Internet Supports Woman Who Kicked 'Crying' Husband Out of Delivery Room in Viral Post

In a viral Reddit post, a new mom claimed she kicked her husband out of the delivery room after he started crying. Naturally, this caused a huge fight between the couple, but commenters quickly jumped to the woman's defense. And as it turns out, many mothers don't want their partners present during childbirth.

In the popular Reddit forum "Am I The A**hole," a new mother under the username u/HillsNVallys355 claimed she kicked her husband Kevin out of the delivery room after he started crying. The post has received more than 10,000 votes and nearly 2,000 comments.

She prefaced her story by stating: "Kevin is the type of person that gets stressed out easily and reacts to events negatively. 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 can have mom there instead," she continued. "He said he could 100 [percent] handle anything and promised to be supportive and positive."

But when Kevin arrived at the hospital, he quickly started to spiral.

"He took my hand when I started having contractions and kept clutching it, almost stopping blood circulation. My entire arm went numb," she said.

"I felt strained, and although I was in intense pain I saw his face. It was so red and there was a visible vein in his forehead that looked like it was about to blow up."

She explained that his reaction to the impending birth of their child started to cause her to feel stress. Still, she was willing to stick it out. Until he started crying, that is.

"I found myself screaming telling him to stop several times and as a result, he literally yelled back in my ear," she explained. "The nurse got involved. 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."

As a result of this fallout, she said her husband refused to stop by the delivery room after their daughter was born. When she finally brought their baby home, they got into a fight.

"He said I shouldn't expect him to stick around after cruelly and selfishly kicking him out of the room and robbing him of an opportunity to see our daughter's first breathes."

Finally, he walked out, and the new mom said she hasn't seen her husband since the argument.

Though there are many women who want their partners present during childbirth, there are still plenty of those who don't.

In an op-ed for parenting site Romper in 2018, mother Steph Montgomery shared that she, too, kicked her partner out of the delivery room—and she doesn't regret it.

"[W]hen I asked for an epidural after 18 hours of labor, and all he could say was, 'Are you sure?' I realized what I needed to do," she wrote at the beginning of her piece. "Because I was sure...sure he needed to GTFO.

"So, yes, I actually kicked my partner out of the delivery room, and I'm not at all sorry," she continued. "Not even a little bit."

Later in the piece, she shared her belief that the only person who needs to be in the delivery room is a licensed medical professional. "Anyone else," she said, "is an accessory."

In an interview with Today's Parent, mother Danibel Hiraldo shared that her husband wasn't present for the birth of either of their two children. Instead, he remained in the waiting room.

"It was the best decision for us," Hiraldo said. "No regrets."

Redditors expressed their support for the original poster and argued that she shouldn't feel bad for doing what was best for her at that moment.

"NTA [not the a**hole]. At all," commented u/mdsnbelle. "You are the one in labor. Your comfort and safety are paramount. If his behavior is causing you to panic, you bounce him because that's not good for the baby either."

"NTA," said u/janewilson90. "He was asked to leave the room, not the hospital. You were going through a very stressful medical event and if he was making things worse for you, he should step out of the room."

TheTARDISRanAway added: "NTA—You already told him your concerns that he wouldn't be able to handle it. You told him you needed support and comfort. He reassured you that he could do it.

"Not only did he not provide comfort and reassurance but when he was asked to leave because he was making your labor [a serious medical procedure] unbearable he ghosted you and his newborn daughter until you got home," they continued.