‘This boils my blood’ women say as pregnant mum shares texts from mum-in-law treating her birth like a ‘spectator sport’

A PREGNANT woman has revealed she was fuming after her mother-in-law demanded to be the “first to hold” her new baby.

The mum-to-be shared a screenshot of texts sent from her partner’s mother where she was very pushy about how the birth would go.

2

2

The series of messages have prompted an outraged response online, from many who said that the exchange highlights exactly why they don’t tell people the date their baby is due.

The messages began with the mum-in-law asking:  "When are you going to have the baby?", to which the mum-to-be replies: "Not sure, why?"

The bold woman replies: “We would like to be there for the birth and help. 

“We want to be the first to hold her."

The pregnant woman told the mum-in-law that she and her partner want to do it “by ourselves”, and specified this meant "mum, dad, and baby".

However, this didn’t go down well.

The mum-in-law replied: "That's very disappointing. 

“Why are you keeping her from us? 

“[Your husband's] cousin let her parents come and the new grandma even got to cut the cord." 

Trying to remain polite, the expecting mother responded: "It's not a spectator sport for everyone to watch, I'm sorry! 

“I'll be spread east and west and probably pooping. 

“I'm not comfortable with anyone being there!"

The soon-to-be grandma did seem to back down at this point, but her plan b wasn’t a huge hit either. 

She said: "Then we will wait to visit until she's born and then come. 

“We want to see her right away, please don't make us wait. 

We would like to be there for the birth and help. We want to be the first to hold her

Mum-in-law

“Just let us know when you head to the hospital so I can head to your house and start tidying up for you. 

“No rush, we know where the guest room is.”

The messages ended there, but the screenshot was shared on Instagram by the @teachingmotherhood account.

They shared: "WHY ARE PEOPLE LIKE THIS! 

“I see so many stories where grandma nudges her way into the delivery room ... and sometimes grandpa too! I personally (after three kids) don't even want visitors after the birth! “It's all personal preference - but truly I do not understand the absolute need to be in the delivery room and claw the new baby away from mum and dad!"

Many people were quick to respond in the comments and advised the pregnant woman to keep the baby’s birth a secret from the mum-in-law.

One person wrote: "Guess who's not finding out when the baby's born until a week later. 

“And people wonder why couples don't tell anyone when they're heading into the hospital!" Another said: "I was home for two months before anyone knew we had him.”

A third commented: "Imagine prioritising yourself in someone else's most intimate moments."