn't allowed near me nor my daughter," she explained. She also added that they’ve since cut off contact completely with the overbearing MIL. "We cut her out almost two years ago now, after my son was born," she wrote.
Many people took the mother’s side in the comments and expressed shock over the MIL’s actions. "OMG!!!!" one person wrote. "Is she just that clueless??? I am so glad you are keeping her away from you and the kids. ... I would be livid especially when I found out she was showing that to strangers. Another said, I'm a nurse so not much shocks me, but I read the second half of your post with my mouth agape in horror. I am so incredibly sorry. I cannot believe none of the RNs noticed!!! I'm so upset for you."
Do you think this mother did the right thing by cutting off contact with her MIL, BabyGaga readers? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!