Babies aren't for everyone. They tend to poop, sleep, grizzle and struggle to communicate their feelings - which sounds like a lot of grown men, to be honest.
But disliking babies so much that you suffer symptoms of an allergic reaction after being in their presence? Or feel physically repulsed by their chubby cheeks and gurgling? That's slightly less common.
Taking to Reddit last week, a user who claims they'd previously suffered panic attacks when confronted by an infant sought advice from the strangers of the internet after becoming irritated by a friend's frequent updates on her newborn child.
Shared to the popular forum AmITheAsshole, the user - who goes by the alias u/TheMonsterKingTyphon - prefaced their predicament by admitting they often experienced panic attacks when around babies and toddlers, and would feel compelled to "wash off a few layers of skin" after being touched by said babies or toddlers.
"I am a happily child-free adult. Babies have always made me super uncomfortable. I don't like looking at them, being in their presence, or really hearing about them," the user began.
"I used to have panic attacks if I had to be near a baby or toddler, even for a minute or two. If a baby or toddler touched me, I'd freak out and have to go wash off a few layers of skin. I don't know what caused such an intense reaction, but it's always been like this.
"I've been working on at least being more cordial and tolerant with babies and toddlers to the point that I no longer have panic attacks. However, they still make me very uncomfortable and I don't want anything to do with them."
u/TheMonsterKingTyphon continued that a friend - who they called 'Sally' - had a baby a few months ago and is well aware of their aversion to infants, but continues to keep them updated on her child.
"Ever since, every so often, she'll randomly message me about her baby. She'll start with 'I know you don't like babies, but...' and then send pictures of her baby, tell me about toys or clothes she bought for her baby, etc. I usually reply in brief messages like 'Nice' or 'OK' and leave it at that.
"I don't want to be mean, so I just give the minimal response. I delete photos immediately (usually our conversations too) cause I'm not interested. Sally and I are not, nor have we ever been, close friends."
Recently, Sally took to a group chat to ask the wider circle of friends if they would want to receive a Christmas card from her and her newborn and if so, to send her their current addresses.
"I figured if I didn't [respond] that would be an easy, non-confrontational way to ensure I would not be receiving baby pictures in the mail. Unfortunately, Sally messaged me privately today asking for my address so she could send a Christmas card; so my silent opt out is no longer an option," they continued, before concluding: "Will I be the asshole if I tell her I don't want a Christmas card from her baby and to please stop sending me photos and updates about said baby?"
It was quickly determined by readers that yes, u/TheMonsterKingTyphon was indeed the asshole.
"You don't even need to open the card. Use tongs to take it out of the mailbox and drop it immediately in the garbage," one reader joked.
"Sally is being a little too obtuse about sharing her baby excitement, but this, literally and figuratively, is life. Sally could be lonely and struggling with the changes of having a baby. Everyone has issues.
"It won't harm you at all to be polite about mail. Next time Sally messages you something about the baby, ask how she's doing? (Sally, not the baby). She could just be looking for dialogue with an adult, and baby-on-the-brain has limited the topics she can think of. That could be a win-win for you both."
Others questioned why the original poster (OP) experienced such severe reactions to young children and wondered if they would benefit from therapy to address their issues.
"I'm wondering if OP has been to therapy to figure out where this issue comes from. It's pretty hard to avoid them entirely," one said, with a second agreeing: "Babies and toddlers are human beings, if you're having these sorts of reactions being around them you need some help. There's nothing wrong with not wanting kids of your own, but this feels extreme."
However, some sided with the OP and pointed out that if Sally is aware of their friend's disdain for infants, she should respect their boundaries.
"Why should the OP be polite to this boundary ignoring oaf?" a reader weighed in, with another adding: "If she and OP aren't close it's not really OP's job to go out of [their] way to ease her loneliness. Especially since she knows OP doesn't like babies."
"If she doesn't want to see or talk about her baby she doesn't have to," a third agreed.
"Well, um, I have some bad news for you that may not make you very happy: when you came into this world, you were also a baby. You need to get therapy. This is not a healthy way to live - suffering over the sight of babies is extreme. YTA [you're the asshole]," another pitched in.
But another countered: "The question isn't if OP is an AH for not liking babies. And even if it was, they are NTA [not the asshole] for it. People have irrational fears about shit - it doesn't mean they are AHs.
"The question was whether they'd be an AH for declining a card. And the answer is still NTA because they are entirely entitled to establish boundaries. And Sally knows about OP's issues with babies, so their boundary tromping actually puts them squarely in AH territory."
And a quick Google search proves that apparently, u/TheMonsterKingTyphon's acute fear of babies is a genuine affliction. According to the Cleveland Clinic, a non-profit academic medical centre in the United States, pedophobia - or fear of children - is a genuine condition.
"People with pedophobia develop an irrational fear of babies and small children. Someone who has pedophobia may take extreme measures to avoid being around small children. Even the thought of being near children can cause anxiety and fear," the clinic said in an online article on the subject.
"A traumatic experience involving an infant or child may cause pedophobia, a fear of small children. People with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) or mysophobia (fear of germs) may be more at risk. You may get anxious or fearful when you see children or are around them. Exposure therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can help you overcome pedophobia."