A new mother claims she was forced to kick her husband out of the delivery room during the birth of their child, at which point he left her alone with their newborn daughter at the hospital.
The 27-year-old mum took to Reddit's popular 'Am I the Asshole?' forum, to explain her 31-year-old husband Kevin has a history of reacting to stressful situations badly.
"We've had conversations about his ability to handle being in the delivery room. I said if he couldn't be there it was fine, seeing how he reacts under pressure and I could have [my mother] there instead," she wrote.
"He said he could 100 percent handle anything and promised to be supportive and positive.'
But even in the early stages of labour, the new mum could tell her husband was already "stressed out and overwhelmed".
In fact, in what can only be described as a real turn for the books, her husband clutched her hand so painfully during her contractions, the labouring woman's hand went numb.
"It was not helpful at all, in fact, it was frustrating and affected my emotions negatively," she explained. "Then suddenly he started crying, like literally sobbing really loud."
"This sent me into full panic mode. I found myself screaming telling him to stop several times and as a result, he literally yelled back in my ear.
"The nurse got involved [and] I told her to get him out of there. He tried to argue with me but wasn't given a chance and was pressured to leave the room."
Her husband was allegedly so upset, he refused to visit his wife in hospital again and did not see her, or meet his new daughter until they were discharged.
At home, the pair had "a huge fight".
"He said I shouldn't expect him to stick around after cruelly and selfishly [kicking] him out the room and [robbing] him of the opportunity to see our daughter's first breathes [sic].
"I explained he was causing me to panic… but he accused me of making up excuses and I was purely at fault for kicking him out."
"He said as a dad he should have the liberty to be in the room no matter how he behaves and whether I like it or not."
But the woman said she then felt guilty upon discovering a necklace with their new daughter's name in a hospital bag after the argument.
"I felt awful knowing Kevin left it for me to wear at the hospital but the argument happened and he spent the entire time in the car in the hospital's parking lot."
Other Reddit users were quick to leap to the woman's defence, assuring her she was "not the asshole" in the situation.
"Not only did you not need him, but he was also upsetting you. That is the opposite of fulfilling your needs," one person pointed out. "In the end, who is in the delivery room is up to you, based on who you think will be most helpful and/or supportive. He was neither. Quite the opposite."
"He put his wife and daughter at risk with his bullshit - causing that much stress during a delivery is dangerous," agreed another.
"Delivery is a medical procedure. not a spectator sport," a third succinctly put it.
The woman has not posted an update on the situation at the time of publishing, but it's definitely not a good sign ahead of other stressful parenting moments in future.
