The miracle of childbirth is incredibly stressful for any parent, and stress can undoubtedly make us do strange things.
But the way some dads respond to their partners going through labour can be downright baffling, as two midwives have revealed.
In a now viral TikTok video, hospital worker Tylah (@midwife_tylah) and an unnamed colleague have shared some of the worst things they’ve witnessed fathers do during the birth of their babies.
The clip, captioned: "Midwives spill about bad dad behaviour in labour and birth!" sees the two friends reel out horror stories from the maternity ward front line.
It begins with Tylah recalling how one dad missed his child’s birth entirely because he was too busy getting his parking ticket validated.
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Her friend then revealed her shock at watching one man “scrolling on his phone” the whole way through his partner’s labour.
They then told of how one man asked when his partner’s “stretch marks will go away" while she was still on the theatre table.
And another who asked if his partner’s vagina would “go back to normal” while the midwife was still sewing up the wound.
Tylah said another man hadn’t welcomed his child into the world because he was at the pub with his mates during his partner’s labour.
She ended the clip by highlighting the case of another dad who attempted to “put a cap on the baby” just as it was crowning.
The pair listed a series of ‘bad dad’ behaviours
The video has now been watched more than 1.1 million times, racking up more than 150,000 likes and more than 1,8500 comments.
Viewers have shared their shock at the anecdotes, expressing their sympathy for the poor mothers in each tale.
“How can some men have so little empathy?” asked one. “This is why I’m staying single forever.”
“I’d break up with him during my labour if he did that for me,” another TikToker commented.
While others shared their own gut-wrenching personal experiences.
“It’s when he complains about how tired he is while I’m having contractions and his mother comes in to ask how HE is doing,” wrote one.
“It’s when he says ‘we’,” added another. “‘We’ don’t want pain relief. We’re in labour we want a natural experience.’ Sorry but not your body, you don’t get a say.”
“It’s when he complains that the chair is uncomfortable and that he can’t take a nap,” said another.
However, others viewed the “bad dad behaviour” as no laughing matter.
“It’s really not funny though,” wrote one critic. “These things are traumatic for the mum. Not sure why you guys are laughing and making it into a joke. It’s devastating.”
Meanwhile, others shared their relief at having more supportive other halves.
One said: “I sure am blessed. (My partner) didn’t leave my side for two days, held my hand the whole time I pushed and motivated me, slept on a chair for two days, and helped.”
Our tip to future dads? Make sure you fall into that latter category, OK?