The Internet Is Furious at This Husband Who ‘Won’t Allow’ His Wife to Get an Epidural

The women of Reddit have banded together in collective outrage this week after one mom shared an infuriating story about her husband. According to u/SavPMA, who recently posted in the r/BabyBumps forum, her husband says she's "not allowed" to get an epidural during her upcoming labor and delivery, and she's "beyond angry" about it.

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The mom-to-be posted her story on Monday when it quickly took off

In the post, she lays out her issue point-blank, saying that her husband "told me he won't allow me to get an epidural, period."

That said, she tried to provide some context as to how this all came about.

"My husband has mom friends and family who have had issues after epidurals, like continuous back pain and stuff," the poster explained. "I tried to explain to him it's my body and I'm the one delivering our baby, but he didn't budge and doesn't understand."

Needless to say, the stress of this has been weighing on her

Especially since she can't seem to get through to her husband, no matter what she says.

"I'm going to be a FTM (he has a daughter already with someone else) and he thinks everyone who gets an epidural will have issues down the road," she continued in her post. "I told him I'm going to go over ALL the options with my doctor."

Still, her husband's refusal to respect her decision has created a major divide between them.

"I want to cry because of how angry I am," the poster shared. "What do I say to him? Help."

It didn't take long for Reddit to weigh in with opinions

And, as you might imagine, most commenters were appalled by the husband's stance on this.

"Why does he think he can put his foot down on this?" one person asked. "No one on your medical team will give a singular hoot about his opinion."

"If my husband wouldn’t 'allow' me to make my own choices regarding my labor I would simply not allow him in the delivery room," someone else declared.

"My thoughts exactly," another person chimed in. "See how much sway he has from the parking lot."

Others called the whole thing "patently ridiculous" and reminded the poster that her husband has "ZERO power to control this decision." One person stressed that it was actually very concerning.

"Has he ever tried to control you like this before?" they asked. "It truly isn’t his decision. Expressing concern is fine, but him 'not allowing' you is crossing a line. Crossing a line and then stomping on said line."

Even a trained anesthesiologist entered the chat

"There’s no evidence in our literature that shows epidurals cause back pain," the medical professional shared.

But aside from the data, "literally nobody can prevent you from getting an epidural," they told the mom-to-be. "I have removed family members against their wishes to place epidurals on patients because the patient says they want one. Just be ready to ask for what you need. It’s your body, your delivery, and your experience of physical pain."

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Some people got so heated that their advice was even more extreme

One person suggested the woman tell her husband, "If you ever speak to me again as if you have authority over my body, I’ll be filing for divorce."

Others simply told her to kick the dad-to-be out of the delivery room.

"Say, 'Husband, if you cannot be supportive of decisions I make regarding my body, you are no longer welcome at the hospital/my room during labor,'" they told her.

In the end, the mom-to-be said she appreciated the feedback

In an update to her original post, she thanked everyone for listening to her story and weighing in, but was adamant that the disagreement was not a deal-breaker in her opinion.

"I'm not divorcing him lol he is an absolute sweetheart," the wife insisted, adding that it's only this specific situation that's made him act "annoying."

The good news is, it sounds like after getting some anonymous feedback, the wife has been able to challenge her husband some more by putting her foot down.

And, as far as she's concerned, it's actually worked.

"He has told me he really wants to go with me to my upcoming OB appointment to discuss the benefits of an epidural and how it will help me out," she later updated her post.

Here's hoping he comes around — but if not, here's hoping the mama sticks to her guns and does what's right for her, no matter what her husband says.

These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.