Note: The following post contains mentions of abuse and domestic violence.
We recently published a post where labor and delivery nurses told stories about the worst husband behavior they'd ever seen on the job. The comments were filled with women and healthcare workers who decided to share their own stories about nightmare husbands in the delivery room. Here are 19 that'll make your blood boil:
1. "I'm an OB-GYN doctor and we had a dad who punched our postpartum patient in the face and broke her nose the day after she delivered. Unfortunately, this was not the only time that's happened."
2. "When I was in nursing school doing my OB-GYN rotation, I got to be in the room during a vaginal delivery. The mom was pushing away, doing her thing. I was standing by the husband, in tears because seeing a baby brought into this world is beautiful. The dad was chatting me up and trying to flirt. He wasn't paying a bit of attention to the birth. I felt so bad for that mom."
3. "I was born in the '80s. My mom said my grandpa had to yell at my dad to take her to the hospital, and when he did take her, he dropped her off because he couldn't handle watching the delivery. My grandma, aunt, and mom's best friend came to stay with my mom. After I was born, my dad came with some of his friends to see me and smoke a celebratory joint in the hospital room, then left. This was very on track for my father. Thank god my husband is amazing and was the best support during my pregnancy, in the hospital for both deliveries, and now as a father to both our kids."
4. "As I was actively in labor, my husband walked through the doorway into the room and said, 'I want a divorce.'"
5. "My daughter's dad was a jerk during labor and afterwards. My dad was very sick with stomach cancer and my mom had recently been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, so I'd moved back in with them at the beginning of my pregnancy to help care for them. I was already stressed out about not being able to help my dad while I was in the hospital ... and my mom started chemo in an attempt to stop the spread of her cancer the day after I gave birth. I was a total wreck between all of that and the postpartum hormones, and this moron couldn't even stay awake..."
"...Anytime I asked him for help he'd whine and say he was emotionally exhausted and needed a nap and refused to do anything. My dad couldn't be there, my mom couldn't be there, both of my siblings lived overseas and couldn't be there, and he was mad at me because our daughter was having latching issues and crying. I divorced him and don't regret it."
6. "The day my sister went into labor, my dad made her take a cab so that he could go back to bed. But what really takes the cake on that day was how we couldn't find her then-boyfriend. I kid you not, we were reaching out to our friends, his friends, anybody to spread the word that she'd gone into labor. When we did finally found him, he was only there for a couple hours before going back to town because 'I have to go see so-and-so.' I went up everyday just so she wouldn't feel so alone."
7. "My kids' dad left to go feed his cat and didn't come back until the day it was time to go home, and I had no help. He was abusive and we had an 8-month-long court trial, and I won custody. If this happens to you, I know your emotions are high and everything, but please call a family member or a friend for support. Just know that the baby won't change him, and you will be parenting by yourself. If you're abused and have nothing, I promise a homeless shelter is better than this treatment."
8. "A woman in her late teens came to us for a C-section with who we thought was her father (we shouldn’t have assumed). He was in his mid 50s, and was the baby's father. When we delivered their beautiful baby, he stormed off in a huge pissed off tantrum because it was a girl. 🤦🏻♀️"
9. "My son's father had the nerve to say he had another job to finish before he could come to the delivery room. Then when he finally got there, he sat in the corner while my mom and sister held my legs. Then when my son came out, the doctor asked if he wanted to cut the cord...He said no, and my sister (who he has issues with) said 'I'll do it!' He tried snatching the scissors out of her hand and sucked his teeth in and said 'I'll do it.' He then had the nerve to badger me the ENTIRE time about what he wanted our son's name to be."
10. "My mom's labor for me was taking a long time. My Dad was an avid bowler and it was champion league night. So while my mom was in labor, he ducked out to bowl his game. He claims I was his 'good luck charm' and he bowled his best game at that time. He did make it in time for my delivery, but hearing it told by my mom versus my dad, it's clear she was definitely frustrated with him."
11. "When I was 33 weeks pregnant, I went into labor. I hemorrhaged and lost 2.5 litres of blood while my baby was born premature and with two bleeds on the brain. They weren't sure either of us would live. My baby was taken to the NICU, while I was okay, but needed a wheelchair to get around until I recovered fully (I had tears and a lot of pain). The father of my baby (who had just left me for another woman) arrived, and he was fine during the birth — supportive even..."
"...Afterwards though, as I sat in the bathroom, covered in blood and washing myself, he played loud metal music that he and his mistress liked to listen to. Then he left the next day (and was confused why I was upset about that), leaving me to a month-long hospital stay alone, which included my boy being at risk of sepsis and having seizures. He visoted a couple of times, but once left early because the mistress was waiting for him in town. I'm now engaged to an amazing man who cant believe people like him exist."
12. "My son's father made me start walking the day after my emergency C-section so we could leave sooner, because he didn't like hospitals. That relationship was toxic AF. I was 23. I stayed 11 years too long with that malignant narcissist."
13. "My husband once told me that I took the easy way out by having a C-section. They had induced me and I hadn’t dilated past 1cm in 11 hours. I was induced because my blood pressure was high and preeclamptic. The recovery for my first was awful and painful. I was expected to watch my two step children (who were 3 and 4 at the time) along with my newborn just two weeks after having my baby."
14. "My son’s father went home both nights we (the baby and I) were in the hospital. Lucky for me our baby was a breeze in the hospital, and the nursing staff was amazing."
15. "Boy oh boy, do I have stories! I used to deliver food to the rooms and I loved the dads who would meet you at the door with the patients' information and take the trays; they made my job easy and were very attentive. Then there were the dads who I wondered, 'Why are you even here?' They would sit there staring at their phone, the TV, and me while not moving a muscle to clear a place to put the trays. One mom STRETCHED to reach her purse while holding the baby to pay for this man's tray while he sat there staring at us, not moving an inch."
16. "He went to an interview that I was very excited for him to have gotten, but he was gone for five hours and missed basically everything. He was also high when he got back."
17. "My friend (who is a Labor and Delivery nurse) told me she had one husband who took a Zoom call while his wife was in labor."
18. "My kid's dad was flirting with the nurse and they talked over me while I was in labor."
19. And finally, "The day before my son was born I was hospitalized at 7 a.m. due to complications. My husband didn’t show up to the hospital until the next day around 5 p.m. with his mom. He told the doctor I was not allowed to take any pain meds because he didn’t want his son being born drugged up. The doctor said I needed to have a C-section, to which he responded, 'Well if you need to only save one, save my son.' The doctor said no food was allowed in my room since I was having a C-section and it would just be cruel to eat in front of me. His mom brought him a burrito later on and said her baby couldn’t go without eating just because I couldn’t eat..."
"...As I was being rolled out of my room to the OR, his mom asked the nurse to make her baby a priority because he couldn’t handle seeing blood. A couple of hours after my son was born, his mom brought a bunch of her friends to the hospital to see the baby. I had to breastfeed my son in front of a bunch of strangers until I snapped and kicked everyone out. That caused my then husband to get upset and leave with his mom, and he didn't come back to the hospital until I was discharged four days later. I am so glad we are no longer married!!!"
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger as a result of domestic violence, call 911. For anonymous, confidential help, you can call the 24/7 National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or chat with an advocate via the website.
Some submissions have been edited for length and clarity.