A pregnant woman has been cheered online for barring her husband from entering her hospital delivery room after he had cheated on her with a former friend.
The 39-year-old woman had taken to the social media platform Reddit to share that although her husband had begged for her forgiveness, she was reluctant to reconcile with him and had even considered aborting their child.
"He cheated on me with a friend of ours. I found out because his sister found out and refused to cover up for him. He said he was sorry and cried and told me that he loved me, but I couldn't stay in the marriage," she opened up online.
"When we separated, I found out that I was pregnant. I contemplated abortion, but I just couldn't because I had already lost everything, including my marriage, for this baby plus I already was in love with them. My husband freaked out when he heard and he begged me to forgive him and take him back, but again I couldn't."
"I didn't tell him when I had my scan, and he was very distraught. Now, he is beside himself because I told him that I didn't want him in the delivery room with me. He literally started crying over the phone. Why does he think he can be there? He is not my husband anymore. I don't even feel comfortable in my underwear around him now," she added.
Expert Verdict: The Woman's Decision Should Be Respected
Hector Zavala is a counselor at Willow and Leaf Counseling. He told Newsweek that the Redditor's feelings are entirely valid, even if some people are determined to see otherwise.
"The woman is obviously incredibly hurt by the actions that occurred outside her control. First the thoughts of grief occur. Think about the whole time at the start of this marriage how much they wanted a family and not being able to have that family. There is grief in the loss of the dream just there. Grief again with conception becoming robotic and cold," he said.
"Then you mix in this incredibly difficult betrayal of trust with a person she committed to be vulnerable with. The grief of the relationship dissolving. The anger of the infidelity. The grief of losing her partner whom she once held in high regard".
"This person deserves to absolutely feel the way she does and set boundaries, but no one will see it as they perceive her as being rude, which is victim blaming," he added.
What Do the Comments Say?
Since it was shared to the social media platform on September 1, the Reddit post has been upvoted by 90 percent of the users who engaged with it and commented on more than 7,600 times.
"In the delivery room, you will be at your most vulnerable and need only people who you trust," one user wrote. "Don't let him make it about him. This is you delivering your baby, safely, and hopefully quickly with no complications," they added.
Another user shared: "Also make damn sure the baby has your last name on the birth certificate!"
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