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Pregnancy

25th Jul 2023

Mum asks ‘is it necessary?’ after family insists on meeting baby straight after birth

Ellen Fitzpatrick

Whenever somebody has a baby, there is always an urge to pay the newborn a visit at the hospital.

Since Covid, many of us have changed the way we approach this situation, evening though it’s something ingrained in us.

Visiting a mum during hospital hours after she has given birth almost seems traditional, as if it would be rude if we didn’t do it.

One mum took to Reddit to share her frustration over this, and asks why anyone thinks it’s necessary at all.

The mum said she didn’t understand what the difference between meeting a baby on “day 1 or 2 in the hospital vs day 4 or 5 when we can be home and comfortable” makes.

Her fury ignited after she had given birth and her mother-in-law insisted that she would come to the hospital, wait in the waiting area and promise to stay only 30 minutes to an hour in order to be the first person to see her grandchild.

The only issue was that the mum didn’t want her there at all, and the same exclusion applied to her own mother.

She explained that she had a hard time after the birth of her first child, and said if her current pregnancy is going to be the same, she didn’t want to see anyone after giving birth.

The mum wrote: “My husband is saying that she’s not there for me it’s the baby, and after some major health scares this past year he doesn’t want to take that from her.

“I get that and it’s why I am allowing her to come but God it’s all I can think about when it comes to my induction in a few days.”

Taking to the comments of the post, other parents shared similar feelings, with one writing: “The only reason she wants to be there is bc she’s the grandma and feels she is entitled to be there. Just be blunt and say she can meet the baby when you get home and that’s final.”

Another wrote: “Please hold your ground and get the nurses on your side. Recovery in the hospital is the most care postpartum moms get. You should absolutely protect that time.”

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