I'm sure no woman looks back on labour with fond memories, but one Australian woman has surely taken the cake with her horrific birthing tale which led to a family lawsuit.
Talking to Kidspot, the woman - named only as Beth - revealed she went into labour on Halloween four years ago, appropriate as it was something out of a nightmare.
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The new mum was in labour for four days, which she called "hell".
"I honestly didn't think it could get any worse,' she says. "I was wrong.
"When we got to the hospital I was already 8cm and was rushed in and rushed to get hooked to the medical devices, my mother-in-law (MIL) came in two hours later," she explained.
"Everything seemed fine and calm until [she] 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."
Beth writes that the nurses overheard the comment, and told her MIL to take a walk.
But things were no better when she returned.
"I was in the middle of pushing when she ran in, this being my first child and being in labour for so long with no pain meds or rest or food/water I was drained. Pushing was hard as hell and I just wanted to sleep!" she remembers.
But her MIL put a stop to any form of relaxation.
"Well the moment my daughter was born was the moment I noticed that the entire labour MIL had her phone out and was recording my ENTIRE birth! From my pushing to the stitching process (I tore 100 percent)," she said.
Beth says she asked her MIL to delete the video, and was promised that she did.
However a week later, the lie came to light.
"It wasn't until a week later when we went to visit her that I found she was showing random strangers this video and many of these strangers were men that she barely knew."
This time, the disagreement descended into a dirty legal battle.
"It took going to court to get the video deleted and after that, she wasn't allowed near me nor my daughter."
We have a feeling this Christmas hasn't been the same since.
It's not the first time a meddling MIL has hit headlines. Earlier this year, a bride's meddling MIL decided she hated the couple's custom wedding rings and bought her son a new one.
Newshub.
