A new mom has ignited a debate after banning her husband from ever being in the delivery room with her again after he said a comment that has enraged the internet.
The 28-year-old woman from the UK took to Reddit to share her experience of giving birth to the couple’s first child.
The mom, who said the labor was ‘awful’, gave birth to a ‘big baby’ weighing 9lb 7oz.
Her spouse — referred to as ‘Shawn’ in her post — was apparently in and out of the delivery room, to get himself coffee or food, as she was in active labor for 10 hours.
She gave birth to a baby boy, but the new mom had to have stitches.
“I tore pretty badly and needed stitches,” she recalls. “Shawn said to the male doctor who was stitching me up, ‘Do you think you could add a couple more stitches for me mate’, clearly expecting a laugh but the room fell silent.”
The woman was left feeling ‘mortified’ by the comment (Getty Stock Image)
What is the ‘husband stitch’?
The ‘extra stitches’ Shawn, 32, requested is the so-called ‘husband stitch’.
It’s an outdated term for a very real procedure of adding more stitches during vaginal repair after childbirth, Healthline explains.
It is considered ‘unethical, objectifying, and medically unnecessary’.
The mom told the Reddit forum ‘Am I the A**hole’ the comment made her feel ‘mortified’ and ‘so angry’.
She said: “The Dr then said, ‘That could cause lots of issues for the patient so no absolutely not’ and Shawn remained silent.
“I’ve told him that in future if we have more children I don’t want him present and I want my mum instead. He is upset and has apologised saying it was nerves making him act that way but I can’t get over how let down I feel.”
The procedure is known as a ‘husband stitch’ and it is considered ‘unethical’ (Getty Stock Image)
The people of Reddit were divided. One commenter declared: “Never be allowed in the delivery room again? Ma’am, he should never be allowed near your vagina again.”
Another Reddit user added: “I’d be divorcing over this whole situation honestly.”
Someone else said: “’I can’t believe you would remotely consider having more kids with him because he is your second child.”
The majority of comments agreed that the mom is not the a**hole in the situation.
And it wasn’t just women who were outraged by Shawn’s disrespectful comment, as one man said: “My girlfriend’s gyno is my childhood best friend’s mom.
“That woman would murder me and take my c**k as a trophy if I breathed the word ‘Husband Stitch’ within a mile of her.
“Your husband is an absolute a**hole and a trash partner. Why would you wanna have kids with someone you should divorce?”